Still only one earth: progress in the 40 years since the first UN conference on the environment [vol. 40] / edited by R E Hester and R M Harrison.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Forty years since the first UN Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, how has the situation changed? We still have only one Earth but are we caring for and maintaining it? This book, written by leaders in the field, discusses the key environmental issues affecting the Earth today including atmospheric science, the marine environment, waste management and a specific chapter looking at changes in attitude to environmental issues.

Aimed at policy makers, students, environmental scientists and thinkers, this title will be an important review bringing the reader right up to date with current opinions and attitudes.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Editors (p. xv)
• List of Contributors (p. xvii)
• Global Atmosphere - The Antarctic Ozone Hole (p. 1)
• 1 Introduction (p. 1)
• 2 Observations of Antarctic Ozone (p. 3)
• 3 Causes of Antarctic Ozone Depletion (p. 5)
• 3.1 Dynamical Preconditioning (p. 7)
• 3.2 Polar Stratospheric Clouds (p. 8)
• 3.3 Catalytic Ozone Loss Cycles (p. 10)
• 3.4 Modelling of Polar Ozone Depletion (p. 13)
• 4 Ozone Depletion at Other Latitudes (p. 16)
• 4.1 Arctic (p. 16)
• 4.2 Mid-latitudes (p. 16)
• 4.3 Tropics (p. 16)
• 5 Regulation and Control: The Montreal Protocol (p. 17)
• 5.1 Chlorine and Bromine Source Gases (p. 17)
• 5.2 The Montreal Protocol (p. 19)
• 5.3 Reasons for Success of the Montreal Protocol (p. 23)
• 5.4 Climate Benefit of the Montreal Protocol (p. 23)
• 6 Outlook (p. 24)
• 6.1 Very Short-lived Species (p. 24)
• 6.2 Recovery of the Ozone Layer (p. 25)
• 6.3 Impact of Ozone Depletion on Surface Climate (p. 28)
• 7 Summary (p. 30)
• References (p. 30)
• Global Atmosphere - Greenhouse Gases (p. 34)
• 1 The Greenhouse Effect (p. 35)
• 1.1 What is the Greenhouse Effect? (p. 35)
• 1.2 Radiative Forcing (p. 35)
• 1.3 Uncertainty (p. 36)
• 1.4 Greenhouse Gas Emissions (p. 37)
• 1.5 Atmospheric CO 2 Concentrations (p. 37)
• 1.6 The Consequences of Climate Forcing (p. 38)
• 2 The International Response to Climate Change (p. 40)
• 2.1 The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (p. 40)
• 2.2 Industrialised and Developing Countries (p. 41)
• 2.3 The Kyoto Protocol (p. 41)
• 2.4 Post-Kyoto Protocol (p. 42)
• 2.5 Unilateral and Bilateral Initiatives (p. 42)
• 2.6 Mobilizing Climate Finance (p. 44)
• 3 GHG Emissions Data: Measurement, Reporting and Verification (p. 45)
• 3.1 Role of Emissions Inventories (p. 45)
• 3.2 Policy and Inventories (p. 46)
• 3.3 Sub-national and City Inventories (p. 46)
• 3.4 Inventory Verification (p. 47)
• 4 Science and Policy Challenges (p. 47)
• 4.1 Benchmarks (p. 47)
• 4.2 Growth (p. 48)
• 4.3 Short-lived Climate Forcing Agents (p. 48)
• 4.4 Credibility (p. 49)
• 4.5 Political Economy (p. 49)
• 4.6 Outsourcing Emissions (p. 49)
• 5 The Energy Sector and Technology (p. 49)
• 5.1 Technology Types (p. 50)
• 5.2 Market Potential and Challenges (p. 50)
• 6 What does the Future Hold? (p. 51)
• 6.1 GHG Emissions (p. 51)
• 6.2 The Global Environment (p. 51)
• 6.3 Overcoming the Barriers to Effective Action (p. 52)
• References (p. 54)
• Trends in Local Air Quality 1970-2014 (p. 58)
• 1 Introduction (p. 58)
• 2 The United Kingdom (p. 59)
• 2.1 Trends in Emissions in 1970 (p. 60)
• 2.2 Ambient Air Monitoring (p. 67)
• 2.3 Trends in Airborne Concentrations from 1970 (p. 69)
• 3 The United States of America (p. 76)
• 3.1 Introduction (p. 76)
• 3.2 Trends in Emission (p. 79)
• 3.3 Trends in Airborne Concentrations (p. 85)
• 3.4 Conclusions (p. 91)
• 4 Less Developed Countries: China as a Case Study (p. 92)
• 4.1 Trends in Emissions since 1970 (p. 92)
• 4.2 Ambient Air Monitoring - Development of the Networks (p. 96)
• 4.3 Trends in Airborne Concentrations (p. 97)
• 4.4 Commentary upon Differences in Trends in Emissions and Air Quality (p. 103)
• Acknowledgements (p. 104)
• References (p. 104)
• Mercury and Lead (p. 107)
• 1 Introduction (p. 107)
• 2 The Anthropogenic Insult (p. 110)
• 3 The Global Biogeochemical Cycles of Mercury and Lead (p. 120)
• 3.1 Mercury Cycling in Aquatic Systems (p. 124)
• 3.2 Lead in the Biosphere (p. 127)
• 4 Policy Response and Impact (p. 129)
• 4.1 Lead (p. 129)
• 4.2 Mercury (p. 133)
• 5 Trends in the Future (p. 136)
• References (p. 138)
• Persistent Organic Pollutants (p. 150)
• 1 Introduction (p. 150)
• 2 The Stockholm Convention on POPs (p. 151)
• 3 POPs Criteria (p. 152)
• 4 Sources and Applications of POPs (p. 156)
• 4.1 Pesticide POPs (p. 156)
• 4.2 Byproduct POPs (p. 160)
• 4.3 Industrial Chemicals (p. 161)
• 4.4 Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) (p. 166)
• 5 Toxicity/Adverse Effects of POPs (p. 166)
• 5.1 Ecotoxicity (p. 167)
• 5.2 Human Toxicity (p. 169)
• 5.3 Exposure Pathways and Combined Adverse Effects (p. 170)
• 6 Long-range Transport of POPs (p. 171)
• 6.1 Atmospheric Transport (p. 172)
• 6.2 The "Grasshopper" Effect (p. 173)
• 6.3 Oceanic Currents (p. 173)
• 6.4 Migratory Animals (p. 174)
• 7 Temporal Trends - Has Legislation Really Worked? (p. 174)
• 7.1 Legacy POPs (p. 174)
• 7.2 Newer POPs (p. 178)
• 8 Climate Change and POPs - Future Scenario (p. 180)
• 9 Managing the Problem (p. 181)
• 10 Concluding Remarks (p. 182)
• References (p. 183)
• Emerging Chemical Contaminants: How Chemical Development Outpaces Impact Assessment (p. 187)
• 1 Chemical Ubiquity (p. 187)
• 2 Birth of the Chemical Industry (p. 189)
• 3 Birth of the Pharmaceutical Industry (p. 190)
• 4 Discovery of Estrogens in Water (p. 191)
• 5 Ubiquity of Chemicals in the Environment (p. 193)
• 6 Formation of New and Previously Unknown Products (p. 194)
• 7 Regulatory History and Current Framework in the US (p. 196)
• 8 Evolution in Analytical Methodologies (p. 198)
• 9 Implications for Water Sustainability (p. 200)
• References (p. 201)
• A Change of Emphasis: Waste to Resource Management (p. 207)
• 1 Introduction (p. 208)
• 2 Application of the Waste Hierarchy (p. 211)
• 3 Regulatory and Legal Aspects (p. 217)
• 4 Collection of Wastes (p. 219)
• 5 Trends in Waste Arisings (p. 223)
• 5.1 Sources and Composition (p. 223)
• 6 Methods of Waste Treatment and Disposal (p. 224)
• 6.1 Disposal (p. 224)
• 6.2 Energy Recovery (p. 226)
• 6.3 Recycling and Composting (p. 228)
• 6.4 Reuse (p. 238)
• 6.5 Prevention and Minimisation (p. 239)
• 7 Specific Waste Streams (p. 239)
• 8 Environmental Impacts of Waste Management (p. 241)
• 9 The Emergence of the Circular Economy (p. 241)
• 10 Summary (p. 245)
• References (p. 246)
• From "Dilute and Disperse" to "Recycle & Reuse" - Changes in Attitude and Practice of Effluent Management (p. 253)
• 1 Effluent Discharges Before 1972 - The Historical Background (p. 253)
• 2 Developments in the Regulatory Environment (p. 256)
• 2.1 Pollutants Don't Recognise Political Boundaries (p. 256)
• 2.2 Integration across the Water Cycle is Desirable (p. 257)
• 2.3 Pollutants have Many Sources and Don't Stay Where They are Put (p. 258)
• 3 Putting the Theories into Practice (p. 259)
• 3.1 "Dilution is the solution to pollution" (p. 259)
• 3.2 Increasing Concern about Persistence (p. 262)
• 3.3 A European Consensus (p. 263)
• 4 Effluent Management in the 21st Century (p. 265)
• 4.1 Water Conservation and Reuse (p. 265)
• 4.2 Advanced Effluent Treatment (p. 266)
• 4.3 Green Chemistry (p. 267)
• 4.4 21st Century Regulatory Processes (p. 269)
• 5 Improvements in the Environment Since 1970 (p. 271)
• 6 Future Prospects (p. 273)
• References (p. 275)
• Subject Index (p. 281)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

The series has been edited by Professors Hester and Harrison since it began in 1994.

Roy Harrison OBE is Queen Elizabeth II Birmingham Centenary Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Birmingham. In 2004 he was appointed OBE for services to environmental science. Professor Harrison's research interests lie in the field of environment and human health. His main specialism is in air pollution, from emissions through atmospheric chemical and physical transformations to exposure and effects on human health. Much of this work is designed to inform the development of policy.

Ron Hester is an emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of York. In addition to his research work on a wide range of applications of vibrational spectroscopy, he has been actively involved in environmental chemistry and was a founder member of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Environment Group. His current activities are mainly as an editor and as an external examiner and assessor on courses, individual promotions, and departmental/subject area evaluations both in the UK and abroad.