This book reviews the effects of human activity on physical environment processes and justifies it with contributions to the study of the significance of human activity, including those produced up to 1960, those produced between 1960 and 1970, and those produced since 1970.

The aim of the present volume is to review the effects of human activity on physical environment processes, and this is justified not only as a complement to the approach taken by G. P. Marsh his volume Man and Nature (1864), but also as a sequel to the work produced since 1864, with contributions since the mid-nineteenth century to the study of th

From the oceans to continental heartlands, human activities have altered the physical characteristics of Earth's surface. With Earth's population projected to peak at 8 to 12 billion people by 2050 and the additional stress of climate change, it is more important than ever to understand how and where these changes are happening. Innovation in the geographical sciences has the potential to advance knowledge of place-based environmental change, sustainability, and the impacts of a rapidly changing economy and society. Understanding the Changing Planet outlines eleven strategic directions to focus research and leverage new technologies to harness the potential that the geographical sciences offer.

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Global environmental change often seems to be the most carefully examined issue of our time. Yet understanding the human sideâ€"human causes of and responses to environmental changeâ€"has not yet received sustained attention. Global Environmental Change offers a strategy for combining the efforts of natural and social scientists to better understand how our actions influence global change and how global change influences us. The volume is accessible to the nonscientist and provides a wide range of examples and case studies. It explores how the attitudes and actions of individuals, governments, and organizations intertwine to leave their mark on the health of the planet. The book focuses on establishing a framework for this new field of study, identifying problems that must be overcome if we are to deepen our understanding of the human dimensions of global change, presenting conclusions and recommendations.

This new edition of the acclaimed Man and Environmental Processes, comprised of chapters contributed by internationally respected researchers, reviews the effect of human activity on the entire range of environmental processes. Provides extensive, up-to-date coverage of human influence upon processes in the hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and geosphere and how it relates to questions of management. Material from the first edition has been substantially updated and revised, and four new chapters have been added which provide introductory coverage of the theme of human activity and environmental processes in oceans and lakes, and African vegetation and desertification.

The aim of the present volume is to review the effects of human activity on physical environment processes, and this is justified not only as a complement to the approach taken by G. P. Marsh his volume Man and Nature (1864), but also as a sequel to the work produced since 1864, with contributions since the mid-nineteenth century to the study of th