Proceedings of a conference sponsored by the Air Resources Information Clearinghouse ARIC, a project of the Center for Environmental Information, Inc.

This groundbreaking study of environmental assessment “provides an essential examination of the factors that shape and dictate our climate policy” (Choice). Discerning Experts reexamines the assessments that many governments rely on to help guide environmental policy and action. Through their close look at reports involving acid rain, ozone depletion, and sea level rise, the authors explore how experts deliberate and decide on the scientific facts about problems like climate change. They also seek to understand how the scientists involved make the judgments they do, how the organization and management of assessment activities affects those judgments, and how expertise is identified and constructed. Discerning Experts uncovers factors that can generate systematic bias and error, and recommends how the process can be improved. As the first study of the internal workings of large environmental assessments, this book reveals their strengths and weaknesses, and explains what assessments can—and cannot—be expected to contribute to public policy and the common good.

Nearly seven billion people are collectively such a potent force that their influence on the global environment has begun to rival that of Mother Nature. Scientist Richard C. J. Somerville is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, and one of the authors of the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in equal shares to the IPCC and Al Gore for bringing the science behind global change to the world. In The Forgiving Air, Somerville weaves those critical findings into a more accessible story, making the most important issues of our time understandable to all.

I am delighted to present before you the book "Air Pollution". Pollution problems have continuous increase around the world because of increased population growth and associated industrial activities. The presence of high levels of pollutants in nature is of major concern because of their potential threats to both human and ecosystem health. Air pollution poses a grave danger for not only in man but the entire life on this planet. Air pollution have many adverse effect on the nature such as Global warming, Climate change, Ozone depletion, Sea level rise, Adverse effects on biodiversity etc. The foremost thing which deserves to be done is to educate the people that the atmosphere is not meant for dumping all kinds of pollution. Importance of preserving the health and welfare of man, protection of plant and animal life, prevention of damage to property, ensuring visibility for safe air and ground transport, and maintenance of cleaner atmospheric environment should also be explained. We are seeing a series of inovations and experiments aimed at alternate and unconventional options to reduce pollutants. Air Pollution is one of the larger mirrors of man's follies, and a challenge we need to overcome to see a tomorrow. This book provides a detailed knowledge in various aspects of Air pollution. I have taken every effort to incorporate updated facts and interpretations in the light of the latest findings and development in the area concerned. This book will be useful for the graduate and post graduate students of life science and environmental science as a basic reference.

This book covers the proceedings of a study week held to bring together the most varied experiences in the many disciplines which form the background of ecology. The purpose of the meeting was to examine the present state of knowledge and the need for research in order to gather the information necessary for action to protect the environment and biosphere. Many aspects of the anthropogenic effects on the atmosphere have been studied. However more research is needed to quantify the impact of the various chemicals on the changes occurring in the atmosphere. Acid rain formation mechanisms, although investigated, are not yet fully understood. It is thus necessary to program carefully our future, after further interdisciplinary research, in order to avoid irreversible damage to our environment.The guidelines of this action, as a result of the presentations and discussions, are reported in the conclusions. The main points stressed are: tropospheric chemistry, the problem of the conservation of the ozone layer, the growth of carbon dioxide and climate changes, atmospheric acidity, the effects of changes on water, soils and biota as well as the particular problems of the tropical world. The book will be ideal for postgraduates studying atmospheric chemistry and for environmental protection agencies.

With the Earth's atmosphere increasingly being used as a convenient sink for myriad pollutants, humanity faces the daunting problem of conserving a vital resource that, like the oceans, outer space, and Antarctica, defies geographical boundary. In this comprehensive look at the atmosphere's deterioration - an issue that has emerged as a leading international concern - Marvin S. Soroos considers how it is being altered and degraded by a rapidly growing and industrializing human population and what is being done to preserve it. In case studies of four international atmospheric agreements - governing atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, acid precipitation, ozone-layer depletion, and global climate change - Soroos demonstrates the uneven, piecemeal approach that the international community has taken. He draws conclusions regarding the circumstances favoring cooperation among states and ponders the likelihood that governments will pursue environmental security in a preventive, collaborative way rather than by depending on the self-reliant, defensive strategies that have proved so costly and counterproductive in the pursuit of military security.

This book provides a balanced account of the global environmental issues which threaten our society and which we neglect at our peril. Analysing both social and environmental components of the issues - global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain and drought - the book offers a valuable integrative approach and a detailed analysis of environmental issues in a clear, non-technical manner. Emphasising the climatological dimension common to all environmental issues, Global Environmental Issues recognises the multi-faceted nature of the issues, their common causes and the possibility of common solutions. Assessment of socio-economic, cultural amd political factors provides a balanced introduction to both the dangers and advantages of human interference with the environment. What have we done to deserve our current environmental crisis? Can we solve our current environmental problems, or is it too late? This new edition of a best selling text is completely updated and expands to include greater detail and new material such as a new section on atmospheric modelling. A glossary has been added together with a bibliography for further reading at the end of each chapter, allowing readers to develop their interest in specific areas. The interdisciplinary text will prove invaluable to students in geography, environmental studies and other courses in whcih the environmental approach is emphasised.