A User’s Guide for Planet Earth: Fundamentals of Environmental Science

A User’s Guide for Planet Earth provides students with an exploration of the fundamental components of Earth’s environmental systems, their interactions, and the way society affects and is affected by alterations in climate, ecosystems, hydrology, and various additional factors. Concise and targeted, the text distills essential environmental science concepts into an easy-to-understand and highly digestible textbook. The book begins by exploring several key background issues that lay the foundation for understanding the processes and drivers that control the behavior of the environment. It then delves into the main environmental systems of ecosystems, biogeochemical cycles, water, agriculture, oceans, human health, energy, and climate, culminating in a discussion of the Earth system. Students develop a fundamental understanding of how environmental processes are influenced by and can influence humans and broader society. Journal articles are referenced at the end of each chapter to encourage further reading and research. A User’s Guide for Planet Earth is written for introductory environmental science courses. The clear, concise style of the text helps students grasp critical concepts without any prerequisite requirements.