ESP 475 - Environmental Sustainability

Introduction | Reference Sources | Indexes & Databases | Internet Resources | Writing the Paper

For further research assistance, please contact Tim Lynch tlynch@usm.maine.edu; (780-5344), Research and Instructional Services Librarian; Liaison to the Environmental Science and Policy Program. Gorham Campus Library, University of Southern Maine.

The following is a selective list of resources to further research in the area of sustainability.

Sustainability is an concept that covers a wide area of disciplines. Although the idea of saving, conserving, and preserving ulimately finds its place in the realm of Environmental Science, business practices, building practices, agricultural practices and other industries benefit from the concept of using resources in such a way as to not deplete them. More information can be found in the subject guides for Sustainability and Environmental Science and Policy.

Subject Headings

A subject search (See Subject Headings Below) is an attempt to find a collection of works determined to be in the same subject area. The Library of Congress creates these Subject Headings and new works are either matched to an existing Subject Heading or new Subject Headings are created. The best way to use a Subject Heading is to find a book, using a Keyword search (See below) that very closely fits your topic, then look to the bottom of the record for the Subject Headings that belong to that book. Using the blank subject search on its own is possible but will probably not give you the information you are looking for unless you know exactly the right Subject Headings to use.

Remember, by choosing one of these new subject headings you will have completely changed your search from your initial search. Return to your original search by using the "Search History" tab or "back" button.

Environmental responsibility
Green technology
Sustainable development
Technological innovations--Environmental aspects

Encyclopedia of Climate and Weather
Gor. Reference QC 854 .E523 1996 [2 vols]

Encyclopedia of Environmental Analysis and Remediation
Gor. Reference GE 10 .E49 1998 [8 vols]

Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues
Gor. Reference GE 10 .E52 2000 [3 vols]

Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change
Gor. Reference GE 149 .E443 2002 [5 vols]

Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology
Gor. Reference Q 123 .E497 2002 [11 vols]

Encyclopedia of the Biosphere
Gor. Reference GF 75 .B5613 1999 [11 vols]

Encyclopedia of World Environmental History
Gor. Reference GF 10 .E63 2004 [3 vols]

Europa World Yearbook 2004
Gor. Reference JN 1 .E85 2004 [2 vols]

Government Information on the Internet
Gor. Reference KF 242 .A1 N68 2000

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology
Gor. Reference Q 121 .M3 2002 [20 vols]

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2002
Gor. Reference HA 202 .A3 2002

World Almanac 2005
Gor. Reference AY 67 .N57 W7 2005

Maine

Maine Register 2005
Gor. Reference JK 2830 .M34 2005

All of the University of Southern Maine's Databases can be accessed from the homepage of the USM Library. Notice , overlap of subject matter will occur in these databases, this listing indicates a recommended first choice of databases for searches for journal articles, conference proceedings and reports in that field of information. Always remember to check general and related databases as well.

See "i" icons and Information/Help screens located on the USM Library Homepage and its links for more information about each database. To access the following databases choose Indexes and Databases from the USM Library Homepage. Note Barb Mann's Finding Articles at USM Page.

Databases

General/All: Ingenta, Academic Search Premiere
General/Local: Proquest Newsstand, Maine Newsstand, PEARL
General Science:MathSci Net, GreyLit Network, Science Citation Index , Scopus
Ecology/Biology: Biosis Previews, EBSCO Animals
Energy: Energy Citations Database, OSTI Website (formerly Pubscience)
Public Affairs/Policy: PAIS International (Public Affairs Information Service)
Business: Business Source Premiere, Business and Company Resource Center, Business and Industry, Business and Management Practices, Business Dateline, EconLit, Stat-USA (includes National Trade Data Bank) [See the Reference Desk--This database requires a separate password]
Statistics: Statistical Abstracts of the United States, Statistical Universe
Water/Soil/Geology/Geography: GeoRef, Geo Ref Preview, GeoBase
Agriculture: CRIS (Current Research Information System)
Law: HeinOnline
Citations: Science Citation Index

[Note on Journals]
Discover, Scientific American, Science News and other quasi-scholarly journals are, in fact, popular journals, but are usually written by experts in the field and therefore considered more scholarly.

Newspapers:
Proquest Newstand abstracts 143 newspapers from across the country and the world. Newswires are also included. Some regional papers are also in full-text (Ex. Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune). The Gorham Campus Library has the complete run of the New York Times in microfilm.
Maine Newstand includes selected full-text of the Portland Press Herald and other Maine newspapers for local perspectives on Environmental Science and Policy.

Terminology:

Scientific Terms vs. Popular Terms

Scientists have official names for many substances, life forms, diseases, etc.  The reason they do this is to insure that one scientist knows exactly what another scientist means, when they are communicating about a substance, life form, disease, etc.  These are called “scientific terms.”  “Popular terms” are names given by the media, a region, or a company to describe the same thing.  Think about these examples:

(Scientific names can be found either in an official subject heading/descriptor field, or in the text of an article on the topic)

There is no authority control for the Internet. In choosing Internet resources it is imperative to evaluate the authenticity of the source. Thinking Critically about Discipline-Based World Wide Web Resources (UCLA College Library) provides excellent evaluation criteria. The following selected resources have been chosen because of authenticity and comprehensiveness of coverage.

American Fact Finder (US Census Bureau)

Department of Energy

Department of the Interior

Environmental Protection Agency

Google Directory: Sustainability

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Second Nature

Smart Communities Network

Smart Growth Online

The Sustainability Report (Canada)

Sustainability: Science, Practice & Policy

Towards Sustainability (UK)

Maine

Green Campus Consortium of Maine

Grow Smart Maine

Maine Department of Environmental Protection

Citation Example

The following paragraphs and examples are from Wagner T. and R. Sanford., 2005. Environmental Science: Active Learning Laboratories and Applied Problem Sets. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Format for citing references and literature

Use the format below to cite any literature used in your report (e.g., your textbook, journal articles, books, and so forth). In the text of your report, if you cite specific information, or quote data or persons, cite references using the author’s surname, and year of publication (e.g., Botkin and Keller, 2003); give the page number for the source quoted or paraphrased (to help avoid plagiarism—for example, Botkin and Keller, 2003, p. 234). Sources must be credited if you obtain ideas or thoughts from them, even if you are not giving a direct quote.

No single, correct citation format exists; each discipline (e.g., biology, economics, etc.) and each journal has a preferred citation format. Thus, what is presented below is one particular style but you will see other styles in your research. The most important aspect is to be consistent and to ensure all necessary information is contained in the citation.

For the purposes of this textbook, when you write lab reports use the following citation format from the Soil Science Society of America Journal (it is a typical science format), unless your instructor recommends a different one.

Journal Articles:

Single Author:

Connell, J. L. 1974. Species Diversity in Tropical Coral Reefs. Science 234:23-26.

Multiple Authors:

O'Rourke, D., L. Connelly, and C.P. Koshland. 1996. Industrial Ecology: A Critical Review. International Journal of Environment Pollution 6:89-112. 

Books:

Single Author:

McHarg, I. L. 1971. Design with Nature. Doubleday, Garden City, NY.

Multiple Authors:

Botkin, D.B. and E.A. Keller. 2003. Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet. 4th ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America. 1998. Publications Handbook & Style Manual. ASA, CSSA, SSCA, Madison, WI.

Chapter in a Book:

Rabe, G.B. 1999. Sustainability in a Regional Context: The Case of the Great Lakes Basin. p. 248-281. In D.A. Mazmanian and M.E. Kraft (ed.) Towards Sustainable Communities: Transition and Transformations in Environmental Policy. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

Internet:

Citations for Internet (web) sites should be similar to print media citations, including author, publication date, article title, site title, URL, and date the information was posted (or when the address was accessed).

Internet Article:

Sanchirico, J.N. and R.G. Newell. 2003. Catching Market Efficiencies: Quota-Based Fisheries Management. Resources 150 [Online], 23 Sept. 2003.

Government Website:

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2004. Home Page [Online]. Available at http://www.epa.gov (verified 3 June 2004).

Source: American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America. 1998. Publications Handbook & Style Manual. ASA, CSSA, SSCA, Madison, WI.

Plagerism

Plagiarism-The Do's and Dont's: Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism (University of California-Davis)

Plagiarism: What it is and How to Recognize and Avoid it (Indiana University)

Created by: Tim Lynch
Created on: 08.29.2005
Last Updated: 09.01.2005