Helping readers to understand the hopes and the hazards facing humankind by learning more about the causes and the consequences of environmental change, Environmental Geology is a valuable guide to an exciting and relatively new science that deals with the relationship between people and their geologic environment. Chapter by chapter, this volume details the many ways man-made and natural forces have brought about serious - and in some cases, irreversible - damage to the earth, including: - Climate Change: The Greenhouse Effect - Hydrologic Activity: Water Flow and Flooding - Coastal Processes: Seacoasts and Estuaries - Tectonic Hazards: Earthquakes and Volcanoes - Desertification: Deserts and Droughts - Natural Resources: Depletion of Industrial Materials - Land Use: The Changing Landscape.