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Essential Environmental Science
ISBN-13: 9780471704119 / Angielski / Miękka / 2007 / 480 str.
Essential Environmental Science
ISBN-13: 9780471704119 / Angielski / Miękka / 2007 / 480 str.
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Essential Environmental Science provides a non-quantitative approach that is based on principles, critical thinking and the big questions that are driving the field today. It offers a condensed look at the field, covering topics in way that will help readers answer the "big questions." It eliminates more detailed or advanced topics to make the material more accessible while also placing the focus on today's important issues.
Wydanie ilustrowane
Chapter 1. Fundamental Issues in Environmental Science.
Big Question: Why is Science Necessary to Solve Environmental Problems?
Case Study: Easter Island.
1.1 Fundamental Principles.
1.2 Human Population: The Basic Environmental Problem.
1.3 Sustainability.
Earth′s Carrying Capacity.
1.4 A Global Perspective.
1.5 Cities Affect the Environment.
1.6 People and Nature.
1.7 Science and Values.
1.8 Solving Many Environmental Problems Involves Systems and Rates of Change.
Environmental Unity.
Changes and Equilibriums in Systems.
Biota: Biosphere and Sustaining Life Characteristics of Environmental Systems That Make Solving Environmental Problems Harder.
1.9 The Precautionary Principle: When in Doubt, Play It Safe.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Chapter 2. Human Population Growth.
Big Question: Why is it the Underlying Environmental Problem?
Case Study: How the Great Tsunami of 2004 Affected the Human Population.
2.1 How Populations Change Over Time: Basic Concepts of Population Dynamics.
The Prophecy of Malthus.
2.2 Population Growth.
How Many People Have Lived on Earth?
2.3 The Logistic Growth Curve.
2.4 Other Clues to How Our Population May Change.
Age Structure.
The Demographic Transition.
Human Death Rates and the Rise of Industrial Societies.
Longevity and Its Effect on Population Growth.
Life Expectancy.
2.5 Limiting Factors.
The Quality of Life and the Human Carrying Capacity of Earth.
2.6 How Can We Achieve Zero Population Growth?
2.7 How Many People Can Earth Support?
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 3. Biogeochemical Cycles.
Big Question: Why Are Biogeochemical Cycles Essential to Long Term Life on Earth?
Case Study: Lake Washington.
3.1 How Chemicals Cycle.
Biogeochemical Cycles.
Chemical Reactions.
3.2 Environmental Questions and Biogeochemical Cycles.
Biological Questions.
Geologic Questions.
Atmospheric Questions.
Hydrologic Questions.
3.3 Biogeochemical Cycles and Life: Limiting Factors.
3.4 General Concepts Central to Biogeochemical Cycles.
3.5 The Geologic Cycle.
The Tectonic Cycle.
The Hydrologic Cycle.
The Rock Cycle.
3.6 Biogeochemical Cycling in Ecosystems.
Ecosystem Cycles of a Metal and a Nonmetal.
Chemical Cycling and the "Balance of Nature".
3.7 Some Major Global Chemical Cycles.
The Carbon Cycle.
The Missing Carbon Sink.
The Nitrogen Cycle.
The Phosphorus Cycle.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 4. Ecosystems.
Big Question: What is Necessary to Sustain Life on Earth?
Case Study: The Acorn Connection.
4.1 How Populations Change Over Time and Interact with Each Other.
4.2 Professions and Places: The Ecological Niche and the Habitat.
Measuring Niches.
4.3 The Competitive Exclusion Principle.
4.4 How Species Coexist.
4.5 Symbiosis.
4.6 The Community Effect.
4.7 The Ecosystem: Sustaining Life on Earth.
4.8 Basic Characteristics of Ecosystems.
4.9 Food Webs.
4.10 Ecosystem Energy Flow.
Life and the Laws of Thermodynamics.
Producing New Organic Matter.
Practical Implication I: Human Domination of Ecosystems.
Practical Implication II: Ecosystem Management.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 5. Biological Diversity.
Big Question: Can We Save Endangered Species and Keep Biological Diversity High?
Case Study: The Shrinking Mississippi Delta.
5.1 What is Biological Diversity?
5.2 Biological Evolution.
Mutation.
Natural Selection.
Migration.
Genetic Drift.
Biological Evolution in Action Today: Mosquitoes and the Malaria Parasite.
5.3 Ecology.
5.4 Basic Concepts of Biological Diversity.
5.5 The Number of Species on Earth.
5.6 Why Are There Many Species in Some Places and Not in Others?
5.7 What Can We Do to Save Endangered Species?
5.8 Why Save Endangered Species?
5.9 How a Species Becomes Endangered and Extinct.
5.10 Causes of Mass Extinction.
5.11 How People Cause Extinctions and Affect Biological Diversity.
5.12 The Good News: The Status of Some Species Has Improved.
5.13 Can a Species Be Too Abundant? If So, What Should We Do?
5.14 The Kirkland′s Warbler and Environmental Change.
5.15 Ecological Islands and Endangered Species.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 6. Restoration Ecology.
Big Question: Can We Restore Damaged Ecosystems?
Case Study: Restoring a Ponderosa Forest.
6.1 Restoration Ecology.
6.2 How Nature Restores Itself.
Patterns in Succession.
Dune Succession.
Bog Succession.
Old–Field Succession.
General Patterns of Succession.
6.3 During Succession, Does One Species Prepare the Way for Another?
Life–History Differences.
Chronic Patchiness.
Other Changes During Succession.
6.4 Can Nature Ever Be Constant?
6.5 Examples of Restoration.
Steps in Ecological Restoration: Planning.
Prairie Restoration.
Restoration of the Florida Everglades.
Restoration of California′s Channel Islands and Their Strange Island Foxes.
Restoring Land Damaged by Lead Mines in England.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 7. Forests and Wildlife.
Big Question: Can We Have Them and Use Them Too?
Case Study: Trying to Save a Small Owl From Extinction.
7.1 Keeping Our Living Resources Alive.
7.2 Modern Conflicts Over Forestland and Forest Resources.
7.3 A Modern Forester′s View of a Forest.
The Famous Hubbard Brook Experiment.
7.4 Clear–Cutting That Really Did Not Work: The Sad Story of Michigan′s Stump Barrens.
7.5 Are There Other Ways to Harvest Trees.
7.6 International Aspects of Forestry.
7.7 Plantation Forestry.
7.8 Are the World′s Forests Shrinking, Growing, or Neither?
7.9 Indirect Deforestation.
7.10 Traditional Wildlife Management.
Bison on the Range and Then Mostly Off the Range.
Pribilof Island Reindeer.
7.11 Improved Approaches to Wildlife Management.
Time Series and Historical Range of Variation.
Age Structure as Useful Information.
7.12 Managing Two or More Species at a Time: Do Predators Matter?
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 8. Environmental Health, Pollution and Toxicology.
Big Question: Why Are Even Tiny Amounts of Pollutants a Major Concern?
Case Study: Demasculinization and Feminization of Frogs in the Environment.
8.1 Some Basics.
Terminology.
How We Measure the Amount of Pollution.
8.2 Categories of Pollutants.
Infectious Agents.
Toxic Heavy Metals.
Toxic Pathways.
Mercury and Minimata Japan.
Lead and the Urban Environment.
Organic Compounds.
Hormonally Active Agents.
Thermal Pollution.
Particulates.
Electromagnetic Fields.
Noise Pollution.
Voluntary Exposure.
8.3 General Effects of Pollutants.
Dose and Response.
Threshold Effects.
Ecological Gradients.
Tolerance.
Acute and Chronic Effects.
8.4 Risk Assessment and Risk Management.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 9. Agriculture and Environment.
Big Question: Can We Feed the World Without Destroying the Environment?
Case Study: Clean–Water Farms.
9.1 How Agriculture Changes the Environment.
9.2 Dust Bowls and Our Eroding Soils.
9.3 Where Eroded Soil Goes.
9.4 Making Soils Sustainable.
9.5 Farm Pests.
9.6 How Much Pesticide Do We Release Into the Environment? And Where Does It Go?
9.7 The Search for a Magic Bullet.
DDT.
9.8 Ecological Approaches to Pest Control.
Integrated Pest Management.
9.9 Hybrids and Genetic Modification: Creating Better Crops.
Biotech Comes to the Farm.
Bioteching New Hybrids.
The Terminator Gene.
Transfer of Genes from One Form of Life to Another.
9.10 Grazing on Rangelands: An Environmental Benefit or Problem?
Traditional and Industrialized Use of Grazing Lands and Rangelands.
The Geography of Agricultural Animals.
How Many Grazing Animals Can the Land Support.
9.11 Organic Farming.
9.12 Deserts: What Are They and What Causes Them?
Preventing Desertification.
9.13 Does Farming Change the Biosphere?
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 10. Energy and Environment.
Big Question: Can We Assure a Sustainable Supply of Energy?
Case Study: Winds of Change in Iowa.
10.1 World Energy Supply and Use.
10.2 Energy and Work.
10.3 Types of Fuels.
10.4 Petroleum Products: Oil and Natural Gas.
Oil.
Natural Gas.
10.5 Coal.
10.6 The Environmental Effects of Extracting, Delivering, and Burning Coal.
Strip Mining.
Underground Mining.
The Trouble With Coal.
10.7 Environmental Effects of Extracting, Delivering, and Using Petroleum Products.
10.8 Three Basic Alternatives to Fossil Fuels: Solar, Geothermal, and Nuclear Energy.
10.9 Solar Energy: Two Types.
Passive Solar Energy.
Active Solar Energy Systems.
Environmental Effects of Using Solar Energy.
The Future of Solar Energy.
Alternative Energy Sources: Bavaria Lights the Way.
10.10 Wind Power.
10.11 Water Power.
Water Power and the Environment.
Tidal Power: Another Kind of Water Power.
10.12 Biomass Energy.
Sources of Biomass Energy.
Biomass Energy and the Environment.
10.13 Geothermal Energy.
10.14 Nuclear Energy.
Nonbreeder Reactors: Fission Reactors.
Breeder Reactors.
Fusion Reactors.
10.15 Environmental Problems of Nuclear Power.
Three Mile Island: A Cooling Failure Leads to a Meltdown.
Chernobyl.
Some Facts You Should Know About Radioactivity.
10.16 How Are We Dealing with These Problems Today?
Radiation and Health.
Radioactive–Waste Management.
10.17 Energy: Storing It, Transporting It, Conserving It.
Storing Energy.
Transporting Energy.
Conserving Energy by Using It More Efficiently.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 11. Water and Environment.
Big Question: Can We Maintain Our Water Resources for Future Generations?
Case Study: The Colorado River: Water Resources Management, Water Pollution, and the Environment.
11.1 Water.
A Brief Global Perspective.
Water Sources.
Desalination.
11.2 Water Supply.
11.3 Off–Stream and In–Stream Use.
Transport of Water.
Some Trends in Water Use.
11.4 Water Conservation.
Agricultural Use.
Domestic Use.
Industry and Manufacturing Use.
Perception and Water Use.
11.5 Sustainability and Water Management.
Sustainable Water Use.
Water Management and the Environment.
11.6 Wetlands.
Preserving and Restoring Wetlands.
11.7 Dams and the Environment.
11.8 Channelization and the Environment.
Kissimmee River, Florida: A Case Study of Problems with Channelization.
11.9 Flooding.
Urbanization and Flooding.
11.10 Global Water Shortage Linked to Food Supply.
11.11 Water Pollution.
11.12 Sources of Pollution.
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD).
Waterborne Disease.
Fecal Coliform Bacteria.
Nutrients.
Eutrophication.
Oil.
Sediment.
Acid Mine Drainage.
11.13 Surface Water Pollution.
11.14 Groundwater Pollution.
Principles of Groundwater Pollution: An Example.
Another Example: Long Island, New York.
11.15 Water Treatment.
11.16 Wastewater Treatment.
Septic–Tank Disposal Systems.
Treatment Plants.
Boston Harbor: Cleaning up a National Treasure.
Land Application of Wastewater: An Old Practice Made Cleaner.
Reuse of Treated Wastewater.
11.7 Water Pollution and Environmental Law.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 12. Oceans and Environment.
Big Question: Can We Learn to Manage the Oceans′ Resources?
Case Study: Shrimp, Mangroves, and Pickup Trucks.
12.1 Lots of Fish in the Sea: World Fish Production.
12.2 The World′s Fisheries Are in Trouble: The Decline of Fish Populations.
12.3 An Ocean is Many Habitats and Ecosystems.
12.4 Ocean Currents.
12.5 Where Are the Fish?
12.6 Salmon, Anchovies, and Upwellins.
12.7 Coral Reefs: A Special Problem.
12.8 We Pollute the Oceans Too, Which Gets Fish in Trouble.
Plastics in the Ocean.
12.9 Can We Make Ocean Fisheries Sustainable?
Marine Sanctuaries.
Aquaculture and Mariculture.
12.10 Conservation of Whales and Other Marine Mammals.
Dolphins and Other Small Whales.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 13. Earth′s Atmosphere and Climate.
Big Question: Global Warming is Happening: What Part Do We Play?
Case Study: Global Warming and the Polar Bears of Hudson Bay.
13.1 Is the Global Temperature Rising?
13.2 What Causes Climate Change of Any Sort, and What Is Making It Get Warmer?
Variation in the Sun′s Energy May Be One Reason for Climate Changes.
Milankovich Cycles Are Another Possible Explanation.
Volcanoes Can Alter Climate.
Dust from Our Own Activities Also Cools the Climate.
Variations in Ocean Currents May Affect the Climate.
El Niño: A Special Climate Phenomenon Linked to Ocean Currents.
13.3 What Is the Greenhouse Effect, and How Does It Warm Earth′s Surface?
13.4 Greenhouse Gases Are Increasing, and We Are Part of the Reason.
Carbon Dioxide.
Methane.
Chlorofluorocarbons.
Nitrous Oxide.
Ozone.
13.5 Would It Really Be So Serious if Earth Warmed Up a Bit?
What Will Be the Effects of a Rising Sea Level?
How Will Global Warming Affect the World′s Climate?
Agriculture.
Lowering of Water Tables and Reservoirs Could Cause Serious Shortages.
Biological and Ecological Changes.
Migration of Species Can Spread Diseases.
Endangered Species.
13.6 Can We Do Anything to Slow the Temperature Rise?
What Has Been Done So Far to Mitigate Global Warming?
13.7 Can We Do Anything to Alleviate the Effects of Global Warming?
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 14. Air Pollution and Environment.
Big Question: Why is Air Pollution in Cities Still Such a Big Problem?
Case Study: An Olympic Success Story.
14.1 A Brief History of Air Pollution.
14.2 General Effects of Air Pollution.
14.3 Primary and Secondary Pollutants, Natural and Human.
14.4 Major Air Pollutants: Where Do They Come From and What Do They Do?
Sulfur Dioxide.
Nitrogen Oxides.
Carbon Monoxide (CO).
Ozone.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
Particulate Matter.
Hydrogen Sulfide.
Hydrogen Fluoride.
Other Hazardous Gases.
Lead.
14.5 Urban Air Pollution.
Reducing Urban Air Pollution At Its Source.
Automobiles.
14.6 Acid Rain.
Control of Acid Rain.
14.7 Ozone Depletion in the Stratosphere.
Reducing Ozone Depletion: An Environmental Success Story.
14.8 Indoor Air Pollution.
Sources and Concentrations of Indoor Air Pollution.
Sick Buildings.
Symptoms of Indoor Air Pollution.
Two Particularly Important Indoor Pollutants.
Controlling Indoor Air Pollution.
14.9 Air Pollution Legislation, Standards, and Index of Air Quality.
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
Ambient Air Quality Standards.
Air Quality Index (AQI).
14.10 The Cost of Reducing Air Pollution.
14.11 What Lies Ahead for Air Pollution?
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 15. Minerals and Environment.
Big Question: Is It Possible to Use Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Sustainably?
Case Study: Fossil Trace Golf Club, a Story of Successful Mine Reclamation.
15.1 The Importance of Minerals to Society.
15.2 How Mineral Deposits Are Formed.
Distribution of Mineral Resources.
Plate Boundaries.
Igneous Processes.
Sedimentary Processes.
Biological Processes.
Weathering Processes.
15.3 Resources and Reserves.
15.4 Use and Availability of Mineral Resources.
Availability of Mineral Resources.
Mineral Consumption.
U.S. Supply of Minerals.
15.5 Impacts of Mineral Development.
Environmental Impacts.
Social Impacts.
15.6 Minimizing Environmental Impacts of Mineral Development.
Recycling.
15.7 Minerals and Sustainability.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 16. Waste Management.
Big Question: Is Zero Waste Possible?
Case Study: New York City′s Zero Waste Campaign.
16.1 What Is This Waste We Are Talking About?
Composition of Solid Waste.
16.2 Early Concepts of Waste Disposal.
16.3 Modern Trends.
16.4 Integrated Waste Management.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Markets for Recycled Products.
Recycling Human Waste.
16.5 Materials Management.
16.6 Solid–Waste Management.
On–Site Disposal.
Composting.
Incineration.
Open Dumps.
Municipal Solid Waste.
16.7 Hazardous Waste.
16.8 Hazardous–Waste Legislation.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
Other Legislation.
16.9 Hazardous–Waste Management: Land Disposal.
Secure Landfill.
Land Application: Microbial Breakdown.
Surface Impoundment.
Deep–Well Disposal.
Summary of Land Disposal Methods.
16.10 Alternatives to Land Disposal of Hazardous Waste.
16.11 Pollution Prevention.
Case History: Waste Disposal at a Cheese Company.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 17. Natural Hazards.
Big Question: Why are More of Them Becoming Disasters and Catastrophes?
Case Study: La Conchita Landslide, 2005.
17.1 Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes.
Taking a Historical Point of View.
Fundamental Concepts Related to Natural Hazards.
Nature Can Play a Dual Role, Performing Natural Service Functions and Posing Hazards.
17.2 Natural Hazards Are Predictable.
17.3 Linkages Between Hazards and Between the Physical and Biological Environments.
17.4 Hazards That Used to Produce Disasters Now Produce Catastrophes.
Land Transformation and Natural Hazards.
Hurricane Katrina: One of the Worst Natural Catastrophes in U.S. History.
17.5 Risk from Hazards Can Be Estimated?
17.6 Adverse Effects of Hazards Can Be Minimized.
Active vs. Reactive Response.
Impact and Recovery from Disasters and Catastrophes.
Perceiving, Avoiding, and Adjusting to Hazards.
17.7 What Does the Future Hold with Respect to Disasters and Catastrophes?
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 18. Environmental Economics.
Big Question: Can We Put a Price on Scenic Beauty, Endangered Species, and the Quality of Life?
Case Study: We Can Easily Find Out the Price of Salmon On The Table, But What Is the Economic Value of Salmon Swimming In a River?
18.1 Some Environmental Dollar Values.
18.2 The Environment as a Commons.
18.3 Low Growth Rate and Therefore Low Profit as a Factor in Exploitation.
18.4 Externalities: Costs that Don t Show Up in the Price Tag.
18.5 Natural Capital, Environmental Intangibles, and Ecosystem Services.
Valuing the Beauty of Nature.
18.6 How is the Future Valued?
18.7 Risk–Benefit Analysis.
Acceptability of Risks and Costs.
18.8 Global Issues: Who Bears the Cost?
18.9 Environmental Policy Instruments.
Pollution Control and the Law of Diminishing Returns.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Chapter 19. Planning for a Sustainable Future.
Big Question: Can We Plan and Achieve a Sustainable Environment?
19.1 The Ideal Sustainable Environment.
19.2 The Process of Planning a Future.
19.3 In Planning a Nation s Landscapes, How Big Should Wildlands Be?
19.4 Our Need for Nature in an Increasingly Urban Environment.
The City Park.
The Ecological Capital of Brazil: How a City Transformed Itself.
19.5 Regional Planning: The Tennessee Valley Authority.
19.6 Environment and Law: A Horse, a Gun, and a Plan.
Three Stages in the History of Federal Legislation Pertaining to Land and Natural Resources.
19.7 Skiing at Mineral King Raised a Question: Does Private Enterprise Belong On Public Lands?
19.8 How You Can Play a Role in Legal Processes.
19.9 International Environmental Law and Diplomacy.
19.10 The Challenge to Students of the Environment.
Return to the Big Question.
Summary.
Key Terms.
Getting It Straight.
What Do You Think?
Pulling It All Together.
Further Reading.
Edward A. Keller was chair of the Environmental Studies and Hydrologic Sciences Programs from 1993 to 1997 and is Professor of Earth Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he teaches earth surface processes, environmental geology, environmental science, river processes, and engineering geology,. Prior to joining the faculty at Santa Barbara, he taught geomorphology, environmental studies, and earth science at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. He was the 1982–1983 Hartley Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton, a Visiting Fellow in 2000 at Emmanuel College of Cambridge University, England, and Recipient of the Easterbrook Distinguished Scientist award from the Geological Society of America in 2004. Professor Keller has focused his research efforts into three areas: studies of Quaternary stratigraphy and tectonics as they relate to earthquakes, active folding, and mountain building process; hydrologic process and wildfire in the chaparral environment of Southern California; and physical habitat requirements for the endangered Southern California steelhead trout. He is the recipient of various water Resources Research Center grants to study fluvial processes and U.S. Geological Survey and Southern California Earthquake center grants to study earthquake hazards.
Professor Keller has published numerous papers and is the author of the textbooks Environmental Geology, Introduction to Environmental Geology and (with Nicholas Pinter) Active Tectonics (Prentice–Hall). He holds bachelor′s degrees in both geology and mathematics from California State University, Fresno; an M.S. in geology from the University of California; and a Ph.D. in geology from Purdue University.
Daniel B. Botkin is President of The Center for the Study of Environment, and Professor Emertius of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, where he has been on the faculty since 1978, serving as chairman of the Environmental Studies Program from 1978 to 1985. For more than three decades, Professor Botkin has been active in the application of ecological science to environmental management. Trained in physics and biology, Professor Botkin is a leader in the application of advanced technology to the study of the environment. He was one of the pioneers in doing research on possible ecological effects of global warming, starting this work in the late 1960s, and continuing to the present.
The originator of widely used forest gap–models, he has conducted research on endangered species, characteristics of natural wilderness areas. His recent research includes studies of the bowhead whales, an endangered species hunted actively by Yankee whalers in the 19th century, important since ancient times to the Eskimos, and one of the longest–lived species, with individuals known to live 120 years.
During his career, Professor botkin has advised the World Bank about tropical forests, biological diversity, and sustainability; the Rockefeller Foundation about global environmental issues; the government of Taiwan about approaches to solving environmental problems; and the state of California on the environmental effects of water diversion on Mono Lake. He served s the primary advisor to the National Geographic Society for its centennial edition map on "the Endangered Earth. "He directed a study for the states of Oregon and California concerning salmon and their forested habitats. He has published many articles and books about environmental issues. His books include: Beyond the Stoney Mountains: Nature in the American West from Lewis and Clark to Today (Oxford University Press), Strange Encounters: Adventures of a renegade Naturalist (Penguin/Tarcher), The Blue Planet (Wiley), Our Natural History: The Lessons of Lewis and Clark (Oxford University Press),Discordant Harmonies: A New Ecology for the 21st Century (Oxford University Press), and Forest Dynamics: An Ecological Model (Oxford University Press).
Professor Botkin was on the faculty of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (1968–1974) and was a member of the staff of the Ecosystems Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA (1975–1977). He received a B.A. from the University of Rochester, an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. He is the winner of the Mitchell International Prize for Sustainable development and the Fernow Prize for International Forestry, and he has been elected to the California Environmental Hall of Fame> recently he was awarded the Astor Lectureship of Oxford University, Great Britain.
There are about 30,000 Asian elephants in the wild. What are the causes behind the decline? What can be done about saving the elephant population from extinction while also benefiting the growing human population?
Dr. Melissa Songer and Danielle Shanahan, scientists from teh Conservation GIS Lab at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Track wild Asian elephants in the Bago Yoma, Myanmar, with the help of a timber elephant and his mahout, a Hindi word for keeper of elephants. Satellite collars are deployed on 4 elephants in Myanmar, allowing scientists to remotely monitor elephant movements, even through dense forest and steep terrain. Data from the collars provides insight into the requirements of their habitat, dynamics, of their seasonal movements, and home range size. The land of Bago Yoma shown here is steadily being converted to agriculture to help feed the growing human population in the area. As people encroach on elephant habitat, there is an increase in human–elephant conflicts that are detrimental to both sides. Analysis of elephant movement data and community assessments will help to develop and implement new land–use strategies that will minimize conflict and benefit elephants and people.
This work is part of a larger research program led by Dr. Peter Leimgruber, assessing the ecology and conservation status of Asian elephants in Myanmar.
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