Environmental Hazards, 6th Edition

“The latest edition of Environmental Hazards provides a reliable guide to the ever changing field of natural hazards and disasters. The sixth edition covers a remarkable range of interdisciplinary topics in an accessible manner. The text is a unique resource for anyone wanting to understand how human society on planet Earth often finds itself in peril, and what we can do about it.” Roger Pielke, Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA.

“Environmental Hazards has become the indispensable text for hazards students and scholars. The new edition brings together a wealth of updated and new case studies and examples. The common structure adopted for the chapters in Part II enables useful comparisons between hazard types and the varied risks and adaptation opportunities they present. This is a detailed and thorough treatment of the complex approaches to and challenges of hazard management.” Dr Maureen Fordham, Enterprise Fellow Principal Lecturer in Disaster Management, University of Northumbria, UK.

“This is one of a minority that combines information on the range of disasters—natural, biophysical and technological. It is also one of the only textbooks that provides a good general overview of the basic concepts important to the study of hazards such as disaster trends, risk management, vulnerability, mitigation/risk reduction, adaptation, etc. I would further argue that the language, case studies, suggestions for further readings, web links, etc. contribute to the book’s pedagogical value for an undergraduate introductory text. If students have only one opportunity to learn about hazards in their undergraduate program then this book will indeed provide ‘the basics’.” Jessica Lehman - The University of British Columbia

Keith Smith is Emeritus Professor of Environmental Science and former Dean of Natural Sciences at the University of Stirling. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.