Global Environmental Issues

Meeting the needs of upper level students, this book treats global environmental problems as complex issues with a network of human and biophysical causes.

• Each chapter interlinks human demands on the Earth's resources to natural biophysical change - not simply a 'cause and effect' treatment of global issues and environmental change
• Includes coverage of contemporary hot topics such as biodiversity, urbanisation and sustainable development
• Global case studies (two per chapter) contextualise theory for students

"This book should have considerable appeal among undergraduate and postgraduate students in a broad range of disciplines. Frances Harris has assembled a team of well-qualified authors, who between them consider such important environmental issues as climate and sea level change, biodiversity, GM crops, energy supply, urbanization, pollution and sustainable development. The style is clear and non-technical, the coverage is global and the text is supported by numerous figures and illustrations. Boxed case studies provide useful exemplification of general issues. I have no doubt that this book will be very popular with my own students, in providing detailed analysis of a range of key environmental issues which are frequently reported in the media."
Tony Binns, University of Sussex, UK

"This book usefully realises that environmental issues are a complex blend of contested science, broader socio-political contexts and the concerns, values, attitudes and livelihoods of individuals. Written by internationally recognised authors, it covers major global issues such as pollution, energy, climate change, sea level rise, food production, urbanisation and sustainability in an informative way, with abundant case studies and illustrations, which clearly exemplify just how complex the facets of the issues can be. It does not offer easy solutions but it is a good exercise in awareness for the reader."
Stephen Trudgill, Robinson College, University of Cambridge, UK

Environmental issues, such as climate change and energy consumption, and our responses to them are of global concern. The underlying premise of the book is that while global environmental issues may be the result of natural and/or human-induced resource degradation, their root causes are due to more than just ecological factors and technological errors or problems. Biophysical environmental problems are often exacerbated by economic, social or political problems.

Global Environmental Issues views global environmental problems as complex issues with a network of causes, influenced by a range of actors with differing priorities. In addition to discussing the main biophysical causes, the book will illustrate how socio-economic and political factors determine why and how people use land, resources and technology, and how this in turn affects natural resource management.

• Considers the scientific evidence for global environmental issues and the wider social, economic and political forces that have contributed to their development
• Includes global case studies from the UK, USA, Asian and South America which contextualise theory for students
• Identifies stakeholders with an interest in each issue and how their perceptions of the problems, and the appropriate solutions, vary
• Challenges readers to consider how choices made in our own environment affect livelihoods across the globe

With an increased interest in the causes and consequences of environmental problems, this book will meet the needs of upper level undergraduates and Masters students within departments of environmental science and geography, who want a book that tackles the complexity of environmental change.