Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 6th edition

Jay H Withgott
Matthew Laposata Kennesaw State University

eTextbook

$44.99

Anytime, anywhere learning with the Pearson+ app
Easy-to-use search, navigation and notebook
Simpler studying with flashcards

Print

$138.66

Hardcover, paperback or looseleaf edition
Affordable rental option for select titles
Free shipping on looseleafs and traditional textbooks

About the Book

Updated! Integrated Central Case Studies begin and are woven throughout each chapter, highlighting the real people, real places, and real data behind environmental issues. Revised throughout and updated with current stories, the Central Case Studies draw students in, providing a contextual framework to make science memorable and engaging. New topics include:

Chapter 9: Farm to Table–And Back Again: The Commons at Kennesaw State University
Chapter 10: Can Organic Farming and GMOs Coexist?
Chapter 15: Conserving Every Drop in California
Chapter 18: From the Maldives to Miami, Rising Seas Take a Toll
Chapter 22: A Mania for Recycling on Campus

Updated! Science behind the Story essays provide a current and fascinating selection of examples of real research that delves into environmental issues. Each essay highlights how scientists develop hypotheses, test predictions, and analyze and interpret data. These fascinating profiles of current research help students understand “how we know what we know” about environmental issues. New topics include:

Chapter 2: Are the Earthquakes Rattling Oklahoma Caused by Human Activity?
Chapter 10: What Are the Impacts of GM Crops?
Chapter 11: Can Forensic DNA Analysis Help Save Elephants?
Chapter 15: Are We Destined for a Future of “Megadroughts” in the United States?
Chapter 23: Can Acid Mine Drainage Reduce Fracking’s Environmental Impact?

NEW! “Closing the Loop” features bring Central Case Studies full circle by revisiting the Case Study from the start of the chapter at the end of every chapter. This new feature will encourage students to think critically about the issue laid out within the chapter and summarize the relationship between concepts in the chapter and the case study itself.
NEW! Case Study Connection questions at the end of every chapter will allow instructors to assign questions specific to the case study example that prompt students to think about both the problems and solutions to the environmental issue explored in the chapter.
Weighing the Issues questions encourage students to develop critical-thinking skills, grapple with ethical questions, and apply what they have learned as they go through each chapter.
Calculating Ecological Footprint activities at the end of every chapter allow students to quantify the environmental impact of their own actions, then scale these impacts up to the societal level.
Campus Sustainability coverage in the final chapter shows how students are helping to forge sustainable solutions on campuses across North America.
FAQs examine common misconceptions students often hold about environmental issues.
Expanded! Data Qs are data analysis questions paired with figures in each chapter that help students develop their scientific literacy skills.
NEW! A new overview in Chapter 1 examines how and why scientists use different types of graphs to convey scientific information. This content, formerly only discussed in the appendix, now helps students prepare to readily use data literacy skills throughout the course.
NEW! Reviewing Objectives sections at the end of each chapter align with chapter-opening learning objectives and provide new visual cues to help make review more accessible to students.
NEW! A new chapter opener design will more readily engage students in the contents of the course and help students to better visualize the global nature of environmental issues with a new approach to each map.
Additional content updates include the latest on the fracking debate, changes to China’s one child policy, the drought in the western United States, the latest coverage global climate policy including the Paris Agreement, sea level rise in Florida, and more.

Also available with Mastering Environmental Science

Mastering^™ Environmental Science is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment system designed to improve results by helping students quickly master concepts. Students benefit from self-paced tutorials that feature personalized wrong-answer feedback and hints that emulate the office-hour experience and help keep students on track. With a wide range of interactive, engaging, and assignable activities, students are encouraged to actively learn and retain tough course concepts.

NEW! Case Study Tours use Google Earth™ and striking images delivered in a 2 to 3 minute, highly engaging video to bring each chapter opening case study to life. Over 20 video tours encourage students to immerse themselves in the theme of the chapter and allow instructors to assign the experience through Mastering Environmental Science.
NEW! GraphIt activities are designed to help students read, interpret and create graphs that explore real environmental issues and real data. All 10 interactive activities explore current topics such as ocean acidification, nutrient cycling, freshwater availability, the carbon footprint of the average American diet, and more and are mobile-friendly, and assignable in Mastering.
NEW! Everyday Environmental Science video activities connect environmental science course topics with current stories in the news. Produced by the BBC, these high-quality videos can be assigned for pre- and post-lecture homework, or can be shown in class to engage students in the topic at hand.
NEW and EXPANDED! Interpreting Graphs and Data activities and Process of Science activities help students practice quantitative literacy and scientific reasoning skills. Students learn to analyze data, develop a hypothesis or make a prediction. Each activity includes personalized feedback for wrong answers.
Process of Science coaching activities help students think critically about environmental research presented in in-text Science Behind the Stories. There are fifteen Process of Science activities that will help students think like a scientist and understand basic experimental design skills.
“First Impression” quizzes offered as Mastering quiz questions or through Learning Catalytics, help instructors assess student understanding of environmental issues and key concepts from the very first day of class.
Concept Check and Vocabulary Review coaching activities developed by coauthor Matt Laposata help students practice key foundational concepts and allow instructors to assign them to ensure students come to class prepared. Personalized wrong-answer feedback helps students identify their misunderstandings and succeed in the course.
Video Field Trip activities give students fascinating behind-the-scenes tours of real environmental concerns and the strategies and solutions employed to address them. These popular, short videos engage students as they explore a coal-fired power plant, a wastewater treatment facility, a wind farm, and more. New video field trip activities discuss bee colony collapse and take students on a tour of a water desalination plant.
Learning Catalytics^™ helps you generate class discussion, guide your lecture, and promote peer-to-peer learning with real-time analytics. Mastering with eText now provides Learning Catalytics—an interactive student response tool that uses students’ smartphones, tablets, or laptops to engage them in more sophisticated tasks and thinking. There are three new Learning Catalytics questions per chapter, designed to address common student misconceptions. Instructors, you can:

NEW! Upload a full PowerPoint^® deck for easy creation of slide questions
NEW! Team names are no longer case sensitive
Pose a variety of open-ended questions that help your students develop critical thinking skills
Monitor responses to find out where students are struggling
Use real-time data to adjust your instructional strategy and try other ways of engaging your students during class
Manage student interactions by automatically grouping students for discussion, teamwork, and peer-to-peer learning

Current Events Articles are assignable and updated twice a year with new articles that help instructors integrate current environmental topics into their course. Articles come from respected news source including New York Times, Science Daily and more.
Dynamic Study Modules (DSMs) help students study effectively on their own by continuously assessing their activity and performance in real time. Here's how it works: students complete a set of questions with a unique answer format that also asks them to indicate their confidence level. Questions repeat until the student can answer them all correctly and confidently. Once completed, Dynamic Study Modules explain the concept using materials from the text. These are available as graded assignments prior to class, and accessible on smartphones, tablets, and computers. Instructors can now remove questions from Dynamic Study Modules to better fit their course.

About the Book

Updated Integrated Central Case Studies begin and are woven throughout each chapter, highlighting the real people, real places, and real data behind environmental issues. Revised throughout and updated with current stories, the Central Case Studies draw students in, providing a contextual framework to make science memorable and engaging. New topics include:

Chapter 9: Farm to Table–And Back Again: The Commons at Kennesaw State University
Chapter 10: Can Organic Farming and GMOs Coexist?
Chapter 15: Conserving Every Drop in California
Chapter 18: From the Maldives to Miami, Rising Seas Take a Toll
Chapter 22: A Mania for Recycling on Campus

Updated Science behind the Story essays provide a current and fascinating selection of examples of real research that delves into environmental issues. Each essay highlights how scientists develop hypotheses, test predictions, and analyze and interpret data. These fascinating profiles of current research help students understand “how we know what we know” about environmental issues. New topics include:

Chapter 2: Are the Earthquakes Rattling Oklahoma Caused by Human Activity?
Chapter 10: What Are the Impacts of GM Crops?
Chapter 11: Can Forensic DNA Analysis Help Save Elephants?
Chapter 15: Are We Destined for a Future of “Megadroughts” in the United States?
Chapter 23: Can Acid Mine Drainage Reduce Fracking’s Environmental Impact?

“Closing the Loop” features bring Central Case Studies full circle by revisiting the Case Study from the start of the chapter at the end of every chapter. This new feature will encourage students to think critically about the issue laid out within the chapter and summarize the relationship between concepts in the chapter and the case study itself.
Case Study Connection questions at the end of every chapter will allow instructors to assign questions specific to the case study example that prompt students to think about both the problems and solutions to the environmental issue explored in the chapter.
A new overview in Chapter 1 examines how and why scientists use different types of graphs to convey scientific information.
Reviewing Objectives sections at the end of each chapter align with chapter-opening learning objectives and provide new visual cues to help make review more accessible to students.
A new chapter opener design will more readily engage students in the contents of the course and help students to better visualize the global nature of environmental issues with a new approach to each map.
Expanded Data Qs are data analysis questions paired with figures in each chapter that help students develop their scientific literacy skills.
Additional content updates include the latest on the fracking debate, changes to China’s one child policy, the drought in the western United States, the latest coverage global climate policy including the Paris Agreement, sea level rise in Florida, and more.

Also available with Mastering Environmental Science

Case Study Tours use Google Earth and striking images delivered in a 2 to 3 minute, highly engaging video to bring each chapter opening case study to life. Over 20 video tours encourage students to immerse themselves in the theme of the chapter and allow instructors to assign the experience through Mastering Environmental Science.
GraphIt activities are designed to help students read, interpret and create graphs that explore real environmental issues and real data. All 10 interactive activities explore current topics such as ocean acidification, nutrient cycling, freshwater availability, the carbon footprint of the average American diet, and more and are mobile-friendly, and assignable in Mastering.
Everyday Environmental Science video activities connect environmental science course topics with current stories in the news. Produced by the BBC, these high-quality videos can be assigned for pre- and post-lecture homework, or can be shown in class to engage students in the topic at hand.
Interpreting Graphs and Data activities and Process of Science activities help students practice quantitative literacy and scientific reasoning skills. Students learn to analyze data, develop a hypothesis or make a prediction. Each activity includes personalized feedback for wrong answers.

Also new to Mastering Environmental Science:

Dynamic Study Module

Instructors can now remove questions from Dynamic Study Modules to better fit their course

Learning Catalytics updates include:

Upload a full PowerPoint^® deck for easy creation of slide questions
Team names are no longer case sensitive

eText 2.0 now offers a mobile optimized eText, includes features such as note-taking, highlighting, bookmarking, and search in an entirely accessible (screen-reader ready) format.The etext 2.0 offers offline access on iOS or Android phones and tablets through the etext 2.0 mobile app.

1. Science and Sustainability

Our Island, Earth

The Nature of Environmental Science

The Nature of Science

Sustainability and Our Future

2. Earth’s Physical Systems

Matter, Chemistry, and the Environment

Energy: An Introduction

Geology: The Physical Basis for Environmental Science

Geologic and Natural Hazards

3. Evolution, Biodiversity, and Population Ecology

Evolution: The Source of Earth’s Biodiversity

Ecology and the Organism

Population Ecology

Conserving Biodiversity

4. Species Interactions and Community Ecology

Species Interactions

Ecological Communities

Earth’s Biomes

5. Environmental Systems and Ecosystem Ecology

Earth’s Environmental Systems

Ecosystems

Biogeochemical Cycles

6. Ethics, Economics, and Sustainable Development

Culture, Worldview, and the Environment

Environmental Ethics

Economics and the Environment

Sustainable Development

7. Environmental Policy

Environmental Policy: An Overview

U.S. Environmental Law and Policy

International Environmental Policy

Approaches to Environmental Policy

8. Human Population

Our World at Seven Billion

Demography

Population and Society

9. The Underpinnings of Agriculture

The Changing Face of Agriculture

Soil: A Foundation of Agriculture

Water for Agriculture

Nutrients for Plants

Pollination

Conserving Agricultural Resources

10. Making Agriculture Sustainable

The Race to Feed the World

Raising Animals for Food

Preserving Crop Diversity and Pollinators

Controlling Pests and Weeds

Genetically Modified Food

Organic Agriculture

Sustainable Food Production

11. Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

Life’s Diversity on Earth

Benefits of Biodiversity

Biodiversity Loss and Extinction

Conservation Biology: The Search for Solutions

12. Forests, Forest Management, and Protected Areas

Forest Ecosystems and Forest Resources

Forest Loss

Forest Management

Parks and Protected Areas

13. The Urban Environment

Our Urbanizing World

Sprawl

Creating Livable Cities

Urban Sustainability

14. Environmental Health and Toxicology

Environmental Health

Toxic Substances and Their Effects on Organisms

Toxic Substances and Their Effects on Ecosystems

Studying Effects of Hazards

Risk Assessment and Risk Management

Philosophical and Policy Approaches

15. Freshwater Systems and Resources

Freshwater Systems

Solutions to Depletion of Fresh Water

Freshwater Pollution and Its Control

16. Marine and Coastal Systems and Resources

The Oceans

Marine and Coastal Ecosystems

Marine Pollution

Emptying the Oceans

Marine Conservation

17. Atmospheric Science, Air Quality, and Pollution Control

The Atmosphere

Outdoor Air Quality

Ozone Depletion and Recovery

Addressing Acid Deposition

Indoor Air Quality

18. Global Climate Change

Our Dynamic Climate

Studying Climate Change

Current and Future Trends and Impacts

Responding to Climate Change

19. Fossil Fuels

Sources of Energy

Fossil Fuels: Their Formation, Extraction, and Use

Reaching Further for Fossil Fuels

Addressing Impacts of Fossil Fuel Use

Energy Efficiency and Conservation

20. Conventional Energy Alternatives

Alternatives to Fossil Fuels

Nuclear Power

Bioenergy

Hydroelectric Power

21. New Renewable Energy Alternatives

“New” Renewable Energy Sources

Solar Energy

Wind Power

Geothermal Energy

Ocean Energy Sources

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells

22. Managing Our Waste

Approaches to Waste Management

Municipal Solid Waste

Industrial Solid Waste

Hazardous Waste

23. Minerals and Mining

Earth’s Mineral Resources

Mining Methods and Their Impacts

Toward Sustainable Mineral Use

24. Sustainable Solutions

Sustainability on Campus

Strategies for Sustainability

Precious Time

Jay Withgott is the primary author and has been with the book since the first edition. He is a seasoned science writer.

Matt Laposata teaches at Kennesaw State University, where over 4000 undergraduates take the Introduction to Environmental Science course each year. Matt brings a fresh, teaching¿-based perspective to the book thanks to his classroom experience. Matt’s research interests are in science education and he has been a part of several NSF-funded projects specifically aimed at improving environmental science education.

Need help? Get in touch

Pearson+
All in one place. Pearson+ offers instant access to eTextbooks, videos and study tools in one intuitive interface. Students choose how they learn best with enhanced search, audio and flashcards. The Pearson+ app lets them read where life takes them, no wi-fi needed. Students can access Pearson+ through a subscription or their MyLab or Mastering course.

Privacy and cookies

By watching, you agree Pearson can share your viewership data for marketing and analytics for one year, revocable by deleting your cookies.

Video transcript (PDF | 16KB)

Pearson eTextbook: What’s on the inside just might surprise you

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. It’s the same with your students. Meet each one right where they are with an engaging, interactive, personalized learning experience that goes beyond the textbook to fit any schedule, any budget, and any lifestyle.

Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 6th edition

eTextbook

Print

Pearson+

Pearson eTextbook: What’s on the inside just might surprise you

Digital Learning NOW

Explore

Products & Services

Support

Extend Your Learning

About us