Hardcover plus CD

A beautifully illustrated reference providing fascinating insights into the hidden world of the seafloor using the latest deep-sea imaging.

Plastics have transformed every aspect of our lives. Yet the very properties that make them attractive—they are cheap to make, light, and durable—spell disaster when trash makes its way into the environment. Plastic Soup: An Atlas of Ocean Pollution is a beautifully-illustrated survey of the plastics clogging our seas, their impacts on wildlife and people around the world, and inspirational initiatives designed to tackle the problem. In Plastic Soup, Michiel Roscam Abbing of the Plastic Soup Foundation reveals the scope of the issue: plastic trash now lurks on every corner of the planet. With striking photography and graphics, Plastic Soup brings this challenge to brilliant life for readers. Yet it also sends a message of hope; although the scale of the problem is massive, so is the dedication of activists working to check it. Plastic Soup highlights a diverse array of projects to curb plastic waste and raise awareness, from plastic-free grocery stores to innovative laws and art installations. According to some estimates, if we continue on our current path, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by the year 2050. Created to inform and inspire readers, Plastic Soup is a critical tool in the fight to reverse this trend.

Designed in consultation with NASA and the NOAA, a detailed exploration of the Earth's oceans provides more than 150 maps, photos, and satellite images combined with information on its diverse life and phenomena, as well as related technological developments.

"Water may soon be one of our most valuable commodities. The growing demands made on a finite resource by an increasing number of people adopting urban lifestyles and western diets, coupled with a changing and less predictable climate, are putting pressure on the planet's freshwater supply as never before. By 2025, four billion people may be living in conditions of water stress. And even where water is plentiful, the poor are unlikely to have ready access to a safe, cheap supply. The new edition of this timely atlas analyzes the latest thinking and emerging issues. Completely updated, it maps the competing claims on limited water resources--made by farmers, industrialists, and householders--and investigates the nature of the resource, its uses and abuses, as well as the vexed question of how it can be managed equitably"-- Page 4 of the cover.

Accompanying CD-ROM includes additional illustrations and material.