Book Review

Environmental Geology: Geology and the HumanEnvironment by Matthew R. Bennett and Peter Doyle,1997, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 501pp. ISBN 0-471­97459-5 (SB), £18.99.

With the recent proliferation of environmental geologycourses in universities this book is timely, and should bewelcomed by students taking a range of environmentalscience courses, as well as those reading geology. Departingfrom existing environmental geology texts, the authors setout to demonstrate their basic tenet that 'the true challengeof environmental geology does not lie in rural areas or greenissues, but in the urban environment'. Do they succeed?Well, yes and no!

Bennett and Doyle make the point that environmentalgeology - the interaction of humans with the geologicalenvironment - is not a new subject, but a combination ofeconomic and engineering geology and applied geomorph­ology. It is the ever-increasing demands on our geologicalresources which have highlighted the need for greaterenvironmental management and brought together thesethree areas of geology. Now, under the umbrella of environ­mental geology, we have the tools for developing moreeffective environmental management, which is defined bythe authors as 'working with natural geological systems tosustain development, but not at an unacceptableenvironmental cost'. They argue that there are four maincomponents to this premise:

(i) managing geological resources, (e.g. fossil fuels,minerals and water) and limitation and mitigation ofthe environmental damage caused by their use;

(ii) understanding and adapting to the constraints onengineering and construction imposed by the geo­logical environment - very important in regions ofclimatic extreme;

(iii) appropriate use of the geological environment forwaste disposal so that contamination and pollution areminimized; and

(iv) recognition of natural hazards and mitigation of theirimpacts.

The book is essentially split into two, the first half coversgeological resources, their extraction and use and theremaining chapters consider the management of thoseresources. The scene is set in Chapter 1 with definitions,scope and tools for the practice of environmental geology. Itis followed by the geology of resource management. Giventhe authors' premise that resource management is central toenvironmental geology, more could have been made ofChapter 2. Most geological resources are unsustainable (i.e.not renewable within a human timescale); water and landuse are the possible exceptions, provided they are managedappropriately. But, whatever the mineral resource beingexploited, there is invariably an associated environmental

Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 110,271-272.

cost and it is essential that students of environmentalgeology have a thorough understanding of resource eco­nomics if the most effective management of the environ­ment is the desired outcome.

Chapter 3 looks at economic mineral resources, definedas 'any geological material which is of commercial value tohuman society. It encompasses fossil fuels, constructionmaterials, industrial minerals, metals and gemstones'. Sincethis is such a broad definition, the chapter offers a neces­sarily generic approach which, nonetheless, provides a brief'how to' guide of mineral exploration, gives readers a feelfor potential pitfalls and reviews the 'cults' or fashions usedin exploration models. The concept of economic andpolitical awareness in mineral exploration is alluded to.Methods of mineral extraction are covered briefly, butenvironmental impacts of mineral extraction and ofrestoration are dealt with quite thoroughly. So, for example,water discharge from mines, active and abandoned, is ofgreat concern because of its potential for contamination ofground and surface waters.

A good introduction to construction resources is givenin Chapter 4. Six main types of geomaterials are dealtwith: construction stone, aggregates, cement and concrete,structural clay, gypsum and glass sand and their extraction,preparation and use is discussed in some detail. Environ­mental impacts of, for example, stone extraction andcleaning, and the unauthorizsed removal of limestone pave­ment are also discussed.

Chapter 5 covers water resources. A brief introduction tohydrogeology is followed by a review of a range of watersources and methods of water transfer. The difficulties ofmaintaining a constant water supply and the variability andvulnerability of that supply, even though water is a renew­able resource, are discussed. The bulk of the chapter dealswith supply from artificial reservoirs and lakes and theassociated engineering and environmental problems whichmay be encountered. Supply of water from rivers, ground­water and desalination and potential environmental conse­quences of this are only briefly covered. Chapter 6 looks ataesthetic and scientific geological resources - essentially aplea for geological conservation. This is an approach whichhas not overly concerned geologists in the past and bringingit into focus now is to be applauded. The authors highlightthe need to promote public awareness of geologicalconservation (and the central role that the use of geologicalresources has in all our lives) so that a better understandingof the conservation issues is achieved. Compromise ratherthan conflict is seen as the aim in promoting conservation ofessentially non-renewable geological resources. However,there is the potential for conflict between the needs ofgeological conservation and environmental conservationand this is where the role of the environmental geologist canbe important.

The second half of the book, focusing on the management

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272 BOOK REVIEWS

of geological resources, starts with Chapter 7 whichintroduces engineering geology. The authors readilyacknowledge this is too technical a subject for such ageneral book but they manage to give a comprehensiveoverview. They cover methods of site investigation(particularly important), engineering problems associatedwith different types of terrain and two specific aspects ofengineering geology - rock excavations and tunnelling.There are references in the chapter to environmentalimpacts which may result from engineering geologyactivities and reminders of the need to understand the eco­nomics of the operation. Engineering geology in extremeenvironments is covered in Chapter 8 and, although thereare many extreme environments, this chapter takes two,namely polar non-glacial deserts and subtropical deserts.Examples of likely problems and possible solutions in polardeserts - seasonal drainage, frozen ground and intense frostaction - and in subtropical deserts - rapid weathering, flashfloods, drifting sand and saline groundwaters - are pre­sented from engineering projects in such areas.

Waste and pollution management are dealt with at lengthin Chapter 9 - perhaps the seminal chapter in the bookgiven the authors' premise that 'the true challenge ofenvironmental geology lies in the urban environment'. Themanagement of urban and industrial wastes are seen as themost pressing problem for the future and this chapter looksat waste disposal in the geological environment (essentiallyto land, not to seas and deep oceans), contamination andpollution, disposal of radioactive wastes, effluent releaseand treatment and the management of waste gases andparticulate emissions to atmosphere. Environmental conse­quences of inappropriate management of wastes to alldisposal routes is discussed. Attention is drawn to thepolitics as well as the economics of waste management.Given that almost 50% of the chapter deals with landfillingof wastes and potential pollution problems associated withthat (so must be deemed important by the authors), it couldhave been a little more up to date and error free. Forexample, the text (p.293) and Fig. 9.5 (p.295) differ on thetime of maximum and minimum methane yield after wasteemplacement in a landfill site. Moreover, since the declinein yield is exponential, active management of methaneemissions must continue for many years after site closurefor safety to be maintained - a point often overlooked bylandfill operators. A further hiccup on p. 293, the 1990 Actis the Environmental Protection Act. No mention is made ofthe 1995 Environment Act, brought in primarily for thecreation of the Environment Agency for England andWales. As well as some substantive additions to the existinglaw, it also, for the first time, gave statutory recognition to'sustainable development' as a primary aim of UK environ­mental law and policy.

The following three chapters cover hazards. The geologyof natural hazards is briefly looked at in Chapter 10 alongwith the generalities of hazard and risk management and aquick look at the economics of management strategies. Ifound this chapter muddled and the definitions of hazardand risk assessment confusing. Exogenic hazards, thosewhich result from natural processes at the Earth's surface,such as flooding, coastal erosion, soil erosion and mass

movement, are discussed in Chapter II. The nature of eachof the example hazard chosen, its impacts, magnitude,methods of risk assessment and strategies for its mitigationare then dealt with. Endogenic hazards, those resulting frominternal Earth processes, are covered in Chapter 12. Theseare seismic, volcanic and radon gas emissions and are dealtwith in the same way as those in the previous chapter. Theauthors acknowledge that these divisions are a littlearbitrary as earthquakes and volcanic activities can generatea wide range of exogenic hazards, but the divisions do makethe subject more manageable.

An interesting final chapter clearly illustrates the authors'views that it is in the urban environment where the futurechallenge of environmental geology will be most keenlyfelt, where human interaction with the physical environ­ment is at its greatest. Two case studies are presented tosupport their view of the importance of environmentalgeology within the urban environment - ancient Rome andmodern Hong Kong - looking at resource management,engineering constraints, waste management and hazardmitigation for each city. The importance of the role of theenvironmental geologist is clearly defined in this subjectarea.

As an introductory student text this is a useful synthesisof much recent work on many aspects of environmentalgeology. It brings together, between the covers of one book,information which otherwise would be widely scattered andprovides a huge range of references and further reading. Itis useful to have definitions and new terms emboldened,chapters broken down into manageable, sub-sections and asummary of key points at the end of each chapter. But, giventhat ten of the thirteen chapters start with a blank page howmuch more useful it would have been if those sub-headingshad been listed, with page numbers, at the beginning ofeach chapter; this may have overcome the mis-numberingwhich occurred in places. Another quibble is the use ofboxes - frequently there is too much information for thebox to sit on one page, thus defeating the object of using it.In Chapter 6 it is taken to ludicrous extremes where theSummary of Key Points begins on page 189 and is con­tinued on page 192 with Box 6.6 interrupting it on pages190, 191 and 192! I am not convinced that the authors havemastered the most appropriate use of the box and I think aspresented in this book it detracts from, rather than enhances,information presentation.

Whilst I appreciate that this is an introductory text andnot a user manual and examples are drawn from many partsof the world, I think that it is a serious omission not to drawattention to environmental legislation. Environmentalgeologists have to operate within legislative (as well asgeological) constraints and therefore must be aware of thelegislation wherever they are working. But, notwithstandingthese quibbles, this is a useful introductory book forstudents of environmental geology and science and at£18.99 is less than many would spend on an evening'sentertainment and I have no hesitation in recommendingone less evening out in order to buy this book.

SUSAN BROWNGeologists' Association