Reference works like dictionaries and encyclopedias, some of which are highly specialized, and reference websites, can be useful for:
A note on using Wikipedia: Wikipedia can be a great resource for getting started on research. I often use Wikipedia to get an overview on an interesting subject and gather some key information. Like with all resources, I recommend checking the footnoted references to verify the information in an article before considering it credible.
Encyclopedias and reference resources offer a broad overview on a topic and provide information about the established basics in a discipline. These resources answer the "Who? What? When? Where? Why?" questions which can be foundational to research.
Encyclopedia of climate change [electronic resource]
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This new edition of The Encyclopedia of Climate Change provides comprehensive coverage of global warming and climate change, including scientific descriptions and explanations of all factors, from carbon dioxide to sunspots, that might contribute to climate change. Previously published as the Encyclopedia of Global Warming in 2009, this new edition, now titled the Encyclopedia of Climate Change, brings the conversation up-to-date with a full update of existing material and over 100 new entries. New content includes detailed information from the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, Greenpeace Activists, the Politics of Global Warming, Environmental Politics, Negotiations on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and The Standing March, to name a few.
Encyclopedia of Environmental Science
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A strongly interdisciplinary and wide-ranging survey of the environment of life on Earth: the most authoritative and comprehensive source on environmental science to be collected together in a single volume. Unique in presenting both a basic overview and detailed information on environmental topics. Entries are arranged in an encyclopedic A-Z format and contain extensive cross-references to related entries, as well as references to primary and secondary literature. Over 370 separate entries prepared by 228 leading experts from 25 countries. Incorporates 25 substantial in-depth treatments of key areas and also includes biographies of leading scientists and environmentalists. Contains a comprehensive subject index and a citation index of all referenced authors. The Encyclopedia of Environmental Science is a multidisciplinary reference work, which crosses many fields of interest and includes a wide variety of scholarly and authoritative articles on mankind's environment. It provides information on the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere and is careful to focus on the connections between these realms and the Earth as a whole. Taken as a whole, the Encyclopedia surveys basic environmental science and applied areas of study, and is drawn from the physical sciences, life sciences and social sciences. The 228 authors from 25 different countries, many of whom are the leading authorities in their field, include biologists, ecologists, geographers, geologists, political scientists, soil scientists, hydrologists, climatologists, and representatives of many other disciplines and academic specialties. The work, which is amply referenced and cross-referenced, consists of substantial essays on major topics, medium-sized entries and short definitional entries. The shorter entries include useful biographies of leading scientists and environmentalists. The Encyclopedia will be invaluable to all readers interested in the environment of life on Earth, its past, present and future, and its physical and social dimensions. The text provides a source of well-classified basic information as well as covering the leading theories and important debates in the environmental sciences. In addition, the book also includes assessments of the future prospects for the Earth's environment in the face of pollution, population increases and the accelerating transformation of land, air, water and vegetational systems. The Encyclopedia is unique in presenting both a basic overview and detailed information on environmental topics and is suitable for the general scientific reader and the specialized environmental scientist in academic institutions, research laboratories or private practice.
Encyclopedia of Environment and Society
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Includes bibliographical references and index.
Routledge Handbook of International Environmental Law
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This book critically explores the legal tools, concepts, principles and instruments, as well as cross-cutting issues, that comprise the field of international environmental law. Commencing with foundational elements, progressing on to discrete sub-fields, then exploring regional cooperative approaches, cross-cutting issues and finally emerging challenges for international environmental law, it features chapters by leading experts in the field of international environmental law, drawn from a range of countries in order to put forward a truly global approach to the subject. The book is split into five parts: * The foundations of international environmental law covering the principles of international environmental law, standards and voluntary commitments, sustainable development, issues of public participation and environmental rights and compliance, state responsibility, liability and dispute settlement. * The key instruments and governance arrangements across the most critical areas of international environmental law: biodiversity, wildlife, freshwater, forestry and soils, fisheries, marine pollution, chemicals and waste, air and atmospheric pollution and climate change. * Crucial developments in seven distinct regions of the world: Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America, South East Asia, the polar regions and small island states. * Cross-cutting issues and multidisciplinary developments, drawing from multiple other fields of law and beyond to address human rights and Indigenous rights, war and armed conflict, trade, financing, investment, criminology, technology and energy. * Contemporary challenges and the emerging international environmental law regimes which address these: the changing climate, forced migration, marine plastic debris and future directions in international environmental law. Containing chapters on the most critical developments in environmental law in recent years, this comprehensive and authoritative book makes for an essential reference work for students, scholars and practitioners working in the field.
The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology
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This second edition covers recent developments around the world with contributors from 33 different countries. It widens the handbook's scope by including ecological design; consideration of cultural dimensions of the use and conservation of urban nature; the roles of government and civil society; and the continuing issues of equity and fairness in access to urban greenspaces. New features include an emphasis on the biophilic design of homes and workplaces, demonstrating the value of nature, in order to counter the still prevalent attitude among many developers that nature is a constraint rather than a value. The volume explores great practical achievements that have occurred since the first edition, with many governments increasingly recognizing and legislating on urban nature and green infrastructure matters, since cities play a major role in adapting to change, particularly to climate crisis. New topics such as the ecological role of light at night and human microbiota in the urban ecosystem are introduced. Additional attention is given to food production in cities, particularly the multiple roles of urban agriculture and household gardens in different contexts from wealthy communities to the poorest informal settlements in deprived communities. The emphasis is on demonstrating what can be achieved, and what is already being done. The book aims to help scholars and graduate students by providing an invaluable and up-to-date guide to current urban ecological thinking across the range of disciplines, such as geography, ecology, environmental science/studies, planning, and urban studies, that converge in the study of towns and cities and urban design and living. It will also assist practitioners and civil society members in discovering the ways diff erent specialists and thinkers approach urban nature.
Why use a subject-specific dictionary? What's the difference between an encyclopedia and a subject dictionary?
Good questions.
A subject-specific dictionary provides relevant definitions related to the subject. The definitions are not just generic definitions--they tie the relevance of the words back to the discipline area. These dictionaries also provide key people, dates, and events. The difference between a subject-specific dictionary and encyclopedia is the length and scope of the entries. The dictionaries provide concise definitions where the encyclopedias provide longer articles on each topic.
A note about using Google or Generative AI to define words: Simply put, these definitions are often not relevant to the discipline. Among other issues, generative AI uses an astronomical amount of water and natural resources. Use if you want, but verify.
A Dictionary of Ecology
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The most comprehensive and authoritative dictionary of ecology available. Written in a clear, accessible style, it contains over 6,000 entries on all aspects of ecology and related environmental scientific disciplines such as biogeography, genetics, soil science, geomorphology, atmospheric science, and oceanography. Coverage is wide-ranging and includes plant and animal physiology, animal behaviour, pollution, conservation, habitat management, population, evolution, environmental pollution, climatology and meteorology. It also includes many line drawings and useful appendices including estimations of population parameters, the geologic time-scale, and SI units.
A Dictionary of Environmental History
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Increasing awareness of the extent and cause of environmental problems has fuelled the emergence of a new and timely discipline: environmental history. An exciting blend of geography, history, archaeology, anthropology, landscape, environment and science, it seeks to reveal how human activity has affected the environment in the past and how we, in turn, have been affected by that environment. How did people use and transform their environment? What problems of pollution and resource depletion occurred? What has been the impact of industrialisation and urbanisation? How have people's perceptions of nature and the environment changed over time? Environmental historians are revealing how and why our environment changed in the past, they are providing key insights into the mechanisms that influence environmental change today, and are helping to make informed decisions on crucial environmental concerns such as deforestation, desertification, pollution, global warming and climate change. Professor Whyte's A Dictionary of Environmental History provides in a single volume a comprehensive reference work covering the past 12,000 years of the Earth's environmental history.
An introduction to the discipline is followed by almost 1,000 entries covering key terminology, events, places, dates, topics, as well as the major personalities in the history of the discipline. Entries range from shorter factual accounts to substantial mini-essays on major topics and issues. Fully cross-referenced and with an extensive bibliography, this pioneering work provides an authoritative yet accessible resourcethat will form essential reading for academics, practitioners and students of environmental history and related disciplines.
A Dictionary of Environment & Conservation
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A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation provides over 9,000 A to Z entries on scientific and social aspects of the environment—its key thinkers, treaties, movements, organizations, concepts, and theories. Covering subjects such as sustainable development, biodiversity, and environmental ethics, this is the ideal reference for students of environment and conservation, as well as for professionals in the field.