For introductory courses in Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, and Environmental Biology.


With dramatically revised illustrations, the Twelfth Edition of Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future is even more student-friendly while retaining the currency and accuracy that has made Wright/Boorse a best seller. The text and media program continue to help students understand the science behind environmental issues and what they can do to build a more sustainable future, with further exploration of the hallmark core themes: Science, Sustainability, and Stewardship.
Salient Features
• Three unifying themes of science, sustainability, and stewardship help students conceptualize the task of forging a sustainable future.
• Essays explore the three themes at appropriate points within chapters and provide a memorable perspective on the topic. Themes are recapped and discussed at the end of each chapter to help students connect the chapter topics to the themes. A final capstone chapter revisits these themes.
• Timely coverage of topical concerns include the Fukishima earthquake as a major environmental disaster; hydrofracking in the northeastern United States, the "environmentalist's paradox;" and the "Smart Grid."
• Unique chapter on ecosystem capital (Chapter 7: The Use and Restoration of Ecosystems) explores how ecosystems provide valuable goods and services to society.
• Making a Difference sections appear at the end of each chapter and give students practical suggestions for promoting sustainable practices and protecting the earth for future generations.
• An early discussion of Economics and Policy (in Chapter 2) gives students a basic foundation in the social sciences before studying specific issues.
• Chapter organization provides cohesive units on Ecology (Part 2, Chapters 3—7) and Human Population and Essential Resources (Part 3, Chapters 8—13).
• MasteringEnvironmentalScience™ helps students arrive better prepared for lectures and helps professors gain unique insight into their students' performance. Highlights include Video Field Trips (see below), 3-D BioFlix® animations and exercises, GraphIt! activities, Current Events articles from the New York Times, ABC News Videos, and reading quizzes-all provide professors with a wealth of assignable, automatically-graded interactive activities that give students personalized feedback.
• Video Field Trips give students fascinating behind-the-scenes tour of what happens with commonly-used resources before and after they are consumed. These short videos are included on the Instructor Resource DVD for classroom presentations and within MasteringEnvironmentalScience for automatically graded student assignments. These exclusive videos explore:
• Carbon neutrality on campus
• Prescribed fires
• Solar energy
• Electronic waste
• Energy-coal-fired power plant
• Water-waste water treatment facility
• Food-sustainable agriculture
• Waste-Landfill and recycling center
• Waterr-water utility factory
• This book is printed on FSC certified paper to set the gold standard in use of environmentally responsible publishing, following guidelines from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for reducing energy usage, reducing impact on forests, and limiting the release of toxic chemicals into the environment.