Geography 630E

Graduate Seminar: Human Impact on the Environment

Reading Material

1. Ozone depletion

• (Required) Twenty Questions and Answers About the Ozone Layer (pdf file)
• (Optional) Executive Summary of the SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF OZONE DEPLETION: 2002 (pdf file)
• (Optional) The Antarctic Ozone Hole by Richard Stolarski, Scientific American, Vol 258, 1, 1988.
• (Optional) Measured trends in stratospheric ozone by Richard Stolarski and R. Bojkov, Science, Vol. 256 Issue 5055, April 17, 1992.

2. Climate change

• (Required) The Changing Climate by Stephen Schneider, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sept. 1989.
• (Optional) Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. (Technical Summary of the Report by the International Panel on Climate Change) (pdf file)
• (Optional) The Rising Seas by David Schneider, Scientific American, Vol. 276 Issue 3, Mar. 1997.
• (Optional) Is Global Warming Harmful to Health by Paul Epstein, Scientific American, Vol. 282 Issue 2, Aug. 2000.
• (Optional) The Coming Climate by Karl, Nicholls and Gregory, Scientific American, Vol. 276 Issue 5, May 1997.
• (Optional) The Human Impact on Climate by Karl and Trenberth, Scientific American, Vol. 281 Issue 6, Dec. 1999.

• Articles regarding the controversy over Global Warming:

The scientists’ analysis of Lomborg’s book is actually divided into 5 Scientific American articles as listed below. Each is only a couple of pages.

• (Required) MISLEADING MATH about the EARTH By: Rennie, John. Scientific American, Jan 2002, Vol. 286 Issue 1, p61, 1p, 1c; (AN 5638884)
• (Required) GLOBAL WARMING: NEGLECTING THE COMPLEXITIES By: Schneider, Stephen. Scientific American, Jan 2002, Vol. 286 Issue 1, p62, 4p, 2c; (AN 5638886)
• (Required) ENERGY: ASKING THE WRONG QUESTION By: Holdren, John P.. Scientific American, Jan 2002, Vol. 286 Issue 1, p65, 3p; (AN 5638889)
• (Required) POPULATION: IGNORING ITS IMPACT By: Bongaarts, John. Scientific American, Jan 2002, Vol. 286 Issue 1, p67, 3p, 1c; (AN 5638891)
• (Required) BIODIVERSITY: DISMISSING SCIENTIFIC PROCESS. By: Lovejoy, Thomas. Scientific American, Jan 2002, Vol. 286 Issue 1, p69, 3p, 2c; (AN 5638896)
• (Required) The Skeptical Environmentalist Replies Scientific American, May 2002, Vol. 286 Issue 5, p14, 2p; (AN 6445328)
• (Required) Lomborg's thoughts on Global Warming (.pdf file)
• (Required) The Observer - Report on Pentagon Article (also look at links at the bottom of this page)
• (Optional) Text of Kyoto Protocol (.pdf file)
• (Required) Pentagon Report: An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security, By Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall, October 2003. (.pdf file)

3. Energy Use

• (Required) Strategies for Energy Use by Gibbons, Blair, Gwin, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sept. 1989.
• Energy Consumption (A Report by the Department of Energy.) (pdf file)
• Environmental Issues and World Energy Use (A report by the Department of Energy.) (pdf file)
• Energy for the Developing World by Reddy, Goldemberg, Scientific American, Vol. 263 Issue 3, Sept. 1990.
• Energy for Motor Vehicles by Bleviss and Walzer, Scientific American, Vol. 263 Issue 3, Sept. 1990.
• Efficient Use of Electricity by Fickett, Gellings, Lovins, Scientific American, Vol. 263 Issue 3, Sept. 1990.

4. Air Pollution

• (Required) The Changing Atmosphere by T. Graedel and Paul Crutzen, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sept. 1989.
• Atmospheric Dust and Acid Rain by Hedin and Likens, Scientific American; Vol. 275 Issue 6, Dec. 1996.
• Clearing the Air in Los Angeles by Lents and Kelly, Scientific American, Vol. 269 Issue 4, Oct. 1993.
• Automobile Emissions: An Overview U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Report, EPA 400-F-92-007. Fact Sheet OMS-5, Aug. 1994. (pdf file)
• Environmental Protection Agency Report 1980-1999. Executive Summary of Assessment of the Nation’s Air Quality. (pdf file)
• Automobile Fuel Economy Guide. by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004. (pdf file)

5. Biodiversity

• (Required) Threats to Biodiversity by Edward Wilson, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sept. 1989.
• On the Termination of Species by W. Gibbs, Scientific American, Vol. 285 Issue 5, Nov. 2001.

6. Sustainable Agriculture

• (Required) Strategies for Agriculture by Crosson and Rosenberg, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sep. 1989.
• Agriculture for Developing Nations by Bray, Scientific American, Vol. 271 Issue 1, July 1994.
• Growing More Food With Less Water by S. Postel, Scientific American, Vol. 284 Issue 2, Feb. 2001.
• Global Population and the Nitrogen Cycle by Vaclav Smil, Scientific American, Vol. 277 Issue 1, Jul. 1997.

7. Water Pollution

Oiled gannet from oil spill in Malipica, Spain Trash on beach in Cyprus

• (Required) Threats to the World's Water by Maurits la Rivière, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sep. 1989.
• Have Virus, Will Travel Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 107 Issue 7, Jul. 1999.
• Using Today's Science to Plan for Tomorrow's Water Policies by Hirsch, Robert M.; Miller, Timothy L.; Hamilton, Pixie A., Environment, Vol. 43 Issue 1, Jan/Feb. 2001.
• Clean Water Act (link to EPA site)

8. Population Explosion

• (Required) The Growing Human Population by Keyfitz, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sept. 1989.
• Can Growing Population Feed Itself? by Bongaarts, Scientific American, Vol. 270 Issue 3, Mar. 1994.
• The Fertility Decline in Developing Countries by Robey, Rutstein and Morris, Scientific American, Vol. 269 Issue 6, Dec. 1993.
• Population, Poverty and the Local Environment by Dasgupta, Scientific American, Vol. 272 Issue 2, Feb. 1995.
• The Unmet Need for Family Planning by Malcolm Potts, Scientific American, Vol. 282 Issue 1, Jan. 2000.
• World Bank Birth and Death Rates (pdf file)
• World Bank Growing Population (pdf file)
• World Bank Life Expectancy (pdf file)

9. Toxic Waste/Waste Disposal

10. Deforestation

• Can Sustainable Management Save Tropical Forests? by Rice, Gullison and Reid, Scientific American, Vol. 276 Issue 4, Apr. 1997.
• Deforestation in the Tropics by Robert Repetto, Scientific American, Vol. 262 Issue 4, Apr. 1990.
• Global Forest Cover by Rodger Doyle, Scientific American, Vol. 275 Issue 5, Nov. 1996.

Soy plantation cleared from Amazon tropical forest

11. Recycling

• Strategies for Manufacturing by Frosch and Gallopoulos, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sept. 1989.

12. Managing the Planet

• (Required) Managing Planet Earth by William C. Clark, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sept. 1989.
• Toward a Sustainable World by W. D. Ruckelshaus, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sept. 1989.
• Strategies for Sustainable Economic Development by J. MacNeill, Scientific American, Vol. 261 Issue 3, Sept. 1989.
• Global Change and Our Common Future (pdf file) In the keynote address to the Forum on Global Change and Our Common Future, Gro Harlem Brundtland, the prime minister of Norway, discusses the implications of environmental issues for international public policy, focusing on global change in particular.