Oceans: Environmental Issues, Global Perspectives - Hardcover

Balliett, James Fargo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 076568229X ISBN 13: 9780765682291

Publisher: Routledge, 2010

Synopsis

Covering 71 percent of the planet, these saline bodies of water provided the unique conditions necessary for the building blocks of life to form billions of years ago. This book explains how our oceans continue to support and influence life in important ways: by providing the largest global source of protein in the form of fish populations, by creating and influencing weather systems, and by absorbing waste streams such as airborne carbon. It is shown how oceans have an almost magnetic draw―almost half of the world’s population lives within a few hours of an ocean. Although oceans are vast in size, exceeding 328 million cubic miles (1.37 billion cubic kilometers), they have been influenced by and have influenced humans in numerous ways.

The book includes three detailed case studies. The first focuses on the most remote locations along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where new ocean floor is being formed twenty-thousand feet underwater. The second considers the Maldives, a string of islands in the Indian Ocean, where increasing sea levels may force residents to abandon some communities by 2020. The third describes the North Sea at the edge of the Arctic Ocean, where fishing stocks have been dangerously depleted as a result of multiple nations’ unrelenting removal of the smallest and largest species.

About this title

About the Author

James Balliett graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, studying environmental issues and writing. His senior thesis was about a winter he spent on the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Two years later, he was awarded his masters of science degree in environmental studies from Antioch New England Graduate School.

His experiences include a project for the US Forest Service in southeast Alaska, work for the harbormaster in Chatham, Massachusetts, and as a natural resource officer in Barnstable, Massachusetts where he helped manage a piping plover colony. While living in Burlington, Vermont, Balliett was a reporter for the Burlington Free Press and worked at the Chamber of Commerce where he directed their government affairs office. While living in Colorado's front range, he served as an advocacy manager for Housing Colorado. He currently resides on Cape Cod and writes for the Cape Codder Newspaper, covering a range of community, environmental, and business news. His five environmental science books (mountains, forests, wetlands, freshwater, and oceans) make up a set on Environmental Issues, Global Perspectives.

Reviews

Urgent and up to date, each of these titles in the Environmental Issues, Global Perspectives series begins with a detailed, readable overview of the fundamental biology and ecology of the particular environment, as well as the role of humans in polluting and conserving in land, air, and water. In each title, Balliett offers in-depth discussions of seven particular case studies from around the world and looks at the challenges and possible solutions for each environment. From the Gulf of Alaska to the Maldive Islands, the warnings in Oceans range from the depletion of fish to the dangers posed by waste streams. While never denying the positives of technological advances, this series will arm passionate teen conservationists with the facts about the profound global impact of human consumption of natural resources. Each title includes occasional charts, diagrams, and photos, as well as detailed bibliographies and websites. Grades 7-12. --Hazel Rochman

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 076568229X
• ISBN 13: 9780765682291
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 168