University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Information Resources in Environmental Sciences: An Academic Viewpoint

Metcalf, Robert L.; Davis, Elisabeth B.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/1594

Description

Title
Information Resources in Environmental Sciences: An Academic Viewpoint
Author(s)
  • Metcalf, Robert L.
  • Davis, Elisabeth B.
Issue Date
1972
Keyword(s)
Environmental protection --Information services
Abstract
"The environment is just slightly larger than the earth and is comprised of the planet, with a gross weight of 5.88xl021 tons, a diameter of 7,900 miles, a surface of 197xl06 square miles, and a 10-mile thin skin, the troposphere, which is the site of clouds, rain, weather, and air pollution. From an anthropomorphic view, ""spaceship earth"" voyages through the solar system with a cargo of 3.6xl09 humans and an associated million odd species of plants and animals inhabiting the 57 million square miles of land surface and the 330 million cubic miles of lakes and oceans. In this context, the human environment has been defined as the aggregate of all social, biological, and physical or chemical factors which comprise the surroundings of man. In dealing with so vast a subject matter, some limitations must be applied: the term ""environmental science"" has been defined as basic and applied inquiry about changes in environmental quality resulting from the activities of man. 1 For this discussion, the subject matter of environmental science is comprised of the chemical, physical, and biological changes in the environment through contamination or modification; the chemical nature and biological behavior of air, water, soil, food, and waste as they are affected by man's agricultural, industrial, and social activities; and the application of the natural sciences and technology together with the social sciences and law to control and improve environmental quality. Even under these limitations, the scope of environmental science demands a large share of the world's informational resources."
Publisher
Graduate School of Library Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Series/Report Name or Number
Allerton Park Institute (18th : 1972)
ISSN
0536-4604
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/1594
Copyright and License Information
Copyright owned by Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1972.

Owning Collections

1972: Information resources in the environmental sciences PRIMARY
Allerton Park Institute Proceedings (no. 18, 1972); edited by George S. Bonn