Thomas Berry (1914-2009) was one of the twentieth century's most prescient and profound thinkers. As a cultural historian, he sought a broader perspective on humanity's relationship to the earth in order to respond to the ecological and social challenges of our times. This first biography of Berry illuminates his remarkable vision and its continuing relevance for achieving transformative social change and environmental renewal. Berry began his studies in Western history and religions and then expanded to include Asian and indigenous religions, which he taught at Fordham University, Barnard College, and Columbia University. Drawing on his explorations of history, he came to see the evolutionary process as a story that could help restore the continuity of humans with the natural world. Berry urged humans to recognize their place on a planet with complex ecosystems in a vast, evolving universe. He sought to replace the modern alienation from nature with a sense of intimacy and responsibility. Berry called for new forms of ecological education, law, and spirituality, as well as the creation of resilient agricultural systems, bioregions, and ecocities. At a time of growing environmental crisis, this biography shows the ongoing significance of Berry's conception of human interdependence with the earth as part of the unfolding journey of the universe.

Feeding the world, climate change, biodiversity, antibiotics, plastics - the list of concerns seems endless. But what is most pressing, what are the knock-on effects of our actions, and what should we do first? Do we all need to become vegetarian? How can we fly in a low-carbon world? Should we frack? How can we take control of technology? Does it all come down to population? And, given the global nature of the challenges we now face, what on Earth can any of us do? Fortunately, Mike Berners-Lee has crunched the numbers and plotted a course of action that is practical and even enjoyable. There is No Planet B maps it out in an accessible and entertaining way, filled with astonishing facts and analysis. For the first time you'll find big-picture perspective on the environmental and economic challenges of the day laid out in one place, and traced through to the underlying roots - questions of how we live and think. This book will shock you, surprise you - and then make you laugh. And you'll find practical and even inspiring ideas for what you can actually do to help humanity thrive on this - our only - planet.

In "Hormonal Chaos," Sheldon Krimsky traces the emergence of an unorthodox hypothesis that casts new suspicions on a broad range of modern industrial chemicals. At the heart of his story is the "Environmental Endocrine Hypothesis," the assertion that a class of chemicals called "endocrine disruptors" are interfering with the normal functioning of hormones in animals and humans. Krimsky describes how this controversial theory was first elaborated and explores the complex factors that have contributed to its increased legitimacy and continued controversy.

This anthology convenes 53 foundational readings that showcase the rich history of socio-environmental research from the late 1700s onwards. The introduction orients readers to the topic and how it has evolved and describes how to best use the book. The original readings are organised into six sections, documenting the emergence of socio-environmental research, first as a shared concern and then as a topic of specific interest to anthropology and geography; economics, sociology and political science; ecology; ethics, religious studies, and history; and technology, energy, and materials. A noted scholar introduces each section, putting the readings into historical and intellectual context. The conclusion links the legacy readings to contemporary approaches to socio-environmental research and discusses how these links can enrich the reader's understanding and work. Invaluable to students, instructors and researchers alike, this canonical reference illuminates underappreciated linkages across research domains and creates a shared basis for dialogue and collaboration.

This contemporary textbook and manual for aspiring or new environmental managers provides the theory and practical examples needed to understand current environmental issues and trends. Each chapter explains the specific skills and concepts needed for today's successful environmental manager, and provides skill development exercises that allow students to relate theory to practice in the profession. Readers will obtain an understanding not only of the field, but also of how professional accountability, evolving science, social equity, and politics affect their work. This foundational textbook provides the scaffolds to allow students to understand the environmental regulatory infrastructure, and how to create partnerships to solve environmental problems ethically and implement successful environmental programs.

This volume is a compendium of the rich archeological and literary evidence on the Iranian world in its larger sense, comprising part of what is now Soviet Central Asia and Afghanistan as well as Iran proper. Originally published in 1984. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This book offers a unique assessment of the current state and future directions of human geography, exploring the developments and themes that have put the discipline at the heart of a number of important debates.
Human Geography - with its concern for space, place and nature - has over recent years moved to the center of much theoretical debate in the social sciences and humanities. Moreover, the exchange has been two-way - human geography has itself increasingly welcomed the importation of work from other areas of academe. This book takes up the promise and challenge of this new-found prominence and openness and explores the future for the discipline.

Human Geography Today brings together a range of internationally recognized authors, all of whom have explored this new interface, and each of whom here proposes future directions for their part of the discipline. The book considers the increasingly challenged dichotomy between the social and the natural, the meaning and significance of the geographical imagination, the increasing prominence of debates over difference and identity and their relationship to spatiality, the imperative of recognizing the thoroughly mutual constitution of spatiality and power, and - after all - how we might in these changing times most productively re-imagine space and place themselves.
This book will be invaluable for students and academics in human geography, social theory, cultural studies, and politics.

Though the scientific community largely agrees that climate change is underway, debates about this issue remain fiercely polarized. These conversations have become a rhetorical contest, one where opposing sides try to achieve victory through playing on fear, distrust, and intolerance. At its heart, this split no longer concerns carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, or climate modeling; rather, it is the product of contrasting, deeply entrenched worldviews. This brief examines what causes people to reject or accept the scientific consensus on climate change. Synthesizing evidence from sociology, psychology, and political science, Andrew J. Hoffman lays bare the opposing cultural lenses through which science is interpreted. He then extracts lessons from major cultural shifts in the past to engender a better understanding of the problem and motivate the public to take action. How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate makes a powerful case for a more scientifically literate public, a more socially engaged scientific community, and a more thoughtful mode of public discourse.

The impact of the weather is often taken for granted and sometimes completely ignored. Weather in all forms is a maker and breaker of both business and personal fortunes, especially when it reaches extremes. The weather we experience crucially dictates almost every aspect of our lives. It directs what we do and when we do it, from what we eat and drink, to the clothes we wear, and it even governs our health and behaviour. In this entertaining and informative book, global expert meteorologist and weather authority, Jim N R Dale, shares his experiences and advises how you and your business could truly become weather savvy. Weather impact is an all-consuming phenomenon, and, with the rise of climate change, there is no better time to tune into one of the most important aspects of our lives. Certainly, a book for a rainy day!

I highly recommAnd Quickening as an extremely useful and practical guide. It reaffirms that personal and social change are intertwined; that each of us counts; that our lives do make a difference; and that, through involvement and by developing our skills, we can make an even greater difference.
--ReverAnd Jesse L. Jackson, president and founder, National Rainbow Coalition

An antidote to cynicism . . . an essential 'how-to' manual for anyone interested in translating values into positive results.
--Ben Cohen, Ben & Jerry's

Exploding the popular myths about public life, power, and self-interest that stop individuals from discovering the rewards of public involvement, this thoughtful resource offers practical advice from ordinary Americans on how to get more involved. Details guidelines anyone can use to master the skills required to be effective in public life.

This volume is a compendium of the rich archeological and literary evidence on the Iranian world in its larger sense, comprising part of what is now Soviet Central Asia and Afghanistan as well as Iran proper.

Originally published in 1984.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The meat on our plates kills the planet. With global mass production of livestock reaching ever higher levels to feed an exploding world population's demand, mankind's ecological hoofprint reaches critical heights. The Ecological Hoofprint provides a rigorous and eye-opening analysis of global livestock production. Following his previous groundbreaking Zed book 'The Global Food Economy', Tony Weis shows what this production means for the health of the planet, how it contributes to worsening human inequality and how it constitutes a profound but invisible aspect of the systemic violence. This book explains how the phenomenal growth and industrialization of livestock production is a central part of the accelerating biophysical contradictions of industrial capitalist agriculture and of ongoing and future food crises.

Natural disasters destroy more property and kill more people with each passing year. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, fires and other natural events are becoming more frequent and their consequences more devastating. Del Moral and Walker provide a comprehensive summary of the diverse ways in which natural disasters disrupt humanity and how humans cope. Burgeoning human numbers, shrinking resources and intensification of the consequences of natural disasters have produced a crisis of unparalleled proportions. Through this detailed study, the authors provide a template for improving restoration to show how relatively simple approaches can enhance both human well-being and that of the other species on the planet. This book will appeal to ecologists, land managers as well as anyone curious about the natural world and natural disasters.

In Cultural Encounters with the Environment, a distinguished group of contributors offers a fresh and original view of contemporary geography. The authors explore the role of four traditional themes in the Onew cultural geographyO: the interplay between the evolution of particular biophysical niches and the activities of the culture groups that inhabit them; the diffusion of cultural traits; the establishment and definition of culture areas; and the distinctive mix of geographical characteristics that gives places their special character in relation to one another. By examining how cultural space is constructed; how environment is remade, understood, and imaged as a consequence; and how people lay claim to place, this volume establishes a compelling case for the importance of these enduring concepts to present and future trajectories in cultural geography.

Celebrated for its natural beauty and its abundance of wildlife, the Mekong river runs thousands of miles through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Its basin is home to more than 70 million people and has for centuries been one of the world's richest agricultural areas and a biodynamic wonder. Today, however, it is undergoing profound changes. Development policies, led by a rising China in particular, aim to interconnect the region and urbanize the inhabitants. And a series of dams will harness the river's energy, while also stymieing its natural cycles and cutting off food supplies for swathes of the population. In Last Days of the Mighty Mekong, Brian Eyler travels from the river's headwaters in China to its delta in southern Vietnam to explore its modern evolution. Along the way he meets the region's diverse peoples, from villagers to community leaders, politicians to policy makers. Through conversations with them he reveals the urgent struggle to save the Mekong and its unique ecosystem.

During evolution there have been several major changes in the way genetic information is organized and transmitted from one generation to the next. These transitions include the origin of life itself, the first eukaryotic cells, reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperation and of animal societies. This is the first book to discuss all these major transitions and their implications for our understanding of evolution. Clearly written and illustrated with many original diagrams, this book will be welcomed by students and researchers in the fields of evolutionary biology, ecology, and genetics.

A toxic ideology rules the world - of extreme competition and individualism. It misrepresents human nature, destroying hope and common purpose. Only a positive vision can replace it, a new story that re-engages people in politics and lights a path to a better world. George Monbiot shows how new findings in psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary biology cast human nature in a radically different light: as the supreme altruists and cooperators. He shows how we can build on these findings to create a new politics: a 'politics of belonging'. Both democracy and economic life can be radically reorganized from the bottom up, enabling us to take back control and overthrow the forces that have thwarted our ambitions for a better society. Urgent, and passionate, Out of the Wreckage provides the hope and clarity required to change the world.

Why darkness is so important – to plants, to animals, and to ourselves – and why we must protect it all costs. Darkness is the first thing we know in our human existence. Safe and warm inside the bubble of the womb, we are comfortable in that embracing dark. But as soon as we are bought into the light, we learn to fear the dark. Why? This book is a celebration of all things that go bump in the night and the joy that can be found when the sun goes down. As a society we have closed our curtains to the darkness, now Dani Robertson urges you to cast those curtains wide, step out of your front door and let the darkness pull you in. Some 99 per cent of Western Europeans live under light polluted skies, but what is this doing to our health? Our wellbeing? Our connection to the cycles of nature? Our wildlife, too, has been cast into the harsh glare of our light addiction, with devastating impacts. In this book Dani shares with you the excitement and adventure she has found when everyone else is tucked up in bed. She explores constellations and cultures, enjoys environmental escapades, all whilst learning why we are addicted to light and why it is ruining our lives. She’ll show you why the darkness is so important and why we must protect it all costs. You’ll become a crusader of Darkness and an expert on what we can do to stop the onward march of light pollution (clue: it’s as easy as the flick of a switch). Her life depends on darkness, and yours does too.

Ecologists and economists both use models to help develop strategies for biodiversity management. The practical use of disciplinary models, however, can be limited because ecological models tend not to address the socioeconomic dimension of biodiversity management, whereas economic models tend to neglect the ecological dimension. Given these shortcomings of disciplinary models, there is a necessity to combine ecological and economic knowledge into ecological-economic models. Gradually guiding the reader into the field of ecological-economic modelling by introducing mathematical models and their role in general, this book provides an overview on ecological and economic modelling approaches relevant for research in the field of biodiversity conservation. It discusses the advantages of and challenges associated with ecological-economic modelling, together with an overview of useful ways of integration. Although being a book about mathematical modelling, ecological and economic concepts play an equally important role, making it accessible for readers from very different disciplinary backgrounds.

For the first time in history, humans have exceeded the sustaining capacity of Earth's global ecosystems. Our expanding footprint has tremendous momentum, and the insidious explosion of human impact creates a shockwave that threatens ecosystems worldwide for decades-possibly centuries.

Walter K. Dodds depicts in clear, nontechnical terms the root causes and global environmental effects of human behavior. He describes trends in population growth, resource use, and global environmental impacts of the past two centuries, such as greenhouse effects, ozone depletion, water pollution, and species extinctions and introductions. Dodds also addresses less familiar developments, such as the spread of antibiotic resistant genes in bacteria and the concentration of pesticides in the Arctic and other remote ecosystems. He identifies fundamental human activities that have irreversible effects on the environment and draws on recent social science and game theory results to explain why people use more than their share. Past behavior indicates that as resources grow scarce, humans will escalate their use of what remains instead of managing their consumption. "Humanity's Footprint" paints a lively but ultimately sobering picture of our environmental predicament. Dodds calls for a consilient approach to socioenvironmental restoration that draws on new thinking from across disciplines to develop sustainable solutions to global environmental problems.

The long-awaited companion piece to Derrick Jensen's immensely popular and highly acclaimed works A Language Older Than Words and The Culture of Make Believe. Accepting the increasingly widespread belief that industrialized culture inevitably erodes the natural world, Endgame sets out to explore how this relationship impels us towards a revolutionary and as-yet undiscovered shift in strategy. Building on a series of simple but increasingly provocative premises, Jensen leaves us hoping for what may be inevitable: a return to agrarian communal life via the disintegration of civilization itself.

Originally published in 1972, Should Trees Have Standing? was a rallying point for the then burgeoning environmental movement, launching a worldwide debate on the basic nature of legal rights that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, in the 35th anniversary edition of this remarkably influential book, Christopher D. Stone updates his original thesis and explores the impact his ideas have had on the courts, the academy, and society as a whole. At the heart of the book is an eminently sensible, legally sound, and compelling argument that the environment should be granted legal rights. For the new edition, Stone explores a variety of recent cases and current events--and related topics such as climate change and protecting the oceans--providing a thoughtful survey of the past and an insightful glimpse at the future of the environmental movement. This enduring work continues to serve as the definitive statement as to why trees, oceans, animals, and the environment as a whole should be bestowed with legal rights, so that the voiceless elements in nature are protected for future generations.

This interdisciplinary volume revisits Adorno’s lesser-known work, Minima Moralia, and makes the case for its application to the most urgent concerns of the 21st century. Contributing authors situate Adorno at the heart of contemporary debates on the ecological crisis, the changing nature of work, the idea of utopia, and the rise of fascism. Exploring the role of critical pedagogy in shaping responses to fascistic regimes, alongside discussions of extractive economies and the need for leisure under increasingly precarious working conditions, this volume makes new connections between Minima Moralia and critical theory today. Another line of focus is the aphoristic style of Minima Moralia and its connection to Adorno’s wider commitment to small and minor literary forms, which enable capitalist critique to be both subversive and poetic. This critique is further located in Adorno’s discussion of a utopia that is reliant on complete rejection of the totalising system of capitalism. The distinctive feature of such a utopia for Adorno is dependent upon individual suffering and subsequent survival, an argument this book connects to the mutually constitutive relationship between ecological destruction and right-wing authoritarianism. These timely readings of Adorno’s Minima Moralia teach us to adapt through our survival, and to pursue a utopia based on his central ideas. In the process, opening up theoretical spaces and collapsing the physical borders between us in the spirit of Adorno’s lifelong project.

Is environmental degradation an inevitable result of economic development? Can ecosystems be restored once government officials and the public are committed to doing so? These questions are at the heart of An Ecological History of Modern China, a comprehensive account of China's transformation since the founding of the People's Republic from the perspective not of the economy but of the biophysical world. Examples throughout illustrate how agricultural, industrial, and urban development have affected the resilience of China's ecosystems—their ability to withstand disturbances and additional growth—and what this means for the country's future. Drawing on decades of research, Stevan Harrell demonstrates the local and global impacts of China's miraculous rise. In clear and accessible prose, An Ecological History of Modern China untangles the paradoxes of development and questions the possibility of a future that is both prosperous and sustainable. It is a critical resource for students, scholars, and general readers interested in environmental change, Chinese history, and sustainable development.

The surprising, fascinating, and remarkable ways that animals use creativity to thrive in their habitats Most of us view animals through a very narrow lens, seeing only bits and pieces of beings that seem mostly peripheral to our lives. However, whether animals are building a shelter, seducing a mate, or inventing a new game, animals' creative choices affect their social, cultural, and environmental worlds. The Creative Lives of Animals offers readers intimate glimpses of creativity in the lives of animals, from elephants to alligators to ants. Drawing on a growing body of scientific research, Carol Gigliotti unpacks examples of creativity demonstrated by animals through the lens of the creative process, an important component of creative behavior, and offers new thinking on animal intelligence, emotion, and self-awareness. With examples of the elaborate dams built by beavers or the lavishly decorated bowers of bowerbirds, Gigliotti provides a new perspective on animals as agents in their own lives, as valuable contributors to their world and ours, and as guides in understanding how creativity may contribute to conserving the natural world. Presenting a powerful argument for the importance of recognizing animals as individuals and as creators of a healthy, biodiverse world, this book offers insights into both the established and emerging questions about the creativity of animals.