Ecological concepts. Nature of soils. Soil management. Man and water. Water pollution. Rangelands. Man and the forest. Wildlife. Fresh water fisheries. Man and the ocean. The pesticide problem. Air polution. Noise pollution. The soild waste problem. Poisonous subbstabces in the human environment. The energy crisis. Nuclear energy, radiation, and man. The human population problem. Enconomics and the environment. The future of planet earth.

Originally published in 1975, yet prophetic in its wisdom this book deals with major aspects of man's ecological destruction in an industrial framework. As well as discussing the destruction of forests by early civilizations the book examines the rate and extension of environmental deterioration in more recent times and the importance of the integrated 'feed-back' controls which maintain stability in the ecosphere of which humankind forms a part. Examining the role of entropy, energy quanta and indeterminacy in overthrowing both science and economic theory, the book provides examples from the 20th Century of the uncontrolled demands for energy and material resources, as well as of increasing toxic hazard in the biosphere.

Covers land utilization, forest resources, water supply, mineral resources, wildlife, recreation etc.

"Trees give us yummy apples but also help us build houses. One of these is natural, the other man-made. Can you identify the natural resource? In this edition of The Compare and Contrast Book series, we investigate common items around us and how natural materials are made into tools, toys, and even electricity. After exploring dozens of photos, readers will be a pro at identifying ways we use natural resources from plants, animals, and elements below the Earth's surface"--