ABSTRACT

This chapter presents a basic, pragmatic treatment of the science of environmental pollution. One of the least appreciated and most central of all environmental issues is the fact that we are beyond the day that we could simply pollute our environment, pick up stakes, and move on to another location. Although it has focused on the United States, the chapter considers the global implications of local pollution and stresses both individual and corporate responsibility. Our throwaway society sees the Earth as a place of unlimited resources, unlimited space, and unlimited potential to absorb our discards—our contaminants. Human beings are resilient. When we are blown down by hurricane-force winds, flooded out by raging waters, or forced to abandon our homes due to volcanoes or earthquakes, when pestilence enters the land and kills off many—the survivors bounce back. We have learned to adapt to the natural whims of nature; we recover, eternally optimistic, and go forward.