Guides: Great Problems Seminar (GPS): Recover, Reuse

Government Sources

Many government agencies collect and publish statistics. The easiest way to find these statistics are by using the 'site' search on Google.

Example search:

average water consumption site:.gov

This search will bring up only government websites. This can be a great way not only to find the information you're looking for, but also to find out what government agencies are collecting this data. For instance, the search above brings up a lot of results from both the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Reference Resources

Below are some examples of encyclopedias and dictionaries for water related topics.

How to Find Reference Resources

Perform a search in WPI Library Search on the main library website
Use the filters on the left hand side to find 'Resource Type'
Under Resource Type, click on 'Reference Entries'/www.screencast.com

Some reference sources that can help for this course:

New Thinking about Pollution by Robert Curley (Editor); Britannica Educational Publishing Staff
ISBN: 9781615301713
Publication Date: 2010-08-15
As the worldOCOs resources continue to suffer from overuse and the effects of human activity, understanding the causes and effects of pollution is critical to preserving the land, water, and air that are vital to all life. This insightful volume explores the root causes of pollution, as well as the local and global responses and constantly emerging technologies that allow governments and ordinary citizens to cope with an increasingly toxic environment and landscape.
Encyclopedia of Consumption and Waste by Carl A. Zimring (Editor); William L. Rathje (Editor)
ISBN: 9781412988193
Publication Date: 2012-02-29
In our age of globalization and multiculturalism, it has never been more important to understand and appreciate all cultures across the world. The four volumes take a step forward in this endeavour by presenting concise information on those regions least well-known to students across Europe: the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The volumes convey what daily life is like for people in these selected regions. Entries will aid readers in understanding the importance of cultural sociology, to appreciate the effects of cultural forces around the world, and to learn the history of countries and cultures within these important regions.
Science and Politics by Brent S. Steel (Editor)
ISBN: 1452258104
Publication Date: 2014-05-14
Recent partisan squabbles over science in the news are indicative of a larger tendency for scientific research and practice to get entangled in major ideological divisions in the public arena. This politicization of science is deepened by the key role government funding plays in scientific research and development, the market leading position of U.S.-based science and technology firms, and controversial U.S. exports (such as genetically modified foods or hormone-injected livestock).

Helpful Databases for This Class

Databases are simply collections of online resources, such as scholarly and popular articles, eBooks, statistics, and more. Usually databases center around a particular subject. Below are some databases I think would be particularly helpful for you to use for this class.

Engineering Village This link opens in a new window
Abstracts from the Compendex database, which includes the electronic version of Engineering Index, with links to full text articles, patents, standards and handbooks in scientific, applied science, technical and engineering disciplines. Comprising journals, conference proceedings, dissertations, standards, books, and recently preprints, Compendex content is sourced from thousands of publishers from around the world, including major engineering societies such as IEEE, ASME, SAE and ACM.
Coverage: 1884-
Environmental Studies and Policy (Gale OneFile: Environmental Studies and Policy) This link opens in a new window
A collection of over 300 journals and 6 reference books provide robust coverage of environmental issues and policies, including diverse perspectives from the scientific community, governmental policy makers, as well as corporate interests. This resource is provided by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) in partnership with the Massachusetts Library System (MLS). The purchase is supported by funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
GreenFILE This link opens in a new window
Information on all aspects of human impact to the environment. Includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records.
Coverage: Varies
Full Text: Some
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Online archive of eBooks and complete backruns of scholarly journals in a variety of academic fields.
Coverage: 1800s-
Full Text: Yes
Titles Included | Search Tips
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Full text access to more than 2000 Elsevier science, social science, engineering and management scholarly journals.
Coverage: Varies
Full Text: Yes
Scopus This link opens in a new window
Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, features smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research. Scopus delivers the most comprehensive overview of the world’s research output in the fields of Science, Technology, Medicine, Social Sciences, and Arts & Humanities. As research becomes increasingly global, interdisciplinary and collaborative, Scopus helps ensure that crucial research from around the world is not missed.