The environment consists of the surroundings in which an organism operates including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans and their interrelation. It is this environment which is both so valuable, on the one hand, and so endangered on the other. Effects stemming from the choices made by the human population in regards to environmental health are by and large ruining the environment both for themselves and for other organisms. This series covers leading-edge research in a cross-section of fields focusing on the environment including current research data on emerging microbiology issues of potable water in developed countries; vermiculture biotechnology; human waste as a potential resource; the redistribution of tissue metal; and the application of DNA microarrays to microbial ecology research.