Research Guides: ENVS 23: Soil, Water, and Air: Articles

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Articles for Soil, Water, Air

Selected Articles for Soil, Water, and Air

The following articles (with citations) are just to get you started on the article search process. In the "How to Get Articles" box below are instructions on how to get to the full text. As this course guide is on the open web, it would be against copyright to post the entire article.

Included is information on where each article was found so you know the range of search possibilities. Click the "i" to see what question each article helps to answer.

Remember to check the references in good articles for leads to other good articles.

"Geologists to evaluate future Haiti risks"
Dalton, R. (2010). Nature, vol 463 (issue 7279), pgs. 276-7.
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Why was the Haitian earthquake earlier this year so much more devastating to the population than the Chile earthquake? Why are there earthquakes in Haiti and Chile? Explain the geologic processes.
"Foreshadowing Haiti's catastrophe"
Kerr, Richard A. (2010). Science, vol 327 (issue 5964), pg 398.
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Why was the Haitian earthquake earlier this year so much more devastating to the population than the Chile earthquake? Why are there earthquakes in Haiti and Chile? Explain the geologic processes.
"Desertification, drought, and surface vegetation: an example from the West African Sahel"
Nicholson, S.E., et. al. (1998). Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, vol 79 (issue 5), pgs 815-29.
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The Sahel. What is desertification and why does it happen? Is desertification in the Sahel part of a natural cycle or created by humans? What are possible solutions to the situations and are they being implemented?
Is El Nino changing?
Fedorov, Alexey V., Philander, S. George (2000). Science, vol 288 (issue 5473), pgs 1997-2002.
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What is El Nino and how does it work? How has the El Nino pattern changed through time? What consequences (environmental and societal) are there to strong El Ninos around the world? What could/should be done to mitigate any impacts?
"Landfill-on-sea"
Dumas, Daisy (2007). Ecologist, vol 37 (issue7), pgs 34-37. [via OmniFile, and in print]
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What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? How is it related to ocean circulation? What are environmental consequences, what are potential solutions? Why have they not been employed?
Kesterson Crisis
Benson, S.M. et al (May/June 1993). Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, vol 119 (issue 3), pgs. 471-483. [via Google Scholar]
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Why was wildlife dying at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge? Explain the natural setting and how it was altered. What were the environmental consequences? What are lessons for other places?
"Bay - Delta Conservation Plan"
California Department of Water Resources, et al. (ongoing website). [via CALFED Bay-Delta Program]
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Do we need a peripheral canal around the San Francisco Bay Delta? What was the natural system and how has that been altered? Where is the Delta as the “Hub” for California’s water supply breaking down? What are possible solutions? Which one do you favor? Why have they not been implemented?
"Could food shortages bring down civilization?"
Brown, Lester R. (2009). Scientific American, vol 300 (issue 5), pgs 50-57. [via Academic Search Complete database, also in print]
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How will global warming affect agriculture around the world? Explain how different regions might be affected and/or benefit from a warmer climate and why. What role is precipitation playing? Should we invest in mitigation strategies? If yes, which ones?
Associations of "Environmental Factors With Elderly Health and Mortality in China"
Zeng, Yi, et al (2010). American Journal of Public Health, vol 100 (issue 2), pgs 298-305.
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Is air pollution in China reducing rainfall? Explain China’s air pollutants, pollutant sources, their effect on the environment and human health. What are possible solutions? Why are they not implemented?
"The search for signs of recovery of the ozone layer"
Weatherhead, Elizabeth C; Andersen, Signe Bech (2006). Nature, vol 441 (issue 7089), pgs 39-45.
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Why was the global community successful in turning around ozone depletion? Why did ozone depletion occur and how did the process work? How is the ozone layer recovering now? What are the lessons for reducing global carbon emissions?
Ecosystem services: costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster
Talberth, John and Posner, Stephen (2010). Pacific Ecologist. [via GREENR database]
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Where should we (not) drill for oil? Explain the environmental consequences worldwide? What are we sacrificing for our oil needs and are the sacrifices justified? (Think Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Deepwater Horizon)
The Threats from Oil Spills: Now, Then, and in the Future
Jernelöv, Arne (Aug.2010). AMBIO - A Journal of the Human Environment, Vol. 39 Issue 6, p353-366. [and via Academic Search Complete database]
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Where should we (not) drill for oil? Explain the environmental consequences worldwide? What are we sacrificing for our oil needs and are the sacrifices justified? (Think Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Deepwater Horizon)
"Bottled water and energy: a Pacific Institute fact sheet"