Educational Media Reviews Online

This three-part series deals with human impact upon the environment. "The Urban Explosion" explores four cities: Mexico City, Istanbul, Shanghai and New York. In each, a brief history of the metropolis, as well as a resume of the environmental problems ensuing from population growth are given. In all but New York the handling of sewage and industrial effluent is the chief threat to human health; air pollution is a factor in each megalopolis's determination to improve the quality of life for its citizens. Concerted government and individual action in community appears to be key in solving these cities' dilemmas.

"Rivers of Destiny" concentrates on four rivers: the Mississippi, the Amazon, the Jordan and the Mekong. In the case of each, human attempts to provide water and flood protection have resulted in unanticipated problems: dumping of untreated sewage and industrial by-products into waterways has destroyed fisheries, and deforestation due to urbanization has exposed soil and made it more liable to erosion. In the case of the Jordan, political turmoil has resulted in the denial of precious water resources to all the residents of the Jordan Valley.

"Land of Plenty, Land of Want" focuses on four countries: Zimbabwe, France, China and the United States. El Nino, a weather phenomenon estimated by many climatologists to have been exacerbated by human factors like the production of greenhouse gases, has caused drought in Zimbabwe, but the innovation and hard work of a few determined farmers to provide irrigation water and avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has resulted in far less suffering than would otherwise have been the case. France's agricultural regions suffer from poor soil and the inability of small landholders to compete with corporation farming; pork and chicken production has resulted in massive amounts of animal waste products that cannot easily be disposed of. Industrial development and agricultural runoff have polluted more than half of China's rivers. While the U.S. has been subject to many of these problems some farmers have experienced successful attempts to use cover crops, "no-till" agriculture and fewer pesticides.

The series is a colorful, insightful and succinct introduction both to the environmental problems occasioned by burgeoning human population growth and our species' ability to solve even monumental problems, given enough understanding, determination and willingness to cooperate for the common good. Highly recommended for high school and undergraduate collections in ecology and environmental sciences.