Geosciences, Environment and Man

Book excerpt: Geosciences, Environment and Man has three major objectives, which determine the division in three parts of this volume: I. To consider the main natural geological processes interfering with and therefore threatening the activities of man: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, land movements, floods, wind and coastal risks; main prevention and mitigation measures against these natural hazards are presented. II. To examine the exploitation of earth's natural resources such as materials, ores and minerals, fossil fuels, water, radioactivity, and the resulting consequences on solid Earth balance and future. III. To assess the hold level reached by the activities of man on planet surface envelopes through agriculture, urbanization, industrialization, and communication; the local to global effects of human influence triggered by recent demographic growth on underground, soils, water and air characters are taken into account. Both deteriorating and beneficial aspects of Earth - the interactions of man are emphasized, as well as mitigation or restoration measures and perspectives.