From Library Journal
This first edition of an annual covers the wide range of resources serving businesspeople, educators, researchers, students, and activists involved in any aspect of the environment in the United States. Arranged in three sections resources, tables, and indexes it covers such topics as air quality, disaster preparedness, health, habitat, recycling, pollution, and water resources. Section 1, which is divided into 15 chapters, lists and describes 6,988 associations, whose activities range from bestowing awards and honors to doing research to producing green product catalogs. Most of the entries provide a complete address, telephone and FAX numbers, e-mail and web addresses, short descriptions, and contact persons. Section 2 provides 94 tables and charts of environmental statistics and rankings regarding energy consumption, global warming, nuclear power, toxic chemicals, and other topics. Glossaries of terms, including acronyms and abbreviations, appear at the end of this section. Section 3 comprises entry, geographic, and subject indexes. A free CD-ROM is offered with purchase, and this resource is also available as an online database by subscription for $300 a year. Users will find some duplication with the online National Environmental Directory (www. environmentaldirectory.net), which contains more than 13,000 organizations in the United States. In addition, this new handbook does not include foreign resources, which can be found in the 2001 Conservation Directory (Lyons, 2001) and the World Directory of Environmental Organizations (California Inst. of Public Affairs, 2001). Still, it is a worthwhile browsing tool for those who want an overview of the American environment and the resources that serve it. Irwin Weintraub, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
This handbook is a directory and a data source, with extensive coverage both of U.S. organizations of many types and of environmental statistical information. Section 1, "Resources," has contact information (names, addresses, telephone, e-mail, URL, executive officer, and sometimes a brief description) for 6,988 entries in 15 categories ("Associations," "Consultants," "Environmental Law," "Green Product Catalogs," etc), some of which have subdivisions. Some of the same resources are found in more general directories such as Gale's
Encyclopedia of Associations, but most are not.
Section 2, "Tables" has more than 100 tables in 20 categories (e.g., "Energy," "Land Use," "Waste"). Most of the tables come from U.S. government sources such as the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation. Although there are entry, geographic, and subject indexes for the directory content, tables are not indexed and would need to be browsed to find particular information. For example, the "Energy" group has a table on the estimated number of alternative-fueled vehicles in use by the state, but this table is not cited under alternative fuels in the subject index. The book also offers a 50-page glossary of terms and phrases and 14 pages of abbreviations and acronyms.
Although this volume contains much valuable information, the lack of detailed indexing for 280 pages of tables diminishes its usefulness. Nevertheless, the address directory and the intrinsic value of the information make it worth consideration by libraries with environmental collections and environmentally concerned users. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
