Famous First Facts about the Environment

Wide-ranging coverage includes information on subjects such as activist movements, agriculture and horticulture, air pollution, alien species and species migration, biodiversity, botany, climate and weather, extinct and endangered species, fish and fishing, genetic engineering and iotechnology, land use and development, noise pollution, oceanography, and population growth.

Similar to Famous First Facts About Sports, this is another Wilson spin-off of Joseph Nathan Kane's classic Famous First Facts (FFF). Compiled by Formica, a reference book producer, the volume lists 4000 entries of international environmental "firsts," using the same subject classification system as FFF. Entries are first listed under a major subject category, such as air pollution, climate and weather, hazardous waste, population growth, and storms, which are then broken down into various subdivisions. For instance, storms has six subdivisions, including hailstorms, hurricanes, and ice storms. Entries are arranged chronologically from 2,700,000,000 B.C.E. (the first verifiable glacial epoch) through 2060 (the year the normal ozone level will return to the stratosphere, if the substances that destroy the ozone are eliminated). Each entry has a four-digit index number that is handy when using the indexes. Almost half the volume is taken up by various indexes, including subject, year, month and day, personal name, and geographical area. Only a handful of entries, such as first national parks, dams, and recorded earthquakes, also appear in the original FFF. As with all FFF titles, librarians will appreciate the tremendous effort required to compile all this data in one convenient and easy-to-use resource. This unique work should be purchased by any size library that needs an account of environmental "firsts."-Eva Lautemann, Georgia Perimeter Coll. Lib., Clarkston
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This volume is the latest in the respected Wilson Facts Series and utilizes the same formula as Famous First Facts: A Record of First Happenings, Discoveries, and Inventions in American History (5th ed., H. W. Wilson, 1997). Editor Formica seeks to "expand the record of important and interesting" environmental firsts and presents them in this format from a global perspective. The nearly 4,000 facts are organized into alphabetically arranged subject categories from "Activist Movements" to "Zoos, Aquariums, and Museums." Many categories contain further subcategories. For example, the subject heading "Wildlife" is divided additionally into "Breeding," "Conservation," "Control," and "Preserves and Restoration." Entries range in length from one sentence to one paragraph and are arranged chronologically within each category or subcategory. Each entry is assigned a four-digit indexing number, beginning with 1001.

Nearly one-half of the volume contains the five indexes: a subject index of topics mentioned in the entries, an index by years (through 2002), an index by month and day, an index to persons referred to in the main entries, and a geographical index. A "How to Use This Book" page begins the work and is useful to readers unfamiliar with the arrangement of other Famous First Facts books.

Although much of the information contained in this work could be located in other reference tools, the variety of environmental issues covered and the chronological presentation complement other environmental resources. This comprehensive, detail-oriented, and accessible compilation is a timesaving and valuable reference tool for environmental researchers. Academic and public libraries alike will find this a worthwhile purchase for their science reference collections. RBB
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