Environmental Success Stories: Solving Major Ecological Problems and Confronting Climate Change

Many books on environmental issues focus on contemporary wasteful practices and portend a gloomy future. This book is different: it delves into the most daunting ecological and environmental challenges humankind has faced and shows how scientists, citizens, and governments addressed them successfully. There is a way forward, and this book shows us how to begin the journey.

Environmental Success Stories shares the unified strategies that have brought about cleaner water and sanitation in the United States and in the global South; significantly reduced human exposure to toxic metals such as lead and mercury; turned society away form endocrine-disrupting pesticides, such as DDT and PCBs, and other chemicals; and reduced the occurrence of acid rain and the use of ozone-depleting chemicals. In addition to presenting the basic science underlying these issues, Environmental Success Stories also names the political actors, regulators, and community leaders who enacted truly effective environmental legislation and engendered innovations in environmental friendly technologies. Each of these advances met with resistance from industrial leaders and government agencies, yet they significantly improved environmental and human health with minimal economic impact. This book shares the stories of the citizens, scientists, and public officials who have addressed the most challenging environmental concern we now face—climate change—and proposes promising scientific and social scientific strategies for grappling with our current ecological crises.