Offers solutions and best practices to respond to recurrent problems and contemporary challenges in the field Since the publication of the first edition of Environmental Impact Assessment in 2003, both the practice and theory of impact assessment have changed substantially. Not only has the field been subject to a great deal of new regulations and guidelines, it has also evolved tremendously, with a greater emphasis on strategic environmental, sustainability, and human health impact assessments. Moreover, there is a greater call for impact assessments from a global perspective. This Second Edition, now titled Impact Assessment to reflect its broader scope and the breadth of these many changes, offers students and practitioners a current guide to today's impact assessment practice. Impact Assessment begins with an introduction and then a chapter reviewing conventional approaches to the field. Next, the book is organized around recurrent problems and contemporary challenges in impact assessment process design and management, enabling readers to quickly find the material they need to solve tough problems, including: How to make impact assessments more influential, rigorous, rational, substantive, practical, democratic, collaborative, ethical, and adaptive How each problem and challenge-reducing process would operate at the regulatory and applied levels How each problem can be approached for different impact assessment types-sustainability assessment, strategic environmental assessment, project-level EIA, social impact assessment, ecological impact assessment, and health impact assessment How to link and combine impact assessment processes to operate in situations with multiple overlapping problems, challenges, and impact assessment types How to connect and combine impact assessment processes Each chapter first addresses the topic with current theory and then demonstrates how that theory is applied, presenting requirements, guidelines, and best practices. Summaries at the end of each chapter provide a handy tool for structuring the design and evaluation of impact assessment processes and documents. Readers will find analyses and new case studies that address such issues as multi-jurisdictional impact assessment, climate change, cumulative effects assessment, follow-up, capacity building, interpreting significance, and the siting of major industrial and waste facilities. Reflecting current theory and standards of practice, Impact Assessment is appropriate for both students and practitioners in the field, enabling them to confidently respond to a myriad of new challenges in the field.

Offers solutions and best practices to respond to recurrent problems and contemporary challenges in the field Since the publication of the first edition of Environmental Impact Assessment in 2003, both the practice and theory of impact assessment have changed substantially. Not only has the field been subject to a great deal of new regulations and guidelines, it has also evolved tremendously, with a greater emphasis on strategic environmental, sustainability, and human health impact assessments. Moreover, there is a greater call for impact assessments from a global perspective. This Second Edition, now titled Impact Assessment to reflect its broader scope and the breadth of these many changes, offers students and practitioners a current guide to today's impact assessment practice. Impact Assessment begins with an introduction and then a chapter reviewing conventional approaches to the field. Next, the book is organized around recurrent problems and contemporary challenges in impact assessment process design and management, enabling readers to quickly find the material they need to solve tough problems, including: How to make impact assessments more influential, rigorous, rational, substantive, practical, democratic, collaborative, ethical, and adaptive How each problem and challenge-reducing process would operate at the regulatory and applied levels How each problem can be approached for different impact assessment types-sustainability assessment, strategic environmental assessment, project-level EIA, social impact assessment, ecological impact assessment, and health impact assessment How to link and combine impact assessment processes to operate in situations with multiple overlapping problems, challenges, and impact assessment types How to connect and combine impact assessment processes Each chapter first addresses the topic with current theory and then demonstrates how that theory is applied, presenting requirements, guidelines, and best practices. Summaries at the end of each chapter provide a handy tool for structuring the design and evaluation of impact assessment processes and documents. Readers will find analyses and new case studies that address such issues as multi-jurisdictional impact assessment, climate change, cumulative effects assessment, follow-up, capacity building, interpreting significance, and the siting of major industrial and waste facilities. Reflecting current theory and standards of practice, Impact Assessment is appropriate for both students and practitioners in the field, enabling them to confidently respond to a myriad of new challenges in the field.

More than four decades have passed since a human first set foot on the Moon. Great strides have been made in our understanding of what is required to support an enduring human presence in space, as evidenced by progressively more advanced orbiting human outposts, culminating in the current International Space Station (ISS). However, of the more than 500 humans who have so far ventured into space, most have gone only as far as near-Earth orbit, and none have traveled beyond the orbit of the Moon. Achieving humans' further progress into the solar system had proved far more difficult than imagined in the heady days of the Apollo missions, but the potential rewards remain substantial. During its more than 50-year history, NASA's success in human space exploration has depended on the agency's ability to effectively address a wide range of biomedical, engineering, physical science, and related obstacles-an achievement made possible by NASA's strong and productive commitments to life and physical sciences research for human space exploration, and by its use of human space exploration infrastructures for scientific discovery. The Committee for the Decadal Survey of Biological and Physical Sciences acknowledges the many achievements of NASA, which are all the more remarkable given budgetary challenges and changing directions within the agency. In the past decade, however, a consequence of those challenges has been a life and physical sciences research program that was dramatically reduced in both scale and scope, with the result that the agency is poorly positioned to take full advantage of the scientific opportunities offered by the now fully equipped and staffed ISS laboratory, or to effectively pursue the scientific research needed to support the development of advanced human exploration capabilities. Although its review has left it deeply concerned about the current state of NASA's life and physical sciences research, the Committee for the Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space is nevertheless convinced that a focused science and engineering program can achieve successes that will bring the space community, the U.S. public, and policymakers to an understanding that we are ready for the next significant phase of human space exploration. The goal of this report is to lay out steps and develop a forward-looking portfolio of research that will provide the basis for recapturing the excitement and value of human spaceflight-thereby enabling the U.S. space program to deliver on new exploration initiatives that serve the nation, excite the public, and place the United States again at the forefront of space exploration for the global good.

Spacelab was a reusable laboratory facility that was flown on the Space Shuttle from 1983 to 1998. Completing 22 major missions and contributing to many other NASA goals, Spacelab stands as one of the Shuttle program’s most resounding successes. The system comprised multiple components, including a pressurized laboratory module, unpressurized carrier pallets and other related hardware, all housed in the Shuttle’s Payload Bay and crew compartment. But how did all those varied components actually come together? The answer is the little-known “Level-IV”, a team of managers and engineers who molded separate elements of hardware into cohesive and safe payloads. Without the dedication and drive of the Level-IV team, the huge successes of the Spacelab missions would not have been achieved. This is their story. You will learn herein how Level-IV was formed, who was involved, and the accomplishments, setbacks and problems faced along the way, in a story that blends both the professional and personal sides of Level-IV operations and its legacy. Upon reading this book, you will gain a new appreciation for this crucial team and understand what is meant when you hear the term “Level-IV”.

The success of any space flight mission depends not only on advanced technology but also on the health and well-being of crew members. This book, written by an astronaut physician, is the first practical guide to maintaining crew members health in space. It combines research results with practical advice on such problems as bone loss, kidney stones, muscle wasting, motion sickness, loss of balance, orthostatic intolerance, weight loss, and excessive radiation exposure. Additional topics include pre-flight preparation, relevant gender differences, long-duration medical planning, post-flight rehabilitation, and the physiology of extra-vehicular activity. Designed as a handbook for space crews, this text is also an invaluable tool for all the engineers, medical personnel, and scientists who plan and execute space missions.