Environmental Science Understanding Our Changing Earth - Earth Science Author:The American Geological Institute ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: UNDERSTANDING OUR CHANGING EARTH, 1E is a text designed to teach environmental science for an Earth Systems approach, rather than the more traditional life science approach. An interdisciplinary environmental science curriculum that emphasizes Earth systems helps students develop the underlying science and knowledge that ... more »forms the foundation for understanding and policy discussion. Moreover, the critical component of environmental science is the focus on how earth systems interact with human society. This subject uniquely ties the physical sciences with social sciences, constituting an opportunity to demonstrate the widest application of science to life. Within this context of human interaction is the need to address concepts of risk and cost-benefit. Students need to engage in understanding the process of decision-making made by policy-makers when using earth system information.« less