Cover photo credits:
Space Shuttle photos reprinted from NASA Report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, 2003.
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge photo courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup photo courtesy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier's Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, E-mail: permissions@elsevier.com. You may also complete your request on-line via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com), by selecting "Customer Support" and then "Obtaining Permissions."

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Application submitted

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 13:

ISBN 10: 0-12-088531-X

For all information on all Elsevier Academic Press publications visit our Web site at www.books.elsevier.com