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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Environmentalist thought & ideology
'Conservation in the 21st century needs to be different and this book is a good indicator of why' Bulletin of British Ecological Society. Against Extinction tells the history of wildlife conservation from its roots in the 19th century, through the foundation of the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire in London in 1903 to the huge and diverse international movement of the present day. It vividly portrays conservation's legacy of big game hunting, the battles for the establishment of national parks, the global importance of species conservation and debates over the sustainable use of and trade in wildlife. Bill Adams addresses the big questions and ideas that have driven conservation for the last 100 years: How can the diversity of life be maintained as human demands on the Earth expand seemingly without limit? How can preservation be reconciled with human rights and the development needs of the poor? Is conservation something that can be imposed by a knowledgeable elite, or is it something that should emerge naturally from people's free choices? These have never been easy questions, and they are as important in the 21st century as at any time in the past. The author takes us on a lively historical journey in search of the answers.
The concept of the 'triple bottom line' (TBL) - the idea that business activity can simultaneously deliver financial, social and environmental benefits - was introduced in the early 1990s. A decade on, The Triple Bottom Line: Does it All Add Up? brings together the world's leading experts on corporate responsibility to assess the implications, benefits and limitations of the TBL. This collection provides a review of what has already been achieved in stimulating change in corporate culture and bringing businesses to an appreciation of the importance and benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and good environmental performance. It further explores the conceptual and practical limits of the metaphor of the TBL and sets out what can be achieved through regulation and legislation, presenting detailed professional procedures for environmental accounting and management and social auditing. The contributors' wealth of experience and insight provides a vivid picture of how much attention is now being focused by businesses on delivering more than just financial targets, and they clearly outline the necessary steps for successfully continuing along this trajectory.
In this updated edition, the author analyses the problems that conservation faces and seeks the new ideas and energy that it needs for the future. Concepts such as biodiversity and sustainability, and changes in our understanding, appreciation and concern for nature and culture are tightly intertwined, as are those between economics and the countryside. Adams explores these links and the scientific, cultural and economic significance of conservation. He argues that conservation must move beyond the boundaries of parks and reserves to embrace the whole countryside, and that it must be built into ordinary life, not isolated as a specialized product kept only in reserved places.
This book stimulates thinking on the topic of detrimental
environmental change and how research psychologists can help to
address the problem. In addition to reporting environmentally
relevant psychological research, the author identifies the most
pressing questions from an environmental point of view. "Psychology
and Environmental Change: "
Globalization and increasing international trade are becoming a fact of life, bringing increasing tensions and conflicts over their impacts on societies, livelihoods and the environment. The impacts are felt in industrialized countries but are often most harsh in developing economies. The growing debate involves not only professional economists and lawyers, but a broad range of academic disciplines as well as civil society and citizens' groups around the world. This text presents the most important contributions to the debate, and to the understanding of how sustainable international trade could be achieved. It should provide a useful sourcebook and guide to academics, practitioners and activists involved with these issues.
This book must not be ignored. It really is our final warning. Mark Lynas delivers a vital account of the future of our earth, and our civilisation, if current rates of global warming persist. And it’s only looking worse. We are living in a climate emergency. But how much worse could it get? Will civilisation collapse? Are we already past the point of no return? What kind of future can our children expect? Rigorously cataloguing the very latest climate science, Mark Lynas explores the course we have set for Earth over the next century and beyond. Degree by terrifying degree, he charts the likely consequences of global heating and the ensuing climate catastrophe.  At one degree – the world we are already living in – vast wildfires scorch California and Australia, while monster hurricanes devastate coastal cities. At two degrees the Arctic ice cap melts away, and coral reefs disappear from the tropics. At three, the world begins to run out of food, threatening millions with starvation. At four, large areas of the globe are too hot for human habitation, erasing entire nations and turning billions into climate refugees. At five, the planet is warmer than for 55 million years, while at six degrees a mass extinction of unparalleled proportions sweeps the planet, even raising the threat of the end of all life on Earth. These escalating consequences can still be avoided, but time is running out. We must largely stop burning fossil fuels within a decade if we are to save the coral reefs and the Arctic. If we fail, then we risk crossing tipping points that could push global climate chaos out of humanity’s control. This book must not be ignored. It really is our final warning.
In twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement. Food Rules, Michael Pollan's wise and witty critique of the western industrialised diet, distils the wisdom of history and traditional cultures to three simple rules: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world.
This revised second edition highlights the opportunities for achieving cost savings and environmental improvements to enhance competitiveness in organizations of all sizes, with specific guidance for small businesses. The manual sets out effective and simple mechanisms to encourage participation and commitment from both staff and suppliers. It builds on the advice of the first edition, with a wide range of new case studies from different sectors, including retailers, hotels and hospitality, schools and educational institutions, airports and prisons, and plenty of office-based examples. A new chapter on environmental reporting considers international developments in environmental management, reporting and sustainable business, including the Global Reporting Initiative and the European Environmental Reporting Awards, with a link to DETR guidance. An extended chapter on energy and utilities provides an update on environmental legislation, government position and industry trends. An office waste chapter looks at examples of successful waste exchanges that save disposal costs to donors and purchase costs to recipients.
A clear, comprehensive treatment of the subject, Environmental Statistics with S-PLUS is an ideal resource for environmental scientists, engineers, regulators, and students, even those with only a limited knowledge of statistics. It provides insight into what to think about before you collect environmental data, how to collect it, and how to make sense of it after you have it. This book addresses the vast array of methods used today by scientists, researchers, and regulators.
Concern over the environment and what people are doing to it has put important questions on the moral and political agenda. One that is often asked in the West is whether we do indeed face a terminal environmental catastrophe in the foreseeable future. Less dramatic but still serious threats to the attractiveness and sustaining powers of the world in which we live are also important considerations. This book provides an accessible introduction to the radical challenges that environmentalism poses to concepts that have become almost second nature in the modern world, including: the ideas of science and objectivity; the conventional placement of the human being within the environment; and the individualism of convential modern thought. Written in an accessible way for those without a background in philosophy, this text examines ways of thinking about ourselves, nature and our relationship with nature. It offers an introduction to the phenomenological perspective on environmental issues, and also to the questions of what natural beauty is for the threat to it to play a role in practical decision-making.
It is easy to feel helpless in the face of the torrent of information about environmental catastrophes taking place all over the world. In this powerful and provocative book, Scottish writer and campaigner Alastair McIntosh shows how it is still possible for individuals and communities to take on the might of corporate power and emerge victorious. As a founder of the Isle of Eigg Trust, McIntosh helped the beleaguered residents of Eigg to become the first Scottish community ever to clear their laird from his own estate. And plans to turn a majestic Hebridean mountain into a superquarry were overturned after McIntosh persuaded a Native American warrior chief to visit the Isle of Harris and testify at the government inquiry. This extraordinary book weaves together theology, mythology, economics, ecology, history, poetics and politics as the author journeys towards a radical new philosophy of community, spirit and place. His daring and imaginative responses to the destruction of the natural world make Soil and Soul an uplifting, inspirational and often richly humorous read.
The idea of ecological modernisation originated in Western Europe in the 1980s, gaining attention around the world by the late 1990s. At the core of this social scientific and policy-oriented approach is the view that contemporary societies have the capability of dealing with their environmental crises. Experiences in some countries demonstrate that modern institutions can incorporate environmental interests into their daily routines. Elsewhere, economic and political interests dominate development trajectories and environmental deterioration continues, challenging the premises of ecological modernisation. This volume brings together research on ecological modernisation practices around the world. Studies on Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, the USA, and Southeast Asia examine the applicability of this approach to advanced industrial countries, transitional economies and developing countries respectively. Authors critically examine the premises of ecological modernisation theory, assess its value for understanding past and present environmental transformations, and outline paths for designing future sustainable development. Taken together, the studies in collected this volume offer significant refinements, extensions and critiques of ecological modernisation theory and suggest important directions for future research on social and policy dimensions of environmental change.
'Aborigines did not cause the extinction of the megafauna ...and it is unlikely that they have caused the extinction of any element of the fauna and flora."If you want to practise control burning in order to protect houses or farms, then do it in the same way as you would use a bulldozer to clear a firebreak, but don't pretend that you are doing anything but damage to the environment."If you commercialise an environmental resource you do so to make money. Don't pretend that it also benefits the environment.'Spanning fifty thousand years and an entire continent, The Pure State of Nature presents a passionate account of the Australian environment. The myths that abound in popular and scientific writing, the 'theories' and fancies about the place of humans in the ecology of this vast landmass, are subjected to scrutiny. In particular, the author demolishes the widely accepted orthodoxy about the use of fire by Aborigines and their supposed part in the extinction of the Australian megafauna.From the ruins of those myths The Pure State of Nature offers lessons for the new millennium. In turns provocative, humorous, impassioned and gentle, this is a bold book of ideas about the past and present, a book about how we can shape the future.To The Pure State of Nature Dr David Horton brings many years' experience as scientist, farmer and archaeologist. Among his publications are Recovering the Tracks and The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia. He now writes and consults from his stud sheep farm in New South Wales.
In the age of urban geopolitics, in cooperation with the major city networks and initiatives, interconnected coastal cities lead towards a more resilient sustainable future. This book raises global awareness on the challenges and opportunities for coastal cities and the myriad of issues and stakeholders which impact them. The book offers a panoramic integrated view of the most critical urban coastal sustainability issues shaping the urban horizon of the future. Drawing on the most authoritative studies and asking further questions, the book embraces issues of smart, sustainable and inclusive blue green growth, active social integration, environmental conscience and resilience, food, energy and resource security, exploration and protection of the global ocean, ecosystem-based urban coastal planning and policy and progress in education and science, culture and the arts, coastal urban renaissance and accountable multi-layered governance. From large global ports to small tourism and fishing resorts, sustainable development calls for coastal cities to improve their functions. Coastal cities need to adopt ecosystem-based approaches to manage the land-sea continuum, invest in blue green energy and mobility, attract responsible business investment, and honour the sea as a source of infinite innovation and culture.
Like most of us, Damon Gameau has spent most of his adult years overwhelmed into inaction by the problem of climate change and its devastating effects on the planet. But when Damon became a father, he decided to do what he does best, and tell a story. The story became an imagining of what the world could look like in 2040, if we all decided to start doing things differently, right now. The result is the era-defining documentary 2040--a meticulously researched plea for the adoption of community-building, energy-generating, connection-forging, forest-renewing, ocean-replenishing measures that science tells us will reset our planet's health, drive our economies and improve lives across the globe. This book shows us how we can stitch this magnificent vision into everyday life by engaging in activities such as cooking, shopping, gardening, sharing, working and teaching our kids. It shows us that climate change is a practical problem that can be tackled by each of us, one small step at a time, and that we can make a genuine difference, if we know what to do. Brimming with practical wisdom and even 50 delicious recipes, the book empowers you to become the change you want to see in the world. Includes conversion chart.
Global institutions are afflicted by severe democratic deficits, while many of the major problems facing the world remain intractable. Against this backdrop, we develop a deliberative approach that puts effective, inclusive, and transformative communication at the heart of global governance. Multilateral negotiations, international organizations and regimes, governance networks, and scientific assessments can be rendered more deliberative and democratic. More thoroughgoing transformations could involve citizens' assemblies, nested forums, transnational mini-publics, crowdsourcing, and a global dissent channel. The deliberative role of global civil society is vital. We show how different institutional and civil society elements can be linked to good effect in a global deliberative system. The capacity of deliberative institutions to revise their own structures and processes means that deliberative global governance is not just a framework but also a reconstructive learning process. A deliberative approach can advance democratic legitimacy and yield progress on global problems such as climate change, violent conflict and poverty.
Whole Earth Living argues that human society needs a change of consciousness if we are going to ensure long-term human survival on Earth. It uses long-term history, evolutionary biology, neuroscience and philosophy to develop a new sustainability paradigm. The paradigm focuses on opportunities for optimal human and ecological welfare by reconnecting earth, history, body and mind. This book is a hopeful one. After establishing the losses, it suggests that there are fundamental re-orientations that humans as individuals and members of society can make that are more hopeful and more meaningful than some of the current formulations offered for a sustainable future. Instead of renouncing aspects of our lives, we can return to some forms of self-sufficiency (gardening, sewing, and woodworking, for example) individually, within households and communities in order to receive positive benefits, such as reducing disease and isolation.
Simon Fairlie is possibly the most influential - and unusual - eco-activist you might not have heard of. The Observer Simon Fairlie is the original hippie. The Idler This is a fascinating, funny and moving record of an extraordinary life lived in extraordinary times. George Monbiot Going to Seed is the unforgettable firsthand account of how the hippie movement flowered in the late 1960s, appeared spent by the Thatcher-consumed 1980s, yet became the seedbed for progressive reform we now take for granted - and continues to inspire generations of rebels and visionaries. At a young age, Simon Fairlie rejected the rat race and embarked on a new trip to find his own path. He dropped out of Cambridge University to hitchhike to Istanbul and bicycle through India. Simon established a commune in France, was arrested multiple times for squatting and civil disobedience, and became a leading figure in protests against the British government's road building programmes of the 1980s and - later - in legislative battles to help people secure access to land for low impact, sustainable living. Over the course of fifty years, we witness a man's drive for self-sufficiency, freedom, authenticity and a deep connection to the land. Simon Fairlie grew up in a middle-class household in leafy middle England. His path had been laid out for him by his father: boarding school, Oxbridge and a career in journalism. But everything changed when Simon's life ran headfirst into London's counterculture in the 1960s. He finds Beat poetry, blues music, cannabis and anti-Vietnam War protests - and a powerful lust to be free. Instead of becoming a celebrated Fleet Street journalist like his father, Simon becomes a labourer, a stonemason, a farmer, a scythesman, a magazine editor and a writer of a very different sort. He shares the highs of his experience, alongside the painful costs of his ongoing search for freedom - estrangement from his family, financial insecurity and the loss of friends and lovers to the excesses of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Going to Seed questions the current trajectory of Western 'progress' - explosive consumerism, growing inequality and environmental devastation; it's for anyone who wonders how we got to such a place. Simon's story is for anyone who wonders what the world might look like if we began to chart a radically different course.
Key environmental issues, such as biodiversity and climate change, have in recent years become more pressing than ever. Where the critical papers in the early 1990s explained the difficulties of cooperation in tackling transboundary environmental problems, later works have analyzed the various alternatives, and increased our understanding of various institutional designs and negotiation protocols' impact on the success of cooperation. This collection brings together the most important articles on the game theoretic analysis of international environmental cooperation to both confront the cooperative and non-cooperative approaches to this, and demonstrate the diversity of methods used to analyze international environmental agreements.
Small World, Big Ideas collects twelve of the most inspiring and courageous activists together to share their stories and present an inspiring vision of what each of us can do to build a better world today. There's an activist in all of us, and you don't have to shout about it to be heard. And to prove it, life-long campaigner and former Jain monk Satish Kumar has invited twelve of those activists he most admires to share their own inspiring stories in Small World, Big Ideas, revealing-some, for the very first time-who or what made them want to change the world and what kind of world they want to help create. This book collects the thoughts, hopes and visions of some of the most significant figures in the global fight for a better and more compassionate world. As well as Satish Kumar, we hear from: Deepak Chopra - The mind-body healing pioneer discusses his journey from growing up in post-war India to learning about Ayurvedic medicine, to his current work promoting spiritual knowledge and working for world peace. Jane Goodall - The renowned scientist and conservationist tells of the people who have inspired her in her work to pretect animals, and the reasons she has for hope in the future. Franny Armstrong - The McLibel filmmaker writes about her politicisation as a teenager, her involvement with the Greenpeace movement and the next steps in the fight against climate change. Bob Brown - The Australian Green politician shares stories from his time as an ecologist and lawmaker, and his belief in how democracy can be used to bring people together to fight the looming crises facing Planet Earth. Tim Flannery - The explorer and ecologist tells of watching the ecosystems around him disappear, his travels to remote areas around the world and how the only hope for our future lies in connecting with others to act together. Polly Higgins -The late environmental lawyer discusses how the concept of Earth Law, and how she came to fight for ecocide to be recognised as a crime against humanity. Caroline Lucas - England's only Green MP, Lucas writes about how she has fought all her life to change the political system, and how radical change is always possible! Bill McKibben - The writer and activist discusses moving from writing to political campaigning, and how he founded 350.org, the global grass-roots organization that works to halt and reverse climate change. Carlo Petrini - The slow food advocate tells of growing up in Piedmont, and of how we can change the world by putting food back at the centre of our lives. Vandana Shiva - The ecofeminist discusses how the multiple crises which she has fought - climate change, misogyny and inequality - are all interlinked, and how our response must be similarly all-encompassing. Whether they have championed the tragic plight of Indian farmers impoverished by the domination of the agro-giants or shamed Hollywood into treating climate change as a serious concern these are the people who have made their voices heard. Their illuminating and often moving life stories will inspire all of us to get off the couch and do something ourselves to help shape a better world.
In twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement - now in one complete set Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As humans have driven the living planet to the brink of collapse, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend it. Their words have endured, becoming the classics that define the environmental movement today. From art, literature, food and gardening, to technology, economics, politics and ethics, each of these short books deepens our sense of our place in nature; each is a seed from which a bold activism can grow. Together, they show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world. |
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