Ecological Knowledge And Environmental Problem Solving

This volume explores how the scientific tools of ecology can be used more effectively in dealing with a variety of complex environmental problems. Part I discusses the usefulness of such ecological knowledge as population dynamics and interactions, community ecology, life histories, and the impact of various materials and energy sources on the environment. Part II contains 13 original and instructive case studies pertaining to the biological side of environmental problems, which Nature described as "carefully chosen and extremely interesting."

The aim of this book is to encourage integration of the natural and social sciences with the policy and design-making community, and thereby develop a deeper understanding of complex environmental problems. Its fundamental themes are: • integrated modeling and assessment • complex, adaptive, hierarchical systems • ecosystem services • science and decision-making • ecosystem health and human health • quality of life and the distribution of wealth and resources. This book will act as a state of the art assessment of integrated environmental science and its relation to real world problem solving. It is aimed not only at the academic community, but also as a sourcebook for managers, policy makers, and the informed public. It deals both with the state of the science and the level of consensus among scientists on key environmental issues. The concepts underlying this book were developed at the 2nd EcoSummit workshop held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, June, 2000, with active participation from all delegates, and attempts to present their collective view.

As environmental problems become increasingly complex, it is critical that students and activists learn the skills with which to address them. Although there already are many case studies of actual issues, only in the last few years have environmental scientists paid close attention to their resolution. Environmental Problem Solving teaches these skills. Jeffrey W. Hughes creates an organized method for approaching problems, understanding larger issues, and crafting solutions to a wide range of contemporary environmental issues. Many environmental activists often have preconceived ideas of environmental protection and problem solving. They react emotionally to news of deforestation, a new housing development, or a planned big-box store without thinking about the problem logically, and they may automatically regard foresters, development companies, and corporations as opponents. As their views harden, discourse turns acrimonious, and it becomes ever more difficult to find satisfactory solutions. This book teaches those on both sides of the table to address their own preconceptions and approach hard issues critically, methodically, and fairly. Hughes combines aspects of the decision-making process from the fields of business, management, and communication science based on extensive research and ample practical experience in the field and classroom. He creates a logical framework to help guide thinking from identifying a problem to finding its solution. Using examples drawn from real-life situations, Environmental Problem Solving will become an invaluable guide for environmentalists, agency professionals, consultants, students, naturalists, and concerned citizens.

Human influences create both environmental problems and barriers to effective policy aimed at addressing those problems. In effect, environmental managers manage people as much as they manage the environment. Therefore, they must gain an understanding of the psychological and sociopolitical dimensions of environmental problems that they are attempting to resolve. In Environmental Problem Solving, Alan Miller reappraises conventional analyses of environmental problems using lessons from the psychosocial disciplines. He combines the disciplines of ecology, political sociology and psychology to produce a more adaptive approach to problem-solving that is specifically geared toward the environmetal field. Numerous case studies demonstrate the practical application of theory in a way that is useful to technical and scientific professionals as well as to policy makers and planners. Alan Miller is Professor of Psychology at the University of New Brunswick.

This textbook provides an opportunity for undergraduate students studying the environment to work on addressing real-world environmental problems and practice the disciplinary and professional skills necessary to tackle complex issues. Each of the 12 units that comprise the heart of this workbook-style text focus on a specific environmental challenge directly or indirectly tied to climate change. Students are guided through activities that require them to review relevant environmental content knowledge, practice an array of learning outcome-based skills, evaluate potential solutions, and advocate for action. An important feature of the book is its problem-based approach, using climate change as a common lens through which to view an array of current environmental challenges. Showing students how they might apply their core knowledge and disciplinary skills to identify possible solutions demonstrates the utility of science to inform decision making and builds student competency in learning outcomes common across environmental academic programs. Designed to provide problem-area options to match student interests (from sea turtle conservation to climate migrants to urban heat islands), instructors can choose among units to best engage students, or work through units sequentially to scaffold instruction while building student capacity. Each unit contains activities that focus on: (1) Discovery, where students are guided through exploration to build their knowledge of the issue and prepare a formal Problem Statement; (2) Analysis, where students dig into relevant data and begin to evaluate potential solutions; and (3) Solutions, where students practice their problem solving, decision making and environmental communication skills. Environmental Problem Solving in an Age of Climate Change underscores the pervasive nature of climate change as a common factor in all environmental issues. The book demonstrates how sustainable solutions require the efforts of many people working on smaller, more tangible issues to tackle the grand challenge that climate change presents.

Is sustainable development a workable solution for today's environmental problems? Is it scientifically defensible? Best known for applying ecological theory to the engineering problems of everyday life, the late scholar James J. Kay was a leader in the study of social and ecological complexity and the thermodynamics of ecosystems. Drawing from his immensely important work, as well as the research of his students and colleagues, The Ecosystem Approach is a guide to the aspects of complex systems theories relevant to social-ecological management. Advancing a methodology that is rooted in good theory and practice, this book features case studies conducted in the Arctic and Africa, in Canada and Kathmandu, and in the Peruvian Amazon, Chesapeake Bay, and Chennai, India. Applying a systems approach to concrete environmental issues, this volume is geared toward scientists, engineers, and sustainable development scholars and practitioners who are attuned to the ideas of the Resilience Alliance-an international group of scientists who take a more holistic view of ecology and environmental problem-solving. Chapters cover the origins and rebirth of the ecosystem approach in ecology; the bridging of science and values; the challenge of governance in complex systems; systemic and participatory approaches to management; and the place for cultural diversity in the quest for global sustainability.