March 29, 2024
Updated May 12, 2025
18 minute read
Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary academic field that combines aspects of biology, chemistry, geology, physics, and other sciences to study the environment and the impact of human activities upon it. It's a field dedicated to understanding the complex interactions within our natural world and developing solutions to pressing environmental challenges. Environmental scientists play a crucial role in protecting human health and safeguarding the planet for future generations by identifying, analyzing, and addressing existing and potential environmental problems.
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Find a path to becoming a Environmental Scientist. Learn more at:
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Reading list
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Is the second in a series of books on the Planetary Boundaries. This book provides a detailed analysis of each of the nine Planetary Boundaries and discusses the challenges and opportunities for staying within the safe operating space for humanity. The book is written by a team of leading scientists and provides a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the Planetary Boundaries and how to use them to guide sustainable development.
Provides a comprehensive overview of the urban education system, covering a wide range of topics, including the history of urban education, the challenges of urban educational inequality, and the impacts of education on the environment. Noguera and Orfield are leading urban education experts and their book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the urban education system.
Provides a comprehensive overview of the urban food system, covering a wide range of topics, including the history of urban food, the challenges of urban food security, and the impacts of food on the environment. Clapp and McMichael are leading urban food experts and their book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the urban food system.
Provides a comprehensive overview of the urban transportation system, covering a wide range of topics, including the history of urban transportation, the challenges of urban traffic congestion, and the impacts of transportation on the environment. Levinson and Vargas-Silva are leading urban transportation experts and their book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the urban transportation system.
Provides a comprehensive overview of the urban environment, covering a wide range of topics, including the history of cities, urban planning, environmental issues, and social and economic challenges. Gandy leading urban theorist and his book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the urban environment.
Provides a detailed exploration of each of the nine Planetary Boundaries and discusses the challenges and opportunities for staying within the safe operating space for humanity. The book is written by two of the lead scientists who developed the Planetary Boundaries concept.
Provides a comprehensive overview of the Planetary Boundaries concept and its implications for human development. The book is written by a team of leading scientists and policymakers and provides a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the Planetary Boundaries and how to use them to guide sustainable development.
This book, originally published in 1972, was one of the first to warn of the environmental limits to economic growth. It has been updated several times, and the latest edition includes a new chapter on the Planetary Boundaries concept.
Combines the latest science with policy options and provides a non-technical and accessible overview of the science of global warming and its implications for our future.
The latest report from the IPCC, which provides a comprehensive assessment of the science of climate change.
Examines the relationship between cities and the environment, focusing on the challenges of sustainability. Steinberg leading environmental historian and his book valuable resource for anyone who wants to understand the environmental challenges facing cities.
Collection of essays that examine the environmental justice movement. Bryant leading environmental justice scholar and his book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the environmental justice movement and its impact on cities.
Assesses the impacts of climate change on human and natural systems, and the options for adapting to these impacts.
Tells the story of the five previous mass extinctions on Earth and argues that we are now in the midst of a sixth mass extinction, caused by human activity.
A comprehensive overview of the evidence for climate change, and the causes of this change.
Examines the collapse of several past societies and argues that environmental factors played a major role in their downfall. Diamond provides some lessons that we can learn from these past collapses and offers some suggestions for how we can avoid a similar fate.
A practical guide to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and transitioning to a clean energy future.
A Pulitzer Prize-winning book that explores the impact of global warming on the world's ecosystems.
Argues that the natural world is no longer pristine and that human activity has had a profound impact on the environment. McKibben provides a powerful indictment of our current environmental policies and offers some suggestions for how we can change course.
This children's book tells the story of a Lorax, who speaks for the trees. The Lorax powerful reminder of the importance of protecting the environment and the consequences of environmental destruction.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
OpenCourser.com/career/5ekus2/environmental
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