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J. Richard Mayer is a professor of environmental studies at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. He received his B.S. from Union College in Schenectady, New York; his M.A. from Columbia University in New York, New York, and his Ph.D. from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He has over a dozen publications and has presented numerous papers in his field. In 1965, he received the Superior Performance Award from the National Science Foundation and in 1989, he was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award from Western Washington University. He holds membership in the American Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Sciences, the Pacific Estuarine Research Society, and Sigma Xi.
Why I decided to write this book
I have been teaching college-level environmental science courses for thirty years. It is an adventure in learning for both me and my students because environmental problems and issues have become "front-page" news almost every day. Engaging them in reasonable and rational ways requires reliable insights to environmental science principles. Gaining these insights can be strongly reinforced through major case studies - carefully researched, real-world narratives describing environmental problems and issues that have been or are being successfully addressed.
I am sure that most educators use case studies in one form or another. Often, they are brief narratives focused on a particular point being made. What I have found is that up-to-date, in-depth case studies and regional perspectives capture student attention, underscore scientific principles, clarify technical concepts, and illustrate alternative approaches to problem solving. I believe that this approach helps students to comprehend critically important connections in environmental science subject matter. That is why I decided to write this book.
J. Richard Mayer