Introduction to enviromenthal issues

This book is written for beginning students of the sci ence of the environment. Its primary goals are to pre sent a balanced view of the diversity of issues that relate to the environment and to provide the fundamental, in formation that will allow students to understand the complexities of those issues. Recognition of complexity and rigorous emphasis on balanced analyses are essen tial ingredients in resolving environmental problems. My goal has been to emphasize both in this study of envi ronmental issues.

Every environmental issue has characteristics that make simple solutions unrealistic. Most issues are tech nically complex and multidisciplinary in nature, span time scales longer than those considered in many policy decisions, and involve conflicts among engrained cultural value systems. Because of the complexity involved, knowledge of nearly every environmental issue is in complete. Thus, policy decisions and personal political choices require value judgments. Even if the scientific basis of an issue were well resolved, it is likely that value judgments still would be necessary in environmental decision making, because conflicts of cultural values never can be resolved from scientific facts alone.