Featured Background Resources
Use these background information sources (encyclopedias, dictionaries & handbooks) to...
- get useful definitions, explanations and overviews of the concepts you're interested in
- get a more useful, complete, contextual and multi-perspective understanding of your topic
- identify additional keywords you can use when searching for articles and reports
- Find Background Sources Using LibrarySearchClick to browse a rich assortment of environmental encyclopedias, dictionaries & handbooks. Narrow your subject focus by clicking 'Search Criteria' and 'ADD A NEW LINE' to add appropriate search terms.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowSearch Tip: Narrow your search results using drop-down options (e.g. publication date; article length)
- SAGE Knowledge This link opens in a new windowSearch Tip: Use the 'Quick Filters' to limit your search results (e.g. publication date; resource type)
- EBooks (Gale) This link opens in a new windowSearch Tip: Use the "Advanced Search" option to narrow your search (e.g. publication date; subject area)
Additional Encyclopedias, Handbooks & other Reference Works
Click & search within one of the subject-focused encyclopedias and dictionaries listed below:
- Encyclopedia of Environmental IssuesThis four-volume online encyclopedia covers biological, geological, anthropological, demographic, genetic and engineering aspects of the environment, and the relationships between them.
- Oxford Handbook of Environmental EthicsBroad coverage of the moral and ethical aspects of environmental protection and the effect of humans on nature.
- Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and PhilosophyExamines the philosophical and ethical issues underlying contemporary and historical environmental issues, policies, and debates. Covers concepts, institutions, topics, events and people, including global warming, animal rights, environmental movements, alternative energy, green chemistry, industrial ecology, and eco-sabotage.
- Routledge Handbook of Environmental AnthropologyFind overviews of historic and present human-environment interactions across the multiplicity of players, pressures, and ecologies in every environment, landscape and culture. Aspects of environmental anthropology covered include: ecological knowledge, belief and sustainability, climate change, resilience and vulnerability, environmental justice, ethics, and governance, health, population, and environment, and education.
- Routledge Handbook of Religion & EcologyFind overviews in the field of religion as it relates to the environment, including the dynamics of change within religious traditions & their roles in responding to global challenges such as climate change, water, conservation, food and population.
- Routledge Handbook of Environmental Conflict & PeacebuildingFind reliable and insightful examples and overviews of environmentally-related conflicts and paths to their resolution.
- Encyclopedia of Global ResourcesFind overviews and discussions of covering multiple aspects of natural resource extraction, use, benefits and impacts.
- Encyclopedia of Soils in the EnvironmentFour-volume online encyclopedia containing articles considering the numerous environmental, physical, biological, chemical, agricultural, historical, and social aspects of soil, its origins, properties, classification, and roles in the biosphere. Content also covers cross-disciplinary subjects, such as the history of soil utilization for agricultural and engineering purposes and soils in relation to the remediation of pollution and the mitigation of global climate change.
- Encyclopedia of Inland WatersSummarizes current knowledge of inland waters (lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and wetlands), from the distribution of water on Earth to properties of water, from the hydrologic cycle to the physics of water movement in lakes and rivers, from the aesthetic values to the problems of water-borne disease, from metabolism of aquatic ecosystems to behavior of aquatic organisms, from pollution to conservation, from diversity of organisms to diversity and cycling of chemicals, and so forth.
- Encyclopedia of Consumption and Waste: The Social Science of GarbageExplores the topics of consumption and waste across multiple disciplines within the social sciences and ranges further to include business, consumerism, environmentalism, and marketing.
- Encyclopedia of LifeFree, convenient and comprehensive online collaborative encyclopedia of species information in the multiple formats (text, images, video) and types--including taxonomy, ecology, history, behavior, bibliographic references, conservation, and relevance to humans and ecosystems.
- Sage Handbook of NatureExtensive collection of contributions from leading environmental social scientific researchers to support an understanding of the broad conceptual trading zones around nature, society, politics, economics, and health. Includes case studies, policy innovations, and political ideas that indicate the potential of transdisciplinary approaches to complex socio-ecological systems in the future.
A Good Way To Start!
Still deciding on a topic or needing inspiration? Try searching some of the sources listed in the 'News & Issues' section of this guide.
Quick Lookup Data & Information Sources
- Terms & Acronyms of the EnvironmentFind definitions for terms relating to the environment, including those commonly used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency