1st Edition

Sustainability Science and Technology An Introduction

Edited By Alejandro De Las Heras Copyright 2014
    348 Pages 62 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    352 Pages 62 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Sustainability Science and Technology: An Introduction explains the root causes of global failures in natural and human systems, as well as the most readily available technological solutions. The book dispels risky scientific and technological ideas that further complicate the current environmental and socioeconomic predicaments. It also bridges gaps among scientific and technological fields and systematically translates current findings for a wide technical and public audience.

    Written at a level accessible to all, the story is told one bite-sized chapter at a time, about the size of a scientific journal article. The chapters are self-contained, each grappling with a large topic. This provides more in-depth coverage of a topic than a standard encyclopedia article and promotes the widest possible dialog around sustainability issues and their solutions. Case studies from all continents and all technological development levels expound viable solutions for each of the planetary systems: water, soils, and atmosphere. In turn, the wider socioeconomic context of sustainable science and technology is examined.

    One of the first books to address the full scope of sustainability, it sets the stage for discussion and sustainability re(training) across professional divides. The editor and contributors take a balanced approach that is neither too technical nor too focused on any particular field. They highlight global and regional perspectives and the linkages between different planetary and human systems. The book helps you understand the thorny essence of sustainability issues—often fraught with ethical dilemmas, obsolete technologies, and lifestyle implications—and how to develop solutions to them.

    Freshwater Today: Uses and Misuses, Alejandro de las Heras and Thomas Macagno
    Water Bioremediation, Margaret Wexler and Jeremy Burgess
    Water Appropriate Technologies, Marina Islas-Espinoza and Alejandro de las Heras
    Soil, Marina Islas-Espinoza, Jeremy Burgess, and Margaret Wexler
    Land-Use Impacts on Ecosystem Services, Agnieszka Ewa Latawiec and Bernardo B.N. Strassburg
    Conciliating Ecosystem Services and Human Needs through Improved Land Use, Agnieszka Ewa Latawiec and Bernardo B.N. Strassburg
    Sustaining Soils and Mitigating Climate Change Using Biochar, Lewis Peake, Alessia Freddo, and Brian J. Reid
    Energy: Defining the Future, Dolores Durán and Eduardo A. Rincón-Mejía
    Solar Solutions, Iván Martínez-Cienfuegos and Eduardo A. Rincón-Mejía
    Bioenergy Solutions, Marina Islas-Espinoza and Bernd Weber
    Air Pollution and Anthropogenic Climate Change, Alejandro de las Heras
    Airborne Toxic Pollutants, Marina Islas-Espinoza
    Evolution of Human Features Driving Current Unsustainability, Alejandro de las Heras
    Population and Food Sustainability, Alejandro de las Heras
    Consumption and Property, Alejandro de las Heras
    Built Environment, Alejandro de las Heras
    Sustainable Science and Technology, Alejandro de las Heras
    Index

    Biography

    Alejandro De Las Heras

    This is an amazingly readable compilation of chapters covering a wide and accessible range of environmental science and management topics for the reader interested in the details of environmental systems and environmental technology without being overwhelmed …
    —Tim O’Riordan, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK