Environmental geology

"Preface about the course environmental geology is geology applied to living. The environment is the sum of all the features and conditions surrounding an organism that may influence it. An individual's physical environment encompasses rocks and soil, air and water, such factors as light and temperature, and other organisms. One's social environment might include a network of family and friends, a particular political system, and a set of social customs that affect one's behavior. Geology is the study of the earth. Because the earth provides the basic physical environment in which we live, all of geology might in one sense be regarded as environmental geology. However, the term environmental geology is usually restricted to refer particularly to geology as it relates directly to human activities, and that is the focus of this book. Environ- mental geology is geology applied to living. We will examine how geologic processes and hazards influence human activities (and sometimes the reverse), the geologic aspects of pollution and waste-disposal problems, and several other topics"--Provided by publisher.

Includes index.

Earth in space and time -- Geology, past and present -- Nature and rate of population growth -- Impacts of the human population -- Atoms, elements, isotopes, ions, and compounds -- Minerals - general -- Types of minerals -- Rocks -- Plate tectonics - accumulating evidence -- Plate tectonics - underlying concepts -- Types of plate boundaries -- How far, how fast, how long, how come? -- Plate tectonics and the rock cycle -- Earthquakes - terms and principles -- Seismic waves and earthquake severity -- Earthquake-related hazards and their reduction -- Earthquake prediction and forecasting -- Earthquake control? -- Future earthquakes in North America? -- Magma sources and types -- Styles and locations of volcanic activity -- Hazards related to volcanoes -- Issues in predicting volcanic eruptions -- More on volcanic hazards in the United States -- The hydrologic cycle -- Flooding -- Consequences of development in floodplains -- Strategies for reducing flood hazards -- Nature of the coastline -- Emergent and submergent coastlines -- Coastal erosion and "stabilization" -- Especially difficult coastal environments -- Costs of construction - and reconstruction - in high-energy environments…