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This study guide helps students identify the important concepts from the text and then provides them with review exercises, study questions, self-check exercises and vocabulary review.
- Sales Rank: #1077989 in Books
- Published on: 2004-07-08
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 3
- Dimensions: 10.80" h x .90" w x 8.40" l, 1.11 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 304 pages
Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Five Stars
By Amazon Customer
good
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
contrary
By Christine M. Sachau
This book is more than enlightening in describing and explaining in detail how we have impacted and abused our environment and what we can do to counter act some of the damage. The one thing that I find ironic about preserving the "natural way" is that scientists in all of the science type books that I have read, want to stop the natural pro-creation of man, yet clone animals and man Wow! Wierd, isn't it?
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Science of Sustainability Review Parts 1,2 and 3
By WCATY
This review was written by students at the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY) Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) in the class, "The Science of Sustainability." This is SECTION 1 of a critical analysis of Environmental Science, 9th Edition, a textbook by Dr. Daniel D. Chiras. This section of the review focuses on factuality, visual aids in the text, (including diagrams, tables, graphs, and pictures), and controversial ideas.
Overall, the text is accurate and clear. Most facts are up-to-date, including material from 2011. Dr. Chiras used many statistics and examples to clarify and expand upon concepts, creating real-world connections for the reader. Additionally, Environmental Science presents facts about the biosphere and the delicate relationship between humans and the environment.
However, considering that this book is in its 9th edition, the number of factual errors present is surprising. For example, the following passage from the text contains a mistake in basic chemistry:
"Natural gas, for instance, contains a huge amount of energy in a small volume; it's locked up in the simple chemical bonds that attach the carbon atom to the four hydrogen atoms of the methane molecules. When these bonds are broken, the stored chemical energy is released. Light and heat are the products."
When chemical bonds are broken, energy is absorbed, not released. The energy released comes from the combustion of methane with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water ("Energy Changes in Chemical Reactions," Middle School Chemistry). This concept is taught in most introductory chemistry classes and should be correct in the ninth edition of a college textbook.
Other statements are proposed as absolutes, although there are often counterexamples to disprove the absolute. For example, the quotation from the book, "Electric motors are extremely efficient, even when they use electricity generated at coal-fired power plants, they result in a substantial decrease in energy use and pollution," can be countered by noting that electric cars are less optimal than gas vehicles when operating on energy from a very distant coal plant ("How Green Are Electric Cars?" NY Times, 13 Apr. 2012).
Although some statistics are fairly recent, others are outdated. Considering that the book's copyright date is 2013, one would hope that the figures and text would have been updated to at least 2011. However, the following quotation coincides with the population numbers from 2008: "...over half the world's people (3.3 billion people) live and work within 120 miles of the coastline." However, the current world population exceeds 7 billion, not the 6.6 billion implied. To further illustrate this point, Dr. Chiras lists the price of a single compact fluorescent light bulb at $12. However, the current price of these light bulbs ranges from about $1.00 to $3.40 for a common household bulb (Amazon.com, 2012). Likewise, Chiras mentions at one point that domestic supplies of natural gas are on the decline, when in fact, the amount of natural gas the U.S. has in storage has been relatively consistent for several years ("Short-term Energy Outlook, Natural Gas," U.S. Energy Information Administration).
The vast majority of illustrations, tables, and graphs in this book are very well-placed and easy to understand. For example, one figure accurately displays how the concentration of pesticides, namely DDT, dramatically increases towards the top of the food chain. Other illustrations help the reader visualize the effects of climate change, such as a figure that shows the dramatic loss of arctic sea ice since 1979, or an increased number of tornadoes since the late 20th century.
However, there were multiple graphs and data sets that were unclear, under-cited, unnecessary, or downright inaccurate. For example, one graph is meant to document the energy consumption in the United States by fuel type from 1850 to the present, but is misleading. Firstly, it shows that humans started using nuclear power as an energy source in 1900, 45 years before the first nuclear bomb was used. Secondly, the graph shows a spike in natural gas usage in 2003, which supposedly obliterated the use of nuclear, hydropower, and geothermal energy. Obviously, the use of these alternate fuel types continued through 2003, but the graph is faulty.
Another graphic, with two maps of the United States showing acid precipitation in 1955 and 2006, poorly correspond to each other because they have completely different color keys for pH. If the scales were the same, many more inferences could be made about the decrease of the pH of acid precipitation over the last half century, but as is, it is difficult to compare data between the two maps.
One of the most confusing diagrams in the book is a drawing of trucks on a highway. Trucks are shown going both directions; one side shown as moving toward sustainability and one side shown moving away. Along the side of the road, there is a truck stop, and the trucks in it are marked as not moving toward nor away from sustainability. The trucks represent environmental trends, such as renewable energy production, recycling, and particulate emissions. Some of the truck labels are vague, such as, "municipal solid waste consumption per capita." Typically, solid waste is not consumed, but processed and removed from the water in a municipality. Also, the diagram has "cropland erosion" moving toward sustainability, even though cropland erosion is definitely a large problem and 1.73 billion tons are lost annually as of 2007 ("Soil Erosion on Cropland 2007," USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services). In general, it is unclear why certain trucks are moving the direction they are; for example, the truck labeled, "cancer deaths" is shown moving toward sustainability. The diagram does not clarify how cancer deaths have this effect, greatly reducing the quality of the diagram as a supplement to the text.
When discussing controversial environmental issues in the text, Dr. Chiras generally attempts to present both sides of the argument. However, sometimes he fails to represent both sides fairly and completely. Likewise, some arguments are presented as well-accepted theories, when in actuality, they may be "fringe" opinions that are supported by a single or very few other professionals.
For example, Chiras presents the idea that the human forebrain and manual dexterity allowed the progress that instigated the environment crisis. Although the logic in this idea can be found, it is a far-reaching concept that has only been addressed by a handful of authors. One of these includes Lynn White's publication, "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis." In this article, there is a single sentence that refers to "a functional unity of brain and hand." After an extensive search using publicly available internet sites, it was found that other than White's citation, there is little evidence that the general science population concurs with Dr. Chiras' assertion.
To illustrate another questionable piece of evidence used in Environmental Science, Chiras displays a flowchart, also showing several of the supposed root causes of the environmental crisis. In the chart, he includes democracy and the spread of wealth. The article, "Environmental Problems in the 21st Century," by Sr. Little Flower of Assumption University, states: "Other scholars believe that the spread of democracy, which put landowner ship [sic] and wealth in the hands of many, and the industrial revolution, which made mass production of goods possible and spread wealth throughout society, are roots of the environmental crisis." Although the article has several citations, Flower cites Chiras' 1998 version of Environmental Science. Little other information is available to support Chiras' argument.
Occasionally, Dr. Chiras includes obscure terms that are rarely used by the general science population. For example, he uses the phrase `infra-infrastructure,' which refers to biological infrastructure, or the Earth's natural systems. Another term, `biological imperialism,' describes the expansionist tendency of certain organisms. These terms are well defined within the text, but after searching other sources, we discovered that these terms are seldom used otherwise.
It is worth noting that in 2005 the Texas Board of Education decided not to use Environmental Science due to "factual errors." Dr. Chiras adjusted his book to try and meet these standards, but the book was not accepted due to opposition from two conservative lobbying groups that claimed his text was "anti-free enterprise, anti-Christian, and anti-American." This textbook is still not used in high schools in the state of Texas ("Texas discredits textbook," Columbia Missourian, 25 Aug. 2005).
Also noteworthy, Dr. Chiras quotes or cites his own work at least eight times in the book. It is generally considered more scientifically acceptable to cite the work of others to back up assertions made. Dr. Chiras fails to do this several times, giving the reader some uncertainty and skepticism about the information.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Dr. Chiras' writing inspires critical thinking about our world and our place in the biosphere. The text introduces different ideas from those which are commonly held and instigated engaging discussions between readers. By learning the supposed root causes of the environmental crisis and the current practices that are detrimental to the environment, readers will get a better idea about how they can influence the world in a positive way. While Environmental Science, 9th Edition could use some additional editing, it is a helpful learning tool for fundamental information about the Earth and sustainability.
This review was written by students at the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY) Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) in the class, "The Science of Sustainability." This is SECTION 2 of a critical analysis of Environmental Science, Ninth Edition, a textbook written by Dr. Daniel D. Chiras. This section will cover the Point/Counterpoints, Key Terms, Key Concepts, Organization, and the Website.
Key Concepts
Overall, the key concepts are quite helpful for the reader. They are located after each subsection of a chapter. The key concepts are simply a summary of each subsection. They are in place to keep the process of learning the material as easy as possible so that the reader spends more time learning than fighting the text to learn. These little pieces of text are direct and to the point to prevent confusion in the reader. Some of the concepts of environmental science are very hard to understand; that is a given. But, these small pieces of text summarize and help to breakdown the information into a manageable form. They also explain the meaning of some key terms and include other pieces of information that are not included in the subsections.
There are a few slight problems with these small captions, also. For example, when we went on the textbook's site, we learned that the key concepts were not included. There were small summaries in the chapter outline that acted as weak replacements for the key concepts. They were nowhere near as helpful as the key concept sections in the hard copy. This makes it hard for people using the online version to understand and learn the material. Additionally, the information included in the text and the key concept captions are all based off of Chiras' views, except for a small number of articles in the text that were written by others. This causes the problem of an undiversified text. However, we was impressed with the key concepts' ability to help the reader understand and learn the special concepts and terms involved with environmental science.
Point/ Counterpoint:
These additions to the book are very helpful in expanding the learning process from what is given in the book. They contain two opinionated articles about a topic; a point and a counterpoint written by experts in the field. The format is only a presentation of facts from both sides of the fence, rather than a debate. As you read through the text, you'll stumble upon these articles. They can really help to explain concepts presented in the book. For example, in chapter 15, beginning on page 341, there is a positive article on the idea of hydrogen being our key substance for a renewable energy future. A highly experienced research engineer wrote this article. His opinion was clear, all the facts were given, and he made a powerful point. On the other hand, the other expert's article was written just as well.
But, like the key concepts, there are a few problems that we would like to point out. All of these articles are opinionated, so controversial facts will arise. Also, Dr. Chiras includes a counterpoint written by himself. The main problem is that he adds his opinion in a manner that directly counters the opposing point whereas all of the other point/counterpoint articles are written without knowledge of the other argument. Since Dr. Chiras wrote the counterpoint, it was clear that he was at a huge advantage in persuading the readers to take his side.
In addition to the text, the online access provides additional information on the point/counterpoint, although there are some flaws. For example, in the text there are twelve point/counterpoints, but in the website there are only ten. Also, in one chapter, four point/counterpoint links can be found, all of which add even more additional information in favor of the point. In another spot, the website provides two additional websites, neither containing information in the support of either the point or counterpoint. On the web, other point/counterpoints sometimes contain links to websites that no longer exist. Even with all of these drawbacks to the website point/counterpoints, I still believe they are very helpful in expanding the learner's view on scientific views and concepts.
Key terms:
Key terms are also an important part of this text. Dr. Chiras picks very relevant terms that are essential for understanding the chapter. The only problem regarding the key terms is that not all of them can be found in the glossary. On average, fewer than 50% of the key terms in a chapter are in the glossary. When the terms are not in the glossary, you can usually find them in the chapter. But, like every rule, there are exceptions. As an example, we will use the term "Natural Capital." First seen in Chapter 10's key terms, but the term is not in the glossary. There is an example in the chapter, but it is not clearly defined. In Chapter 25, "Natural Capital" is again a key term. This time it is clearly defined in the chapter, yet it would have been more beneficial to the reader to have a definition the first time it appeared as a key term.
There is also an interactive glossary on the website. It consists of a list of words (about 40% of the words in the chapter) that display the definition. It would be nice if all of the key terms were defined in the interactive glossary, but the content it does have is very useful and informative.
Organization:
Dr. Chiras does a very good job of organizing the text. He uses a spiral format, introducing a concept then coming back to it again later in the text. At the beginning of the book there is a preface, which describes themes, special features, and ancillaries. It also breaks the whole textbook into six parts. The parts are about four to five chapters long. Each individual chapter is broken down into many sections and subsections. Each section and subsection is headed by a title that is very relevant to the content of the section. All of the pictures, graphs, key concepts, etc. are very well placed. You can find relevant quotes at the beginning and end of each chapter. The key concepts are at the end of almost all of the sections and subsections. Pictures are always located next to the text that refers to them. At the front of each chapter is a chapter outline, which is very useful because it gives you an idea of upcoming concepts. Overall, Dr. Chiras does an excellent job of organizing this textbook.
Website:
There are many things on the website. Some are beneficial, while others are not. In addition to the interactive glossary and the point/counterpoint links, the website "extras" include crossword puzzles, interactive flashcards, chapter outlines, study quizzes, "Individual Actions Count", and "Links to your Region".
The crossword puzzles are very useful. Each chapter has more than one crossword puzzle, each puzzle from the chapter consisting of a slightly different word list. This gives a good review on the key terms and concepts of each chapter. As I did a crossword puzzle on the website I noticed that while it was a great study tool it was also a bit frustrating. I also realized that some of the correct answers for the crossword puzzles are missing letters. For example, in the chapter 3 crossword, the answer states "crisis of sustainab." This is definitely an error in the puzzle. But, using the clues, it is not hard to figure it out that it was supposed to state, "crisis of sustainability." These errors are scattered throughout the web crosswords, but they are easy to work out.
The interactive flashcards are very basic. The definition of an unknown key term is shown and above it there is a space to type in your answer. After you type in your answer it will let you compare your answer to the correct term. This is nice because even if you spell it wrong or make it plural when its not supposed to be it will not be "marked" wrong because all the computer does is put them next to each other so you can compare them. The one problem is that only the key terms in the interactive glossary are on the interactive flashcards.
The chapter outlines are very helpful when reading the chapter. They have each section and subsection listed along with the main ideas, usually based off of the key concepts. It would be a great start to a study guide although extra notes will probably be needed.
The study quizzes are also very valuable. Not only are they a good way for a student to prepare for a test individually, but they can also be used as an assignment and be sent to the course instructor for grading. Sadly, you have to complete the whole quiz before it can be graded. It would have been nice if you could just complete what you had time for then check it, but it is still an excellent study tool.
The section "Individual Actions Count" can definitely be used to enrich the text. When you click on a link under this section, a word document opens up. The document tells you a website to go to and questions that can be answered by looking on this website. Most answers are easy to find, although some referred more to the text book than the web site. And, like all worksheets, there were some questions that were phrased a little confusingly.
The "Links to Your Region" are interesting. When you first click on this section a map of the United States and Canada appears. You click on the region you want to learn more about and a list of websites comes up. There is one link for each state and one link for the EPA region. The state link usually consists of a health or environment group / board / agency's home page. These are full of interesting information.
Over all, the website is beneficial and, while at times it can be frustrating, in the end it is worth the extra money.
In conclusion, these parts of Dr. Chiras' textbook and the extras he provides are very beneficial and, mostly, well done. After review of these parts of the text, we can say that this book was written well enough to be a positive learning tool in the study of environmental science and sustainability.
This review was written by students at the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY) Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) in the class, "The Science of Sustainability." This is SECTION 3 of a critical analysis of Environmental Science, 9th Edition, a textbook by Dr. Daniel D. Chiras. This section of the review focuses on spotlights on sustainable development, go green, critical thinking, and test bank questions.
1. Spotlight on Sustainable Development:
In the preface, the author introduces the spotlights as case studies demonstrating how some cities, towns and businesses are going green and developing sustainably. We analyzed all of the spotlights. In general, the spotlights are beneficial to the readers because they give good ideas for change and are very informative. The information is useful here because it could be hard to find otherwise.
Another interesting thing about the spotlights is the fact that, out of thirty-four of them, a full twenty-seven have no citation. Four are actually attributed to Dan Chiras himself, and one is credited to Dr. Chiras and Dave Wann. Only two have citations to other people.
The spotlights often do not take convenience and comfort into account. For example, the spotlights about cohousing and community cars don't mention things like how cohousing isn't very transport- friendly or how community cars would mean that the cars would have to be on a schedule.
There was a great variety in the length of the spotlights, ranging from a paragraph to over two pages. Some of them were so long that they had their own sections. We all had different opinions about the spotlights. Some of us found them helpful and interesting, while others saw them only as a distraction.
2. Go Green:
The Go Green sections are fascinating because they are helpful and comprehensible. Most are general tips and can be used almost anywhere. For example, a tip in Chapter 13 is "Water lawns and gardens conservatively-- for instance, during the coolest part of the day." This tip is good because it relates to the many people in the United States and elsewhere who own household plants, lawns, or gardens. However, some Go Green tips are impractical. An example of that would be the following Go Green tip, Rather than giving gifts to friends and loved ones, consider giving a little of yourself-- for example, cooking a dinner for friends or loved ones, or taking them on a hike in a nearby park, or even volunteering to help them clean their apartment or home," is impractical. Sometimes all somebody wants is a small material present that will last them for a lifetime. So it is often impractical to try doing other things for your loved ones that could be living in a country far away.
Several of us did not like the tips since they were pretty short and had only basic information. Some of us like the tips because of the fact that we thought that they were useful if you wanted to have a basic understanding of ways to live sustainably. For example, the Go Green tip "Never dump oil down a sewer--ever! Change oil through companies that recycle or reuse oils" is a very basic explanation of how to deal with oil, but it ties into a larger concept of sustainable oil consumption and recycling that go into sustainability. We fact checked Dr. Chiras' Go Green tips to assess whether his tips were consistent with the ideas of other major sustainable organizations. One organization, Worldwatch Institute ([...]), had their own list of Go Green tips that are very similar to Dr. Chiras' Go Green tips.
3. Critical Thinking:
The Critical Thinking passages include both positives and negatives. They're helpful for developing readers' thought processes, and they bring up ideas discussed in the chapter. In one critical thinking exercise , the author suggested considering this statement: "All consumption patterns can be made sustainable simply through conservation." Since this chapter was related to strategies for sustainability, contents from the chapter are helpful to foster critical thinking skills about sustainability. It is important to note that Chiras' analysis of each exercise (written to teach readers what to think about in each issue) are sometimes very opinionated, as opposed to simply giving facts and bringing up considerations about the question. For example, another critical thinking exercise is about technology and whether or not humans are superior to other living things. In his analysis of the exercise, he says that the questions are personal and he will not tell people what to think. However, he has already made his feelings clear in the chapter. He is also critical of values and how parents can lecture them into people, without considering that his entire book is a bit of a lecture. He also implies that there is only one correct answer, though he will not tell, by saying, "It may take a long time to come to the truth." Lastly, it seems like Dr.Chiras is constantly trying to change how people think, but overall, these sections are good and improve thinking skills.
4. Test Bank Questions:
The test bank questions are a part of the teacher's book's content and provide problems related to the textbook. The test bank questions are often too detailed to have a good answer. Even though answers are found in the text, they are not appropriate for test questions. Some test bank questions were too detailed; for example, "The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) was created by the: United Nations," which is not an important part of the chapter.
In addition, some test bank questions are written in a somewhat confusing way. For example, one of the test bank questions for chapter three is, "Phytoplankton in ancient seas is found in chemicals of which of the following modern products?" The answer is plastic, but the question is not written clearly, with a lot of unnecessary phrases. In another one of the test bank questions for chapter three, Dr. Chiras says that denial is one of the reasons for the environmental crisis. But this cannot really be proven.
However, there are several good things about the test bank questions. First, they cover all the topics in the chapters and nothing is left out. Second, there are three different kinds of questions: true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple choice, which gives the teachers a lot of options for their test.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these sections of the book are quite informative and are a great way to create a good foundation in sustainability. However, when we were thinking about analyzing the book, we found many things that we thought were flawed and made the book seem less professional. We would recommend that others start out by researching about this book before purchasing it to familiarize themselves with the writing style of Dr. Chiras.
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