This book deals with important current environmental issues, based on case studies at different geographical scales - local, national and global - concerning living resource management, non-renewable resources and pollution. The discussion is issue and policy-orientated. Introductory chapters deal with the emergence and significance of modern environmentalism. The final chapter looks at policy achievements and prospects, again at both national and international levels. The theoretical background to the case studies covers resources and pollution; case studies themselves include resource issues in the Norfolk Broads, UK; economic, social and environmental implications of exploiting Britain's non-renewable coal resources; ant the trans-fronter pollution problem of acid rain. Throughout, reference is made to important recurring themes such as uncertainty, social equity and the intangible nature of many aspects of environmental quality.