Typical questions

• • Where can I get recent data on carbon emissions for EU nations?

• • I need recent articles on environmental accounting.

Starting points

• • Environmental studies – the academic study of human interaction with the environment – is a large interdisciplinary topic. Students studying ecology may also benefit from consulting the Biology and Geography chapters, environmental regulation (Law and Business) and physical phenomena of climate change (Geography).

• • Statistical data is often requested. The sub-section signposts high quality sources.

• • Many websites relating to the environment are created by activists or lobby groups. These can give useful viewpoints but should be evaluated carefully taking into consideration any lack of objectivity. This section directs users to recommended academic resources.

Recommended resources

Key organisations – UK

Use these to locate news, publication reviews, conference listings and details of ongoing research.

Committee of Heads of Environmental Sciences (CHES)

www.ches.org.uk

Membership organisation for UK higher education institutions delivering programmes in environmental science.

Key organisations – overseas

American Geophysical Union (AGU)

sites.agu.org

Long-established body with a reputation for promoting scientific research into the earth sciences. Website has science policy and legislation alerts relating to the US.

National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE)

www.ncseglobal.org

Leading non-profit body. Its website has a large section on its support for education and careers in the US.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

www.iucn.org

World's oldest global environmental network covering all aspects of environmental protection. Website provides free access to many of its publications and databases. These include the influential Red List of endangered species.

Government bodies

Use these to locate policy documents, legislation and statistics. Remember that responsibilities and departmental names may change. For further advice see the Government and Parliamentary Publications chapter.

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food- rural-affairs

UK government body with current responsibility for the environment. Has conducted regular public surveys on attitudes towards the environment.

Environment Agency

www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Key UK government public body responsible for promoting and implementing environmental policy and sustainable development. Website has coverage of ongoing projects.

US Environmental Protection Agency [Specialist]

www.epa.gov

Maintains the Health and Environmental Research Online (HERO) database (hero.epa.gov) that contains thousands of references to scientific literature. Topics covered include chemical risk, occupational health, pollution, air quality and waste. In many cases, full text articles can be downloaded free of charge.