5 Geography, Environment and Geomatics
Geography (GEG)
Laboratory Manual for Introductory Geography, First British Columbia Edition∗
Stuart MacKinnon (UBC Okanagan), Katie Burles (College of the Rockies), Terence Day (Okanagan College), Fes de Scally (UBC Okanagan), Nina Hewitt (UBC), Crystal Huscroft (Thompson Rivers University), Gillian Krezoski (University of Victoria), Allison Lutz (Selkirk College), Craig Nichol (UBC Okanagan), Andrew Perkins (Simon Fraser University), Todd Redding (Okanagan College), Ian Saunders (UBC Okanagan), Leonard Tang (Langara College), and Chani Welch (Okanagan College)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
This lab manual is a cross-institutional project from British Columbia (BC), Canada that provides 22 labs to be implemented within first-year post-secondary physical geography courses. The labs have been developed to be easily adapted for various course structures, durations, and differing laboratory learning objectives set out by instructors. Instructor notes are provided for each lab that outline the instructional intent of the lab author, along with some suggestions for modification. The lab manual consists of 22 labs that cover an introduction to physical geography, weather and climate, biogeography, map and geospatial skills, hydrology, geomorphology, and landform identification. The majority of the labs have a BC focus; however, they are useable across Canada and further abroad. The majority of the labs have been developed so that they can be done in any order to increase instructor flexibility and promote adaptability to differing course structures and durations. Many of the labs have students using live data, or built-in flexibility with datasets for instructors in order to prevent the lab exercises becoming static over time. The first edition of this lab manual is intended as a beta test of the lab manual for the 2020/21 academic year.
Formats: Pressbooks WebBook, EPUB, PDF, and MOBI
Includes: Learning objectives, dynamic Excel spreadsheets, worksheets, and lab exercises
Suggested for:
GEG 1301 The Physical Environment [espcially Labs 01, 03 and 06]
Physical Geography∗
Lumen Learning
2015
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
An open textbook published by Lumen Learning on Physical Geography. It includes chapters on planet Earth; plate tectonics; tectonic forces; weathering, erosion, and deposition; Earth’s fresh water; oceans and coastal environments; the atmosphere; and weather processes and systems.
Format: Online
Includes: Embedded videos
Suggested for:
GEG 1301 The Physical Environment [as supplementary resource]
Physical Geography and Natural Disasters∗
R. Adam Dastrup (Salt Lake Community College)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The intent of this textbook is to update and build upon the body of knowledge that exists within the geographic discipline.
Formats: Pressbooks WebBook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Embedded videos
Suggested for:
GEG 1301 The Physical Environment
Physical Geology – 2nd Edition∗
Steven Earle (Thompson Rivers University)
2019
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Physical Geology is a comprehensive introductory text on the physical aspects of geology, including rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciation, groundwater, streams, coasts, mass wasting, climate change, planetary geology and much more. It has a strong emphasis on examples from western Canada, especially British Columbia, and also includes a chapter devoted to the geological history of western Canada. The book is a collaboration of faculty from Earth Science departments at Universities and Colleges across British Columbia and elsewhere.
Formats: Pressbooks WebBook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Applications, chapter summaries, exercises, and solutions
Reviews: BCcampus – Open Textbook Library (first edition)
Suggested for:
GEG 1301 The Physical Environment [as supplementary resource]
Earth Science∗
Claire M. Coyne (Santa Ana College) (Lumen Learning)
2017
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This text includes introductions to concepts from level I earth science courses, from geology to water systems. It was developed through Lumen Learning and a professor of Geology and Earth Sciences from Santa Ana College.
Format: Online
Includes: Learning objectives, vocabulary, summaries, review questions, embedded videos, and points to consider
Suggested for:
GEG 1301 The Physical Environment [as supplementary resource]
Introduction to Human Geography∗
R. Adam Dastrup (Salt Lake Community College)
2015
Licence: CC BY 4.0
This textbook includes chapters on Population and Migration, Cultural Geography, Political Geography, Sustainable Development, Food, Water, & Agriculture, Urban Geography, Environmental Issues, and Living with Disasters.
Formats: Pressbooks WebBook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Learning outcomes, essential questions, embedded videos, and summaries
Suggested for:
GEG 1302 Places and Spaces of Human Geography [chapters 2-5]
Introduction to Human Geography – 2nd Edition∗
David Dorrell, Joseph Henderson, Todd Lindley, and Georgeta Connor (Georgia Gwinnett College)
2018
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Geography is a diverse discipline that has some sort of connection to most every other academic discipline. This connection is the spatial perspective, which essentially means if a phenomenon can be mapped, it has some kind of relationship to geography. Studying the entire world is a fascinating subject, and geographical knowledge is fundamental to a competent understanding of our world. In this chapter, you will learn what geography is as well as some of the fundamental concepts that underpin the discipline. These fundamental terms and concepts will be interwoven throughout the text, so a sound understanding of these topics is critical as you delve deeper into the chapters that follow.
Formats: PDF and Word
Includes: Sample questions, exercises, and lecture slides
Suggested for:
GEG 1302 Places and Spaces of Human Geography [chapters 2-4 and 8-9]
World Regional Geography: People, Places and Globalization∗
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing
2016
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
World Regional Geography: People, Places and Globalization is designed for students to experience and study as much of the world as possible within a limited amount of time. It gives students the fundamental concepts and the latest data regarding world places in a concise, easy-to-read format. This World Regional Geography textbook focuses on the primary issues that have created our cultural and societal structures, and presents them within a framework for global understanding. A pattern of development is outlined from the imprint that European colonialism had on culture to the impact that giant retail corporations like Wal-Mart have on consumerism.
Formats: Pressbooks WebBook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Learning objectives, discussion and study questions, activities, and key takeaways
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
GEG 1302 Places and Spaces of Human Geography
World Regional Geography∗
Caitlin Finlayson (University of Mary Washington)
2016
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Rather than present students with a broad, novice-level introduction to geography, emphasizing places and vocabulary terms, this text approaches geography as experts understand the discipline, focusing on connections and an in-depth understanding of core themes. This thematic approach, informed by pedagogical research, provides students with an introduction to thinking geographically. Instead of repeating the same several themes in each chapter, this text emphasizes depth over breadth by arranging each chapter around a central theme and then exploring that theme in detail as it applies to the particular region. In addition, while chapters are designed to stand alone and be rearranged or eliminated at the instructor’s discretion, the theme of globalization and inequality unites all of the regions discussed. This core focus enables students to draw connections between regions and to better understand the interconnectedness of our world. Furthermore, the focus on both globalization and inequality helps demonstrate the real-world application of the concepts discussed. Colonialism, for instance, rather than a historical relict, becomes a force that has shaped geography and informs social justice. This thematic approach is also intended to facilitate active learning and would be suitable for a flipped or team-based learning-style course since it more easily integrates case studies and higher-order thinking than the traditional model.
Formats: Pressbooks WebBook and PDF
Includes: Learning objectives, rhetorical questions, and glossary
Reviews: Open Textbook Library – eCampusOntario Open Library – BCcampus
Suggested for:
GEG 1302 Places and Spaces of Human Geography
Environmental Studies (ENV)
Global Warming in Local Discourses: How Communities around the World Make Sense of Climate Change∗
Edited by Michael Brüggemann and Simone Rödder (Universität Hamburg)
2020
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Global news on anthropogenic climate change is shaped by international politics, scientific reports and voices from transnational protest movements. This timely volume asks how local communities engage with these transnational discourses. The chapters in this volume present a range of compelling case studies drawn from a broad cross-section of local communities around the world, reflecting diverse cultural and geographical contexts. From Greenland to northern Tanzania, it illuminates how different understandings evolve in diverse cultural and geographical contexts while also revealing some common patterns of how people make sense of climate change. Global Warming in Local Discourses constitutes a significant, new contribution to understanding the multi-perspectivity of our debates on climate change, further highlighting the need for interdisciplinary study within this area. It will be a valuable resource to those studying climate and science communication; those interested in understanding the various roles played by journalism, NGOs, politics and science in shaping public understandings of climate change, as well as those exploring the intersections of the global and the local in debates on the sustainable transformation of societies.
Formats: Online and PDF
Suggested for:
ENV 1101 Global Environmental Challenges
Environmental Science: A Canadian Perspective∗
Bill Freedman (Dalhousie University)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
This textbook is intended to provide the core elements of a curriculum for teaching environmental science at the introductory level in Canadian colleges and universities. This book is suitable for students beginning a program in environmental science, environmental studies, or sustainability. It is also appropriate for arts students who require a science elective, and for science students who require a non-major elective. Not many introductory textbooks in environmental science are written in a way that provides a deep examination of issues that are particularly important in Canada, and the ways they are being dealt with by governments and society-at-large. Canada has unique national and regional perspectives that should be understood by Canadian students, and it is regrettable that many of them are studying from textbooks whose focus is not their own country. This book, however, was written from the ground-up to provide Canadian information and examples. This national context is integrated throughout the text, along with North American and global data that provide a broader perspective. Special Canadian Focus boxes illustrate important examples of environmental issues in our national context. At the same time, Global Focus boxes enhance the international context for learning about issues, while In Detail boxes examine particular topics in greater depth.
Formats: Pressbooks WebBook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Instructor resources, student resources, review questions, discussion questions, and summaries
Reviews: BCcampus
Suggested for:
ENV 1101 Global Environmental Challenges [especially chapters 15-19 and 21-22]
Environmental Biology∗
Edited by Matthew R. Fisher (Oregon Coast Community College) (OpenOregon)
2017
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Environmental Biology enables students to develop a nuanced understanding of today’s most pressing environmental issues. This text helps students grasp the scientific foundation of these issues so that they can better understand the world around them and their impact upon it. This open textbook covers the most salient environmental issues, from a biological perspective. The text is designed for an introductory-level college science course. Topics include the fundamentals of ecology, biodiversity, pollution, climate change, food production, and human population growth.
Formats: Pressbooks WebBook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Lecture slides, end-of-chapter summaries and review questions with answer key
Reviews: Open Textbook Library – BCcampus
Suggested for:
ENV 1101 Global Environmental Challenges [especially chapters 1 and 4-11]
Earth 2020: An Insider’s Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet∗
Edited by Philippe Tortell (University of British Columbia)
2020
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Earth 2020: An Insider’s Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet responds to a public increasingly concerned about the deterioration of Earth’s natural systems, offering readers a wealth of perspectives on our shared ecological past, and on the future trajectory of planet Earth. Written by world-leading thinkers on the front lines of global change research and policy, this multi-disciplinary collection maintains a dual focus: some essays investigate specific facets of the physical Earth system, while others explore the social, legal and political dimensions shaping the human environmental footprint. In doing so, the essays collectively highlight the urgent need for collaboration across diverse domains of expertise in addressing one of the most significant challenges facing us today.
Formats: Online and PDF
Includes: Videos of online panel discussions (May 2020)
Suggested for:
ENV 5101 The Anthropocene
Climate Toolkit: A Resource Manual for Science and Action∗
Frank D. Granshaw (Portland State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
The Climate Toolkit is a resource manual designed to help the reader navigate the complex and perplexing issue of climate change by providing tools and strategies to explore the underlying science. As such it contains a collection of activities that make use of readily available online resources developed by research groups and public agencies. These include web-based climate models, climate data archives, interactive atlases, policy papers, and “solution” catalogs. Unlike a standard textbook, it is designed to help readers do their own climate research and devise their own perspective rather than providing them with a script to assimilate and repeat.
Formats: Pressbooks WebBook, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and more
Includes: Activities and resources
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for:
ENV 1101 Global Environmental Challenges [especially chapters 9-10, 15-16, and 21]