The Human Impact on the Natural Environment: Past, Present, and Future

By Andrew S. Goudie

Book Overview

The new edition of this classic student text provides an up-to-date and comprehensive view of the major environmental issues facing the world today, and is an essential introduction to the past, present and future impact of humans on Earth. Explores the impact of humans upon vegetation, animals, soils, water, landforms, and the atmosphere. Updated extensively, with many new figures and up-to-date statistics. Four completely new chapters explore the ways in which global climate change may have an impact on Earth in the future. A new design makes the text even more accessible and easy to use. Visit www.blackwellpublishing.com/humanimpact to access the artwork from the book.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 140512704X
• ISBN13: 9781405127042
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Length: 357 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 8.6" x 10.8"

Customer Reviews

Textbook coverage that doesn't read like a textbook

Goudie's book covers both past and present human impacts on every conceivable component of the Earth -- on vegetation, animals, landforms, soil, water, climate, and the atmosphere. One of the strengths of this book is, of course, the great breadth of the topics it covers. Another strength is the use of clear concrete examples, with plenty of maps, graphs, and other visual presentations of relevant information. And finally, and most importantly, this book stands out because of the clarity of the writing, which is straight-forward and devoid of both technical jargon and judgmental phrasing.This would make a great textbook for a college course, and yet would also make a wonderful reference or pleasure reading book for the curious. Not many books can make such a claim!