The Text Balanced presentation -The text balances environmental considerations with a solid presentation of fundamental concepts and processes of physical geology. Ed Keller helped establish the environmental geology with his first edition of Environmental Geology ; this text is a direct descendent and effectively carries forward Dr. Keller''s reputation for accurate and accessible presentations of the most current thinking in the discipline. Five Fundamental Concepts for Understanding Natural Processes as Hazards -Chapter 1 introduces five concepts that unify the diverse topics the student will by studying: Predictability of Hazards; Risk Analysis; Links between Hazards; Progression of Hazards from Disasters to Catastrophes; and Minimizing Consequences of Hazards. To make these connections even more clear, at the end of each chapter, the chapter''s topic is summarized in terms of these concepts. Student-focused chapter structure -Includes consistent learning aids to maximize students'' understanding of the material and review of major topics: Learning objectives Chapter summary Detailed references at the end of the text Key terms at the end of each chapter Review questions Critical-thinking questions that stimulate students to think about some of the important issues in the text and relate these to their lives and society. S urvivor Stories : Feature interviews (most conducted by a student journalist) with people who have experienced hazards first-hand and lived to talk about it. Interviews include: a truly harrowing account of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (p.

204); a lightening strike survivor who still experiences short-term memory loss (p. 212); a homeowner whose lake-front property became worthless after the lake disappeared into a sinkhole (p. 177). Professional Stories : Feature interviews (most conducted by a student journalist) with professionals working in the field of natural hazards focusing on their experiences and their recommendations to the students. Interviews include: the captain of a wildfire-fighting unit (p. 305); the pilot of a hurricane-penetrating plane (p. 257); an astronomer who is planning how Earth can avoid the next great asteroid impact (p. 334).

Case Studies : In-depth profiles of significant events. Includes the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (p. 236) and the 2005 La Conchita landslide (p. 154). Instructor and Student Resources Prentice Hall Environmental Geology Video Series: This DVD contains over 35 video segments featuring the results of a dynamic and changing Earth environment. These focused segments average one to three minutes in length and feature processes such as: Surveillance camera earthquake video Volcanic destruction Urban Flooding Dust Storms Landslide devastation Hurricane storm surge Heartland Tornadoes Giant Sinkholes and much more Instructor''s Resource Center on CD-ROM, with PowerPoint Presentations and Animations -Includes three PowerPoint presentations for each chapter: (1) Lecture outline: "plug-and-play" lecture presentations based on the outline of the text to get you up and running as quickly as possible; (2) Art only: every figure and most of the photos in the text, in order, pre-loaded onto PowerPoint slides; (3) Animations: high quality animations of key geologic processes (see below for more details). Also included are all illustrations and a selection of photos for the text in 16-bit, low-compression JPEG files. All images are manually adjusted for color, brightness, and contrast PH Geoscience Animations - Created through a unique collaboration among five of Prentice Hall''s leading geoscience authors, these animations may represent a most significant leap forward in lecture presentation.

Available on the Instructor Resource Center on CD . They are provided as both Flash files and, for your convenience, pre-loaded into PowerPoint slides. The list of animations includes: Convergent Margins Seafloor Spreading Faults Transform Faults Foliation Folding P & S Waves Stream Processes Angular Unconformity and Nonconformity Global Warming Beach Drift Seismograph Operations Breakup of Pangea Nebular Hypothesis Oxbow Lake Formation Crater Lake Igneous Features Hydrologic Cycle Tidal Cycle Glacial Processes/Ice Budget Relative Dating Tectonic Settings of Volcanic Activity Glacial Processes/Plucking and Moraines Wave Motion Coastal Processes/Jetties, Groins, Breakwaters Ocean Circulation Accretion of Terranes Global Atmospheric Circulation Cyclones and Anticyclones Hazard City: Assignments in Applied Geology 2e Included with every text, Hazard City gives instructors meaningful, easy-to-assign, and easy-to-grade assignments. Based on the idealized town of Hazard City, the assignments put students in the role of a practicing geologist gathering and analyzing real data, evaluating risk, making assessments and recommendations. The second edition of this widely used CD contains a new module, Shoreline Property Assessment, and, in response to reviewer requests, there are now three sets of assessment questions for each activity. NEW - A new module (Shoreline Property Assessment). Students visit four related water-front building sites some developed and some not and analyze the risk each faces due to shoreline erosion processes. NEW - Three sets of assessment questions for each activity Multiple, parallel sets of assessment questions allow the instructor to quickly and easily alter the assignments each semester.

This helps preserve the integrity of the assignments over a longer period of time. Thoroughly class tested All activities have been refined through testing in both the traditional and online classroom. Substantial, critical thinking assignments Each activity takes 30-90 minutes. The activities require students to gather and analyze real data, participate in real issues, encounter uncertainty, and make decisions. Easy grading for instructors : All questions are multiple-choice, making them quick and easy to grade. Solutions are available only via the Instructor''s Manual, helping preserve integrity for assignments in later semesters. Student flexibility for submitting answers: Using worksheets on the CD-ROM which students can print out, complete, and submit to the instructor; Visiting the Hazard City Website at http://www.hazcity.

com, answering questions online, and printing a "certificate of completion" to hand in to instructor (the certificate indicates a raw score but does not provide solutions; these must be obtained from the instructor). Easy to assign Each self-contained assignment encourages students to research, explore, learn on their own, and think. Ground Water Contamination: Students use field and laboratory data to prepare a contour map of the water table, determine the direction of ground water flow and map a contaminated area. Volcanic Hazard Assessment: Researching volcanic hazards, collecting field information, and decision-making are all used to determine the potential impact of a volcanic eruption on different parts of Hazard City. Landslide Hazard Assessment: Students research the factors that determine landslide hazard at five construction sites and make recommendations for development. Earthquake Damage Assessment: Students research the effects of earthquakes on buildings, explore Hazard City, and determine the number of people needing emergency housing given an earthquake of specific intensity. Flood Insurance Rate Maps: Flood insurance premiums are estimated using a flood insurance rate map, insurance tables and site characteristics. Snowpack Monitoring: Students utilize climatic data to estimate variables that are key to flood control and water supply management.

Coal Property Evaluation: The potential value of a mineral property is estimated by learning about mining and property evaluation then applying that knowledge in a resource calculation. Landfill Siting: Students use maps and geological data to determine if any of five proposed sites meet the requirements of the State Administrative Code for landfill siting. Shoreline Property Assessment: Students visit four related water-front building sites some developed and some not and analyze the risk each faces due to shoreline erosion processes.