Critical Skills for Environmental Professionals

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Introduction: Mastering the Skills You Need to Be a Successful Environmental Professional

   • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

   Pages 1-11

3. Problem Framing

   • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

   Pages 13-21

4. Navigating Scientific Literature

   • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

   Pages 23-33

5. Critical Thinking

   • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

   Pages 35-44

6. Scientific Inquiry

   • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

   Pages 45-56

7. Quantitative Literacy

   • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

   Pages 57-65

8. Linking Cause and Effect

   • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

   Pages 67-76

9. Environmental Problem Solving

   • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

   Pages 77-85

10. Decision Support

    • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

    Pages 87-98

11. Environmental Communication

    • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

    Pages 99-111

12. Systems Thinking

    • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

    Pages 113-127

13. Working Across Scales

    • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

    Pages 129-141

14. Sustainability Science

    • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

    Pages 143-156

15. Key Disciplinary Tools

    • Jennifer Pontius, Alan McIntosh

    Pages 157-165

16. Back Matter

    Pages 167-188

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This textbook focuses on a set of skills-based learning outcomes common among undergraduate environmental programs. It covers critical scientific skills and ways of thinking that bridge the gap between the knowledge-based content of introductory environmental textbooks and the professional skills students of the environment need to succeed in both their academic programs and professional careers. This emphasis on skills is gaining more traction among academic programs across the country as they shift focus from knowledge delivery to learning outcomes and professional competencies. The book features clear methodological frameworks, engaging practice exercises, and a range of assessment case studies suitable for use across academic levels. For introductory levels, this text uses guided practice exercises to expose students to the skills they will need to master. At the capstone level, this text allows students to apply the knowledge they have gained to real-world issues and toevaluate their competency in key programmatic learning outcomes. 


A detailed answer key with rubrics customized for specific questions and sample answers at various competency levels is available to verified course instructors.  Access to these answer key resources can be obtained by contacting the Springer Textbook Team at Textbooks@springer.com

• Environmental Science primer
• Scientific Skills
• Systems Connections
• Environmental Science Textbook
• Environmental Science Course
• Environmental Science Major
• AP Environmental Science
• Scientific Methods
• Research Methods
• Environmental Problem-Solving
• Impact Assessment
• socioecological systems
• quantitative methods
• scientific frameworks
• Science Communication
• Ecological Justice

• Research Associate Professor Director Environmental Science Program Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, USA

  Jennifer Pontius

• Professor Emeritus, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, USA

  Alan McIntosh

Jennifer Pontius: Professor Pontius is a research ecologist with the US Forest Service Northern Research Station, a Research Assistant Professor of remote sensing and applied statistics at the University of Vermont, Director of the Environmental Science Program at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and Principal Investigator of the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative and the McIntire Stennis Forest Health and Climate Change Research Umbrella. Her primary research interests focus on scaling plot-based forest health relationships to a landscape-scale using remote sensing and GIS modeling.



Alan McIntosh: After receiving his PhD in limnology at Michigan State University, Professor McIntosh taught at Purdue University and Rutgers University before joining the School of Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. He served as Director of the Vermont Water Resources and Lake Studies Center, and he chaired the Environmental Sciences Program in the school from 1995 until 2013. He taught a number of environmental courses, including the introductory environmental science class each semester during that period.

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