Solutions for a Cleaner, Greener Planet: Environmental Chemistry

by Marc Zimmer

Overview

Many of the most toxic materials on Earth—from arsenic to plutonium—occur naturally, but manufacturers have also used them in products such as paints, plumbing, pesticides, nuclear fuel, and weaponry. Without careful management, toxins can leach into groundwater or pollute our environment. Exposure to toxins leads to various cancers, impairment of the immune and reproductive systems, as well as cognitive problems. What can be done? Solutions include a wide range of infrastructure approaches, such as better water filtration, governmental and manufacturing regulations, outright bans on certain chemicals, careful monitoring, and the use of alternative fuels. Learn more about key contaminants and their impact on health, as well as solutions on a global and individual level.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541552609
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	120
File size:	28 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	13 - 14 Years

About the Author

Marc Zimmer is the author of several nonfiction young adult books and a professor at Connecticut College, where he teaches chemistry and studies the proteins involved in producing light in jellyfish and fireflies. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and did his post-doc at Yale University. He has published articles on science and medicine for the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Huffington Post, among many other publications. He lives in Waterford, Connecticut with his wife, their two children, and a genetically modified fluorescent mouse named Prometheus.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Heavy Metals 4

Chapter 2 Pesticides 34

Chapter 3 Fuel and Energy 51

Chapter 4 Nuclear Energy 88

Source Notes 110

Glossary 111

Selected Bibliography 114

Further Information 114

Index 117

Editorial Reviews

"[L]ucid and very accessible. . . . [W]ould be a worthwhile addition to public or middle- and high-school libraries."—Booklist

From the Publisher

2018-11-07

This is a solutions-driven survey of the greatest threats to our increasingly toxic planet.

While covering just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, this overview of environmental chemistry touches on topics ranging from CO2 emissions and pesticides to nuclear fission. It at times delves into scientific details—such as the subatomic breakdown of the elements—and this information is presented in a way that is generally friendly to its intended young adult audience. Zimmer (Lighting up the Brain, 2018, etc.), a professor of chemistry, includes numerous anecdotes that make for compelling reading, for example, relating how Marie Curie's notebooks are so radioactive that to this day they have to be stored in lead-lined boxes. Included in every chapter are up-to-date events such as the environmental and human injustice of the Flint water crisis. With the litany of hazards explored, it would be easy to feel hopeless, but Zimmer ends each chapter with the heading, "What Can You Do?" These sections provide advice for achievable lifestyle changes as simple as bringing your own reusable bags to the market. Also woven throughout are viable solutions that have already been implemented, such as the Sono arsenic filtration system being used in Bangladesh. Despite the dire subject matter, this slim, amply illustrated book is engaging and even uplifting. Terrific for classroom use.

Environmental chemistry that is eminently readable and hopeful. (source notes, glossary, further information, index) (Nonfiction. 12-15)

Kirkus Reviews