Countering 21st century social-environmental threats to growing global populations /

This book, part of the "SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science" series, can be considered another update of The Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update, by D. Meadows et al. (CH, Nov'04, 42-1517). Though it is half the size of its forerunner, it contains many more topics. Siegel, (emer., George Washington Univ.) catalogs the enormous array of threats humanity faces and the terrestrial and oceanic environments on which survival depends. These range from relatively "small" threats, such as the spread of toxic substances, to depletion of clean water over vast regions and destruction of oceanic resources. Coverage embraces potential disasters caused by lack of human constraint to catastrophic natural calamities, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and everything in between--floods, sea-level rise, and pandemic diseases. There are also sections on possible human responses to these issues. The book serves as a useful listing of problems humanity faces and their possible increase in seriousness with world population predicted to stabilize at 10.3 billion by 2100 (compared to 7.2 billion today). Unfortunately, given the size of the work, there is inadequate space for effective discussions on topics that often depend on uncertain statistics. The price seems high for this inexpensively produced title. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --John David Ives, Carleton University