These timely essays describe how to rediscover a land where life can be lived and enjoyed to the fullest, free from the constant specter of pollution, overcrowding, and overdevelopment. Though focusing on California, the environment everywhere faces similar pressures. If solutions can be found for one region, perhaps there is hope for the rest of the country as well.The contributions gathered here, written specifically for this volume by experts from across the state, examine the many and varied threats to the health and well-being of one of the nation's most striking landscapes and its inhabitants. California's Threatened Environment identifies realistic and workable suggestions for revitalizing the once Golden State -- suggestions that can help to protect threatened environments across the United States.