Environmental Geology Carla W Montgomery

Description

This Book is Recommended by FPSC for Optional Subject Environmental Science

An introductory text cannot explore all aspects of environmental concerns. Here, the emphasis is on the physical constraints imposed on human activities by the geologic processes that have shaped and are still shaping our natural environment. In a real sense, these are the most basic, inescapable constraints; we Preface cannot, for instance, use a resource that is not there, or build a secure home or a safe dam on land that is fundamentally unstable. Geology, then, is a logical place to start in developing an understanding of many environmental issues. The principal aim of this book is to present the reader with a broad overview of environmental geology. Because geology does not exist in a vacuum, however, the text introduces related considerations from outside geology to clarify other ramifi cations of the subjects discussed. Likewise, the present does not exist in isolation from the past and future; occasionally, the text looks both at how the earth developed into its present condition and where matters seem to be moving for the future. It is hoped that this knowledge will provide the reader with a useful foundation for discussing and evaluating specific environmental issues, as well as for developing ideas about how the problems should be solved.