About The Authors

Thomas Spiro is a Chemistry professor who moved to the University of Washington after a career at Princeton University, where he was Chair of the Chemistry Department. He pioneered environmental courses, and developed a successful textbook Chemistry of the Environment (University Science Books)

Helen Spiro, a lawyer, has extensive educational and legal writing experience. She managed an Environmental Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers University, and served as assistant to the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Alexandra Soldatova, a chemistry PhD, is an experienced writer and illustrator of scientific papers, has worked on the environmental chemistry projects at the University of Washington.

Why we wrote this book

In 1970, Tom, then on the Princeton University chemistry faculty, developed a course on environmental chemistry. That was the year that saw the first Earth Day, the passage of clean air and water acts by the US Congress, and establishment of the US Environmental Protection Agency. The course eventually led Tom to co-author a well-regarded textbook, Chemistry of the Environment (3rd ed., University Science Press).

Meanwhile, Helen, after stints as secondary school teacher and test writer for Educational Testing Service, trained as a lawyer, and was assistant to the appellate division judges and the Chief Justice of the NJ court system. She started a publishing company, and then managed an environmental health institute.

Alexandra received her masters degree in environmental engineering and a PhD in chemistry, and has worked on environmental projects in the Spiro research group for many years.

We are concerned about the world we are leaving our kids and grandkids. We wrote this guidebook to give them, and all others, an understanding of how the environment works. This knowledge can help people work with others to solve the many environmental problems we face. Tom used his textbook writing experience to research and assemble the facts at hand, while Helen used her writing skills, and her non-scientist’s worldview, to translate the facts into a lively and comprehensible narrative. Alexandra applied her expertise and illustrator skills to the figures for the book, and gave editorial advice.

EARTH WISE is the legacy we leave to future generations.