Environmental Physics

Understanding key environmental issues such as climate change necessitates a grasp of key scientific concepts. Unfortunately many students have little background knowledge of physics and hence struggle to fully understand such issues. The purpose of Environmental Physics is to make these fundamental physical concepts intelligble to a non-scientific audience. The book is structured according to the physical topics: forces, energy, heat and radioactivity. The key physical concepts are explained in a lucid and concise manner. The importance and relevance of the physics is emphasised by its application to real environmental problems such as nuclear reprocessing, waste disposal and the impact of climate change. Mathematical treatment is kept straightforward. The emphasis is on application rather than theoretical underpinnings, so in many cases concepts are described qualitatively rather than quantitatively. Environmental Physics makes extensive use of pedagogical features such as boxed case studies, figures, summary points, problems and questions for discussion and further reading to enhance the student learning experience.