Chemistry of the Environment (2nd Edition)
- Book Review,
by Thomas G. Spiro, William M. Stigliani
From Book News, Inc.
New edition of a text that tells the environmental story in chemical language, addressing the flows of chemicals and energy through nature and the industrial civilization of our time. The five chapters cover topics such as energy flows, supplies, fossil fuel, nuclear and renewable energy, and energy utilization; the greenhouse effect; climate modeling; chemistry of the ozone layer; air pollution; redox potential and water pollution; toxic chemicals; and acid rain. Suitable for a one or two term course for students who have taken or are taking general chemistry.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
The publisher, Prentice-Hall Engineering/Science/Mathematics
This text helps students to see that their knowledge of basic chemistry can be used to understand the nature of the Earth and the impacts that humans are having upon it. Spiro and Stigliani identify major environmental issues in the areas of energy, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere, then analyze the chemical basis of those issues. The text is compact, yet comprehensive, connecting (1) basic chemical understanding to environmental issues and (2) the links between socio-economic indicators and impacts on the environment. Incorporating the newest developments in environmental science, Chemistry of the Environment is the most up-to-date and thorough analysis of Environmental Chemistry.
From the Back Cover
Concise, comprehensive, readable, and current, Chemistry of the Environment, Second Edition, is the most thorough, up-to-date, and user-friendly treatment of environmental chemistry available. This book, designed for students who have taken or are taking general chemistry, explores and discusses topics such as energy flow through nature, the greenhouse effect, climate modeling, chemistry of the ozone layer, air pollution, redox potential and water pollution, toxic chemicals, and acid rain. Featuring an unsurpassed marriage of chemical principles with issues of environmental concern, this book is unrivaled in terms of its ability to explain the chemistry behind the headlines.
About the Author
Thomas G. Spiro is a Professor of Chemistry at Princeton University and has taught environmental chemistry there since 1970. William M. Stigliani is a Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Education a the University of Northern Iowa.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
This book is about environmental issues and the chemistry behind them. It is not a methods book, nor is it a catalog of pollutants and remediation options. It aims to deepen knowledge of chemistry and of the environment and to show the power of chemistry as a tool to help us comprehend the changing world around us. In the six years since the first edition of Chemistry of the Environment was published, the frontiers of environmental science have advanced rapidly, and the debates on environmental issues have shifted ground. In this new edition, we have updated the various strands of our environmental story by integrating new facts and figures in the text, tables, and diagrams. Recognizing that no book on environmental themes can stay current for long, we plan to post further updates on our website http://www.prenhall.com/spiro2. Some of the new material e.g., ocean chemistry and the inorganic carbon cycle (pp. 284-288), or the evolution of the oxygen atmosphere (pp. 316-319) might have been included earlier, but some topics had not surfaced six years ago. These include genetically modified crops (pp. 401-406), carbon sequestration as a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (pp. 423, 288), and contamination of drinking water by the gasoline additive MTBE (pp. 260, 271, 344). Chemistry of the Environment can be used in a one- or two-term environmental chemistry course. The instructor in a one-term course will want to pick a limited set of the book's topics for special emphasis; in a two-term course there would be time to address other topics and to explore the underlying chemical principles in more detail. The new edition is also suitable for basic environmental science courses. Readers will find that the biggest change from the first edition is improved accessibility through reorganization and expansion of the basic chemistry. We have separated background material relevant to the understanding of the topic under discussion into boxes marked Fundamentals. We have also added additional basic material, to help those readers without exposure to college chemistry, and to refresh the memories of those who have had such exposure. In addition, we have included worked problems in other boxes, and have added more end-of-chapter problems. A periodic table is now included, as is an Appendix that gives a brief introduction to organic chemical structures. Some of the Fundamentals boxes contain non-chemical background information e.g., how to relate reservoirs and flows in environmental chemical cycles, p. 285-286. In addition, we have separated the more advanced or specialized technical information into other boxes called Strategies, which readers can read or skip at their discretion. In this way, the environmental story line is unimpeded by background or technical information. We hope that these changes will make the book easier to read, and also more useful as a textbook. We are indebted to a number of colleagues for reviewing parts of the manuscript, and/or providing new material: Drs. Michael Bender, Andrew Bocarsly, Harold Feiveson, Robert Goldston, Peter Jaffe, Hiram Levy, Francois Morel, Steve Pacala, Lynn Russel, Jorge Sarmiento, Daniel Sigman, Robert Socolow, Valerie Thomas (all from Princeton University); Trace Jordan (New York University); Bibudhendra Sarkar (University of Toronto); David Walker (University of British Columbia); and Chris Weber (student assistant, University of Iowa). Helen Spiro provided encouragement throughout the writing, and key editorial advice. Thanks also to Marie Stigliani—her companionship on bicycle trails along the Cedar River provided balance to long days at the office. Supplements Instructor's Solutions Manual—(0-13-017843-8) Contains the full solution to all end-of-chapter problems and is available to instructors upon adoption. Companion Website—http://www.prenhall.com/spiro2 This on-line site brings you abstracts of relevant environmental chemistry articles in newspapers, magazines, and scientific journals.
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