"Environmental issues affect every part of your life. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: WORKING WITH THE EARTH, Twelfth Edition, shows you how nature works, how we interact with it, and how we have sustained--and can continue to sustain--our relationship with the earth by applying nature’s lessons to our economies and individual lifestyles. This central theme of sustainability--the ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions--is clarified by an emphasis on natural capital (resources) and degradation, solutions, trade-offs, and the importance of individuals.