The greatly anticipated 3rd edition of EARTH SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT provides a rich overview of all Earth-related disciplines, including geology, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, and astronomy -- providing a sense of how Earth functions as a single system composed of interacting subsystems. This text is designed for use by students in an Earth Science course with an environmental and/or Earth Systems emphasis. Thompson and Turk's commitment to the Earth systems approach is integrated throughout the text and is emphasized graphically in the new thematic flow chart, SYSTEMS INTERACTIONS, which illustrates the interconnectivity of the Earth's four spheres (geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere). Environmental issues are emphasized and integrated into the text, and stunning multi-part visuals emphasize the beauty of Earth science. Together, Thompson, a teacher, researcher, and author, and Turk, a geosciences author, chemist, and adventurer, bring a wealth of earth science knowledge -- both in the classroom and first-hand -- to this vibrant, student-friendly, authoritative textbook. To further enrich the student experience, this edition is now fully integrated, on a concept level and with book-specific interactivities, with a FREE brand-new, student tutorial system called EarthScienceNow. EarthScienceNow is Web-based, assessment-driven, and completely flexible, offering a personalized learning plan based on each student's quiz results to focus students' attention on the concepts they don't yet understand. This superior teaching package, along with a text by an experienced and dedicated author team, provides students with fun, interactive learning opportunities.