Acid Rain Science and Politics in Japan is a pioneering work in environmental and Asian history as well as an in-depth analysis of the influence of science on domestic and international environmental politics. Kenneth Wilkening's study also illuminates the global struggle to create sustainable societies. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 ended Japan's era of isolation- created self-sufficiency and sustainability. The opening of the country to Western ideas and technology not only brought pollution problems associated with industrialization (including acid rain) but also scientific techniques for understanding and combating them. Wilkening identifies three pollution-related "sustainability crises" in modern Japanese history: copper mining in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which spurred Japan's first acid rain research and policy initiatives; horrendous post-World War II domestic industrial pollution, which resulted in a "hidden" acid rain problem; and the present-day global problem of transboundary pollution, in which Japan is a victim of imported acid rain. He traces the country's scientific and policy responses to these crises through six distinct periods related to acid rain problems and argues that Japan's leadership role in East Asian acid rain science and policy today can be explained in large part by the "historical scientific momentum" generated by efforts to confront the issue since 1868, reinforced by Japan's cultural affinity with rain (its "culture of rain"). Wilkening provides an overview of nature, culture, and the acid rain problem in Japan to complement the general set of concepts he develops to analyze the interface of science and politics in environmental policymaking. He concludes with a discussion of lessons from Japan's experience that can be applied to the creation of sustainable societies worldwide.

Provides an in-depth look at science, policy and management in the water sector across the globe Sustainable water management is an increasingly complex challenge and policy priority facing global society. This book examines how governments, municipalities, corporations, and individuals find sustainable water management pathways across competing priorities of water for ecosystems, food, energy, economic growth and human consumption. It looks at the current politics and economics behind the management of our freshwater ecosystems and infrastructure and offers insightful essays that help stimulate more intense and informed debate about the subject and its need for local and international cooperation. This book celebrates the 15-year anniversary of Oxford University’s MSc course in Water Science, Policy and Management. Edited and written by some of the leading minds in the field, writing alongside alumni from the course, Water Science, Policy and Management: A Global Challenge offers in-depth chapters in three parts: Science; Policy; and Management. Topics cover: hydroclimatic extremes and climate change; the past, present, and future of groundwater resources; water quality modelling, monitoring, and management; and challenges for freshwater ecosystems. The book presents critical views on the monitoring and modelling of hydrological processes; the rural water policy in Africa and Asia; the political economy of wastewater in Europe; drought policy management and water allocation. It also examines the financing of water infrastructure; the value of wastewater; water resource planning; sustainable urban water supply and the human right to water. Features perspectives from some of the world’s leading experts on water policy and management Identifies and addresses current and future water sector challenges Charts water policy trends across a rapidly evolving set of challenges in a variety of global areas Covers the reallocation of water; policy process of risk management; the future of the world’s water under global environmental change; and more Water Science, Policy and Management: A Global Challenge is an essential book for policy makers and government agencies involved in water management, and for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying water science, governance, and policy.

Filled with figures, images, and illustrations, Encyclopedia of Water Science, Second Edition provides effective concepts and procedures in environmental water science and engineering. It unveils a wide spectrum of design concepts, methods, and solutions for enhanced performance of water quality, treatment, conservation, and irrigation methods, as well as improved water efficiency in industrial, municipal, and agricultural programs. The second edition also includes greatly enhanced coverage of streams and lakes as well as many regional case studies. An International Team Addresses Important Issues The only source to provide full coverage of current debates in the field, the encyclopedia offers professional expertise on vital issues including: Current laws and regulations Irrigation management Environmental water economics Agroforestry Erosion control Nutrient best management practices Water sanitation Stream and lake morphology and processes Sharpen Your Skills — Meet Challenges Well-Armed A direct and reliable source for best practices in water handling, preservation, and recovery, the encyclopedia examines challenges in the provision of safe water supplies, guiding environmental professionals as they face a worldwide demand for sanitary and affordable water reserves. Also Available Online This Taylor & Francis encyclopedia is also available through online subscription, offering a variety of extra benefits for researchers, students, and librarians, including: Citation tracking and alerts Active reference linking Saved searches and marked lists HTML and PDF format options Contact Taylor and Francis for more information or to inquire about subscription options and print/online combination packages. US: (Tel) 1.888.318.2367; (E-mail) e-reference@taylorandfrancis.com International: (Tel) +44 (0) 20 7017 6062; (E-mail) online.sales@tandf.co.uk

It has long been recognized that science is the pursuit of knowledge, knowledge is power, and power is political. However, the fantasy of science being apolitical is a hallmark legacy of the enlightenment era, an era that romanticized pursuit of knowledge, disconnected from the baggage of power, politics, and dogmatic assertions. Yet, while the age of information has exponentially increased our access to knowledge, we can see, as clearly as ever, that scientific knowledge is neither apolitical nor dogma-free, and it certainly is not disconnected from power. It is hard to imagine another era when the separation between science and politics has been this blurred as it is today. At the same time, it is true that no other topic than climate change has been so politically charged, with one side dominating the scientific narration and branding anyone opposing the mainstream as a “climate change denier,” and the other standing in staunch defiance that climate change exists. In an age of political and scientific turmoil, how can we navigate out way to coming towards a more objective understanding of the scientific issues surrounding the climate change debate? This book presents the current debate of climate change as scientifically futile, on both sides of the scientific, and often, political, spectrum. The climate change debate has become like obesity, cancer, diabetes or opioid addiction, which is to say that the debate should not be if these maladies exist, but rather, what causes them. Instead of looking for the cause and making adjustments to remove those causes from our lifestyle, a combination of the capitalist drive towards mass production and a lack of identifying the roots of the problems, new solutions, or substitutes, have been proposed as "quick fixes" to the problems. This book identifies the root causes of climate change and shows that climate change is real and it is also preventable, but that it can be reversed only if we stop introducing pollutants in the ensuing greenhouse gases. The book brings back common sense and grounds scientists to the fundamentals of heat and mass transfer, while at the same time disconnecting politicking and hysteria from true scientific analysis of the phenomenon of global climate.

The alarming consequences of global climate change have highlighted the need to take urgent steps to combat the causes of air pollution. Hence, understanding the Earth's atmosphere is a vital component in Man's emerging quest for developing sustainable modes of behaviour in the 21st century. Written by a team of expert scientists, the Handbook of Atmospheric Science provides a broad and up-to-date account of our understanding of the natural processes that occur within the atmosphere. It examines how Man’s activities have had a detrimental effect on the climate, and how measures may be implemented in order to modify these activities. The book progresses through chapters covering the principles of atmospheric science and the current problems of air pollution at the urban, regional and global scales, to the tools and applications used to understand air pollution. The Handbook of Atmospheric Science offers an excellent overview of this multi-disciplinary subject and will prove invaluable to both students and researchers of atmospheric science, air pollution and global change.

Interest in water will continue to grow for a long time to come. It will continue to spread over a large number of disciplines and technologies. Research into water in all its aspects has become so diverse that even those with a direct interest find it impossible to keep up with the original literature beyond a very limited range. On the other hand, scientists want to keep in touch with a wide spectrum of basic and applied research on water and the role played by aqueous solvents in physical, chemical, biological, technological and environmental processes. Water Science Reviews contains three or four critical reviews of the type previously published in the seven volume work Water - A Comprehensive Treatise. Some reviews update previously published topics, while others feature areas of Water Sciences that have never yet been reviewed. A common focus is the central position adopted by water in the systems and processes described.