Martin D. Yaffe's Judaism and Environmental Ethics: A Reader is a well-conceived exploration of three interrelated questions: Does the Hebrew Bible, or subsequent Jewish tradition, teach environmental responsibility or not? What Jewish teachings, if any, appropriately address today's environmental crisis? Do ecology, Judaism, and philosophy work together, or are they at odds with each other in confronting the current crisis? Yaffe's extensive introduction analyzes and appraises the anthologized essays, each of which serves to deepen and enrich our understanding of current reflection on Judaism and environmental ethics. Brought together in one volume for the first time, the most important scholars in the field touch on diverse disciplines including deep ecology, political philosophy, and biblical hermeneutics. This ambitious book illustrates precisely because of its interdisciplinary focus how longstanding disagreements and controversies may spark further interchange among ecologists, Jews, and philosophers. Both accessible and thoroughly scholarly, this dialogue will benefit anyone interested in ethical and religious considerations of contemporary ecology."

The beginning of the new century is a crucial time for environmental political theory. Since the first wave of environmental texts appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s, environmentalism has come under a series of challenges, and has begun a process of redeveloping itself in order to meet these challenges. Environmental writers have shown that they can take on questions of distributive justice, democracy, economic efficiency, and other concerns of conventional political theory from an environmentalist perspective. This book offers a set of important contributions to the property theory, utopianism, justice, the third world, and direct action. perspective.

Why are our environmental problems still growing despite a huge increase in global conservation efforts? Peterson del Mar untangles this paradox by showing how prosperity is essential to environmentalism. Industrialization drove people to look for meaning in nature even as they consumed its products more relentlessly. Hence England led the way in both manufacturing and preserving its countryside, and the United States created a matchless set of national parks as it became the world's pre-eminent economic and military power. Environmental movements have produced some impressive results, including cleaner air and the preservation of selected species and places. But agendas that challenged western prosperity and comfort seldom made much progress, and many radical environmentalists have been unabashed utopianists. Environmentalism considers a wide range of conservation and preservation movements and less organized forms of nature loving (from seaside vacations to ecotourism) to argue that these activities have commonly distracted us from the hard work of creating a sustainable and sensible relationship with the environment.

'Beautifully written, intimate and intellectually fascinating' Nathan Filer 'This book represents, genuinely, a moment of ground-breaking importance for how we think about nature, access and wellbeing in late capitalism' Dr Alice Tarbuck 'Impeccably researched . . . A call to us all to find a place within the simplicity and complexity of nature' Lara Maiklem, bestselling author of Mudlarking Everybody is talking about the healing properties of nature. Hospitals are being retrofitted with gardens, and forests reimagined as wellbeing centres. On the Shetland Islands, it is possible to walk into a doctor's surgery with anxiety or depression, and walk out with a prescription for nature. Where has this come from, and what does 'going to nature' mean? Where is it - at the end of a garden, beyond the tarmac fringes of a city, at the summit of a mountain? Drawing on history, science, literature and art, Samantha Walton shows that the nature cure has deep roots - but, as we face an unprecedented crisis of mental health, social injustice and environmental devastation, the search for it is more urgent now than ever. Everybody Needs Beauty engages seriously with the connection between nature and health, while scrutinising the harmful trends of a wellness industry that seeks to exploit our relationship with the natural world. In doing so, this book explores how the nature cure might lead us towards a more just and radical way of life: a real means of recovery, for people, society and nature.

Protecting the environment should be a priority of every theatrical production, but it can be challenging to mount an environmentally-friendly show with limited time, resources, and information. A Practical Guide to Greener Theatre: Introduce Sustainability In to Your Productions not only gives you the information you need to make greener decisions, but provides you with practical, workable solutions. You will learn how to assess and improve every production area - from costuming and painting, lighting and technical direction, to administrative offices and the rehearsal process. Checklists, examples of successful strategies, and step-by-step instructions will show you how to identify areas where manageable, sustainable changes can make your productions greener, and advice from working professionals, with experience greening their own productions, will leave you confident that your processes are environmentally sound. Even non-technical people who find themselves responsible for supervising productions will find green solutions that can be instituted with a staff of volunteers or students. Remember: every step toward sustainability is a step forward. Discover small fixes that will make your theatre productions greener. Examine ways to introduce greener practices in the design, execution, and strike process. Explore how introducing sustainability into your theatre productions can save your company time and money. Learn how sustainability and safety intersect to help protect your workers and volunteers.

This edited volume draws together educators and scholars to engage with the difficulties and benefits of teaching place-based education in a distinctive culture-laden area in North America: the United States South. Despite problematic past visions of cultural homogeneity, the South has always been a culturally diverse region with many historical layers of inhabitation and migration, each with their own set of religious and secular relationships to the land. Through site-specific narratives, this volume offers a blueprint for new approaches to place-based pedagogy, with an emphasis on the intersection between religion and the environment. By offering broadly applicable examples of pedagogical methods and practices, this book confronts the need to develop more sustainable local communities to address globally significant challenges.

Is 'sustainable development' a charade sold to an increasingly misled public? This book presents a wide-ranging, penetrating critique of sustainability and what it actually means. The author argues that despite the rhetoric of socially and environmentally sustainable development and the ever-increasing number of legislative environmental policies, the real issues such as consumption, population growth and equity are either sidestepped or manipulated in international policy and law. Analyzing the main areas of concern - economic growth, market structure, trade, aid, debt, security and sovereignty - he shows that the entire development structure and the underpinnings of the debate are leading down quite a different path to that intended by sustainability.

In this book, Janet McIntyre addresses the need for transcultural thinking tools, to not only mend problems in the global environment but also to understand the essential nature of the problems. Thinking tools comprise the analytical concepts which organise, disorganise, pattern and question thoughts about the social and natural world. Specifically, the concepts introduced in this book are 'global citizenship', 'human rights', 'responsibility', 'social movements' and 'transcultural webs of meaning'.

Fifty Key Thinkers on the Environment is a unique guide to environmental thinking through the ages. Joy A. Palmer, herself an important and prolific author on environmental matters, has assembled a team of thirty-five expert contributors to summarize and analyse the thinking of fifty diverse and stimulating figures - from all over the world and from ancient times to the present day. Among those included are:
* philosophers such as Rousseau, Spinoza and Heidegger
* activists such as Chico Mendes
* literary giants such as Virgil, Goethe and Wordsworth
* major religious and spiritual figures such as Gotama (the Buddha) and St Francis of Assissi.
Lucid, scholarly and informative, these fifty essays offer a fascinating overview of mankind's view and understanding of the physical world.

Contents:
Introduction
1. The English, the trees, the wild and the green Paul Thompson
2. Animals, children and peasants in Tuscany Giovanni Contini
3. Narrating Nature: perceptions of the environment and attitudes towards it in life stories Daniela Koleva
4. When the water comes: memories of survival after the 1953 flood Selma Leydesdorff
5. Our land is our only wealth Olivia Bennett
6. Using community memory against the onslaught of development: resettlement in Zapata, Texas Jaclyn Jeffrey
7. Signs of things to come: metaphor and environmental consciousness in a Yuctecan community David Forrest
8. The environmental movement in Kasakstan Timothy Edmunds
9. Paths to ecofeminist activism: life stories from the north-east of England Niamh Moore
10. Pathways to the Amazon: British campaigners in the Brazilian rainforest Andreaa Zhouri

How are the unjustified dominations of women and other humans connected to the unjustified domination of animals and nonhuman nature? What are the characteristics of oppressive conceptual frameworks and systems of unjustified domination? How does an ecofeminist perspective help one understand issues of environmental and social justice? In this important new work, Karen J. Warren answers these and other questions from a Western perspective. Warren looks at the variety of positions in ecofeminism, the distinctive nature of ecofeminist philosophy, ecofeminism as an ecological position, and other aspects of the movement to reveal its significance to both understanding and creatively changing patriarchal (and other) systems of unjustified domination.

How are the unjustified dominations of women and other humans connected to the unjustified domination of animals and nonhuman nature? What are the characteristics of oppressive conceptual frameworks and systems of unjustified domination? How does an ecofeminist perspective help one understand issues of environmental and social justice? In this important new work, Karen J. Warren answers these and other questions from a Western perspective. Warren looks at the variety of positions in ecofeminism, the distinctive nature of ecofeminist philosophy, ecofeminism as an ecological position, and other aspects of the movement to reveal its significance to both understanding and creatively changing patriarchal (and other) systems of unjustified domination.

Contents:
1:Business and Environment; 2:The Changing Relationships Through Time, 3:Environmental Business Perspectives - assets, costs and externalities; 4:Environmental Business Necessities - the pressures which cannot be ignored; 5:Environmental Business Opportunities - business becomes proactive; 6:Primary Industries - using resources directly; 7:Secondary Industries - adding value and carrying the burden; 8:Tertiary Industries - the hidden environmental issues; 9:Enviromental Business; 10:Business and Environment - the future for the relationships.

This introductory level text examines how businesses and the environment interact. It is ideal for students with no previous knowledge of business studies. It examines in depth the ways in which business, industry, the physical environment, environmentalism and social change have evolved alongside each other. The authors use boxed case studies to highlight how business practice and the environment interact at levels from local to global, with examples from multi-national companies, government bodies, national charities and local enterprise. The book also contains a large number of informative diagrams. The case studies include:
* Shell Oil's environmental policy
* railways and the industrial revolution
* the British National Trust's business enterprises
* Sainsbury's approach to organic foods
* Australia's landcare scheme
* changing trends in retailing
* Brent Spar
* big game hunting and conservation.

'Sacred Gaia offers a number of deep insights and challenges to Christians and to all those who are concerned with the environment. The book is interesting and thought-provoking and is worth careful consideration.' - Green Christians

'This is a remarkable book ...' - Edward James

'I recommend this book to Friends interested in deepening their faith.' - Helen Fraser, The Friend

'This is a piece of visionary science and 'earthed' theology, taking the reader on a breathtaking tour of vast spheres of knowledge ... A challenging read in both senses: hard work, mind-stretching material, and opening up new vistas for a neglected area of theological thinking.' - Peter Selby, Theology

''She maps out this vast and alarming territory clearly in this vigorous and helpful book.' - Mary Midgley, The Tablet

'Sacred Gaia offers a number of deep insights and challenges to Christians and to all those who are concerned with the environment. The book is interesting and thought-provoking and is worth careful consideration.' - Green Christians

'This is a remarkable book ...' - Edward James

'I recommend this book to Friends interested in deepening their faith.' - Helen Fraser, The Friend

'This is a piece of visionary science and 'earthed' theology, taking the reader on a breathtaking tour of vast spheres of knowledge ... A challenging read in both senses: hard work, mind-stretching material, and opening up new vistas for a neglected area of theological thinking.' - Peter Selby, Theology

''She maps out this vast and alarming territory clearly in this vigorous and helpful book.' - Mary Midgley, The Tablet

The object of this text is to provide a comprehensive selection of critical texts which address the connection between ecology, culture and literature. It aims to offer a complete guide to the growing area of "ecocriticism" and a wealth of material on green issues from the romantic period to the present. The most important aspects of this field are covered in depth. These include: romantic ecology and its legacy; the earth, memory and the critique of modernity; nature/culture/gender; ecocritical principles; environmental literary history; and the nature of the text. Included in this collection are extracts from leading modern ecocritics and figures from the past who pioneered a green approach to literature and culture. As a whole, the reader encourages a reassessment of the whole development of criticism and offers a prospect for its future. The book includes extracts from William Wordsworth, Henry David Thoreau, William Morris, Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence, Theodore W. Adorno, Martin Heidegger, Raymond Williams, Theodore Roszac, Claude Levi-Strauss, Jean-Francois Lyotard, Jonathan Bate, Kate Soper, Terry Gifford, Louise Westling, Richard Kerridge and Jhan Hochman.

Localization is a manifesto to unite all those who recognize the importance of cultural, social and ecological diversity for our future - and who do not aspire to a monolithic global consumer culture. It is a passionate and persuasive polemic, challenging the claims that we have to be 'internationally competitive' to survive and describing the destructive consequences of globalization. This book is unique in going beyond simply criticizing free trade and globalization trends. It details self-reinforcing policies to create local self-sufficiency and shows clearly that there is an alternative to globalization - to protect the local, globally.

Arguably the greatest challenges facing humanity are environmental. However, they are routinely under-reported in the media. Pressure groups and governments trying to get information through to the public often blame the media, but the picture is not necessarily this simple. This text presents the state of knowledge about media treatment and public understanding of key environmental issues, above all, climate change and biodiversity loss, which have enormous implications for economic, social and environmental security, yet mean little to the person in the street. The concept of sustainable development, which underpins responses to these problems is also shown to be unknown by most people.

This important new book explores the interaction of global environmental discourses and local traditions and practices in twelve countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Based upon two parallel groups of studies, reviewing cultural influences in individual countries, and the attitudes of young people across the region, it has important implications for environmental policy and education.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203459261

As we approach the end of the second millennium, we find ourselves in times of radical social change. Orthodox explanations of the economy, the environment and the development process are unable to provide coherent policies for such issues as employment creation, environmental degradation and social progress.
Economy-Environment-Development-Knowledge provides alternative perspectives on these fundamental aspects of human existence. Economists, environmentalists, and development theorists have so far been unable to agree on the most successful prescriptions to address problems. To understand, contrast and compare alternative understandings of economic, environmental and development issues, we need to be aware why theorists conceptualise the process of social experience so differently.
Part 1 of Economy-Environment-Development-Knowledge addresses the subjective preference, cost-of-production and abstract labour theories of values in economics; Part 2 explains egocentrism, ecocentrism and socioecocentrism as competing theoretical perspectives in environmental theory; Part 3 highlights modernisation theory, structuralist theory and class struggle as ways to account for the process of development and Part 4 examines the generation of knowedge through positivism, paradigms and praxis, legitimating competing perspectives in economics, environmentalist and development. The book concludes by considering why different people find alternative explanations more or less plausible.
By addressing the disagreements between theorists, Economy-Environment-Development-Knowledge provides a unique basis to contrast and compare the plethora of theories of, and policies for, economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and social progress.

Environment and Philosophy 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
* 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.

The liberal political theorist John Rawls, despite remaining largely silent on 'green concerns', was writing during a time of increasing awareness that the ecological stability of the earth is being compromised by human activity. Rawls's reluctance to engage with such concerns, however, has not stopped several scholars attempting to 'extend', or 'expand', his works to incorporate this newfound fear for the ecosystems that support human life. But why Rawls? What is to be gained from developing the ideas of a theorist whose primary aim was to establish a system of justice for contemporaneous, rational, and reasonable citizens of a liberal polity? This research monograph offers a critical consideration of the contextual framework within John Rawls's Political Liberalism and considers its compatibility with the conceptual process of 'greening'. Rawls and the Environmental Crisis argues that Rawls's perceived neutrality on green concerns is representative of a widespread societal indifference to environmental degradation and describes the plurality of methodological and ethical approaches undertaken by green political theorists in analyzing the contribution Rawls's theory makes to environmental concerns. Addressing a series of key debates within contemporary political philosophy regarding a wider frustration with liberal theory in general, Rawls and the Environmental Crisis will be of great interest to researchers in contemporary political philosophy, environmental ethics, green political theory, stewardship theory, and those interested in renewing existing conceptions of deliberative democracy.

A TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Beautifully written, movingly told and meticulously researched ... a convincing plea for a wilder, richer world' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding 'By the time I'd read the first chapter, I'd resolved to take my son into the woods every afternoon over winter. By the time I'd read the sixth, I was wanting to break prisoners out of cells and onto the mossy moors. Losing Eden rigorously and convincingly tells of the value of the natural universe to our human hearts' Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun Today many of us live indoor lives, disconnected from the natural world as never before. And yet nature remains deeply ingrained in our language, culture and consciousness. For centuries, we have acted on an intuitive sense that we need communion with the wild to feel well. Now, in the moment of our great migration away from the rest of nature, more and more scientific evidence is emerging to confirm its place at the heart of our psychological wellbeing. So what happens, asks acclaimed journalist Lucy Jones, as we lose our bond with the natural world-might we also be losing part of ourselves? Delicately observed and rigorously researched, Losing Eden is an enthralling journey through this new research, exploring how and why connecting with the living world can so drastically affect our health. Travelling from forest schools in East London to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault via primeval woodlands, Californian laboratories and ecotherapists' couches, Jones takes us to the cutting edge of human biology, neuroscience and psychology, and discovers new ways of understanding our increasingly dysfunctional relationship with the earth. Urgent and uplifting, Losing Eden is a rallying cry for a wilder way of life - for finding asylum in the soil and joy in the trees - which might just help us to save the living planet, as well as ourselves.

Experiences are an important part of our lives and increasingly represent a crucial topic to address for businesses and professionals. This book focuses on designing, staging and managing experiences within the context of the events, tourism and hospitality industries. It also illustrates current and future developments in these industries and wider society, with an emphasis on sustainable development. The book offers an innovative approach for successfully creating experiences for (potential) customers that is based on combining insights and methods from the world of design and the social sciences. Moreover, it shows how the experience economy and sustainable development both reinforce one another and create challenges that businesses and professionals can address through this approach. Critical thinking questions, practical examples and international case studies are integrated throughout the text. Combining a design science and a social sciences perspective in one inclusive hands-on approach to designing, staging and managing experiences, this is essential reading for all students of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management, but also related fields.