Introduction to Environmental Sciences and Sustainability

Reviewed by Kristen Genet, Unlimited Full Time Faculty in Biology, Anoka-Ramsey Community College on 10/16/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

There are 14 chapters in this text that cover a wide range of environmental science concepts and environmental issues. I had no trouble finding information that addressed each of the core course concepts from our common course outline.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

Even though the copyright date is indicated to be 2023, there is some information that is very outdated (especially when it comes to renewable energy and electric vehicles in the transportation sector). I know this is a rapidly changing field of study. but I would really like to think that the information would be accurate and current as of the copyright date.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

I addressed this in the "accuracy" section, but this is an inherent issue in this field where technology and data changes so rapidly. It really needs updates in the sections about those issues that change most rapidly (e.g., renewable energy, climate change).

Clarity rating: 4

Writing style is clear, and supporting information is frequently included in the form of images, data, tables, diagrams, etc. I would actually like to see even more of that, and in a way that would be interactive and engaging for the students to work through.

Consistency rating: 4

I do find that the sections within chapters, as well as between chapters, are written consistently. That allows me to easily move between topics as I encourage students to build connections between concepts.

Modularity rating: 4

Each chapter is divided into multiple sections, which makes it very easy for me to pick and choose those sections to include as resources each week. The chapters are numbered, but I wonder if we could omit the numbers and just label them by topic and theme, as the numbers and sequence seem to be a bit arbitrary and it's certainly possible to move between sections and chapters.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The structure and organization are clear and logical for the most part, but there are a few things that I would reorder - however, given the modularity of the resource, it's very easy to do that as I pick and choose chapters (and sections within chapters) into the content page of my LMS.

Interface rating: 5

It is easy to navigate between chapters (or sections within chapters) using the dropdown menu/navigation on the left side of the screen. There are a couple examples of figures that do not display within chapter sections, but the vast majority of them are well positioned and not distorted.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text did not contain any grammatical errors that I found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

There are specific connections that are culturally responsive in the section on environmental justice and indigenous struggles, but it would be even more impactful to weave culturally relevant examples and data throughout the text, which is still written from a very western, colonial perspective.