xix, 398 pages : 25 cm This new and expanded edition builds upon the first edition's accessible and comprehensive overview of the interdisciplinary field of sustainability. The focus is on furnishing solutions and equipping the student with both conceptual understanding and technical skills for the workplace. Each chapter explores one aspect of the field, first introducing concepts and presenting issues, then supplying tools for working toward solutions. Techniques for management and measurement as well as case studies from around the world are provided. The second edition includes a complete update of the text, with increased coverage of major topics including the Anthropocene; complexity; resilience; environmental ethics; governance; the IPCC's latest findings on climate change; Sustainable Development Goals; and new thinking on native species and novel ecosystems. Chapters include further reading and discussion questions. The book is supported by a companion website with links, detailed reading lists, glossary, and additional case studies, together with projects, research problems, and group activities, all of which focus on real-world problem solving of sustainability issues Earlier edition: 2014 Includes bibliographical references and index Machine generated contents note: pt. I Context -- 1. What Is Sustainability? -- What Is Sustainability? -- Sustainability and Resilience -- Systems Thinking -- Living in the Anthropocene -- 2.A Brief History of Sustainability -- Recent History: The Last 200 Years -- Early Conservation -- Transformation from Conservation to Ecology -- The Beginnings of the Environmental Movement -- US Legislation in the 1970s -- Environmental Justice -- Environmental Ethics -- Expanding to a Global Scale -- Modern Trends -- Into the Anthropocene -- 3. The Biosphere -- Why Study Living Systems? -- Energy and Matter -- The Four Spheres -- The Biosphere -- What Is Life? -- Earth System Science -- 4. The Human Sphere -- Human Impact -- Economics -- Failing States -- Governance -- The Commons -- pt. II Issues and Solutions -- 5. Climate -- Is Earth Warming? -- How Temperature Records Are Compiled -- The Long View: Climates through Time -- Modern Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases -- The Human Factor Note continued: Projecting into the Future -- United Nations Convention on Climate Change -- Climate Stabilization -- Climate Action Plans -- Strategies for Reducing Emissions -- Offsets -- Emissions Trading -- Adaptation -- Final Thoughts -- 6. Water -- Uneven Distribution -- Depletion of Nonrenewable Aquifers -- Threats to Human and Ecosystem Health -- Consumption -- Effects of Climate Change -- Water Conservation -- Wastewater Treatment -- Stormwater -- 7. Ecosystems and Habitat -- Populations and Extinction -- Drivers of Ecosystem Change -- Conservation and Restoration -- Conservation -- Restoration Ecology -- Living Together: Reconciliation Ecology -- Ecology in the Anthropocene -- 8. Pollution -- Types of Toxins -- Pollution Transport and Fate -- Air Pollution -- Soil and Land Pollution -- Water Pollution -- Organic Pollutants -- Inorganic Pollutants -- Endocrine Disruptors -- Persistent Organic Pollutants -- Point Source and Nonpoint Source Pollution Note continued: Radioactive Pollutants -- Pollution Remediation -- Pollution Prevention -- 9. Energy -- Fossil Fuels -- Renewable Energy -- Energy Efficiency -- Making the Transition -- 10. Green Buildings and Sites -- What Is a Green Building? -- The Process of Green Building Design -- Lighting with Daylight -- Basics of Heating and Cooling -- Heating -- Passive Cooling -- Other Strategies for Cooling -- Ventilation -- Building Envelope -- Construction -- Rating Systems -- Aesthetics -- Sustainable Sites -- Biophilic Design -- 11. Livable Cities -- Sprawl -- Land-Use Planning -- Urban Planning -- Building Community -- Transportation -- Cities and Climate Change -- 12. Food -- Farming Methods -- Human Health Issues -- Planetary Health Issues -- Feeding Ourselves -- Finding Space for Food in the City -- Food on Public Land -- Healthy Soil: The Vital Foundation -- 13. Products -- Toward a Circular Economy -- Process Design -- Product Alternatives -- Product Design Note continued: Shipping and Packaging -- ISO 14000 Standards -- Certifications and Labels: Making Sense of Materials -- 14. Waste and Recycling -- Waste Management -- Landfills -- Incineration -- Recycling -- Construction & Demolition Waste -- Industrial Waste -- Zero Waste -- pt. III Becoming an Agent for Change -- 15. Working in an Organization -- Governance -- Sustainability Professionals at Work -- Sustainability Initiatives -- The Planning Process -- Making the Business Case for Sustainability -- Implementation -- Frameworks -- Measurement and Reporting -- Measurement and Reporting Systems -- 16. Education -- Biophilia -- Bioregionalism and Place-Based Learning -- Learning by Doing: Experiential Learning -- The Learning Environment -- Stages of Development: Humans as Lifelong Learners -- 17. Working as Agents for Change -- Fostering Sustainable Behavior -- Efforts Big and Small -- Working Together -- Social Equity -- Building Community -- Transition