Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
|||
Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Social impact of environmental issues > General
Adualism between man and nature has been a persistent feature of Western thought and spirituality from ancient times to the present. The opposition of mind and body, consciousness and world has tended to obscure the ways in which humans are ecologically part of interconnected systems, some of which are obvious while others operate in hidden but life-sustaining ways. "Cultural Landscapes" explores the physical ways in which we are intimately linked to the land and the intellectual and aesthetic connections human consciousness has with the landscape. Following the editor's introductory essay, the lead article by Jame Schaeffer, "Quest for the Common Good: A Collaborative Public Theology for a Life-Sustaining Climate," assesses the lightning rod issue of global warming in the context of a public and ecumenical theology and sets the tone for this normative assessment of our relationship with nature. Likewise, David Kenley's essay, "Three Gorges be Dammed: The Philosophical Roots of Environmentalism in China," reveals the traditional philosophical and cultural values that can sustain a vital environmentalism in the East. David Brown's historical insights into the use of the American landscape to define historical writing complement Patricia Likos-Ricci's historical treatment of nineteenth-century landscape painting and the first call to preserve wilderness in the United States. Matt Willen, "An Feochn," and David Martinez, "What Worlds are Made of: The Lakota Sense of Place," both demonstrate how space is transformed into place through song and mythic tales. On a metaphysical note, Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopolos' essay "On the Line of the Horizon, Anxiety in de Chirico's Metaphysical Spaces," provides the reader with psychological and existential insights into the disorienting paintings of de Chirico, and Gabriel Ricci's concluding essay tours the landscape that underpins Heidegger's ontological speculations. The contributions to this volume are posited on the belief that culture, society, and human history are ultimately rooted in the natural world. This integration may explain why humanity has always looked to nature for moral and ethical guidelines. "Gabriel R. Ricci" is associate professor of humanities and the chair of the Department of History at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of "Time Consciousness: The Philosophical Uses of History," published by Transaction.
Written in an engaging and accessible manner by one of the leading scholars in his field, Environment and Social Theory, completed revised and updated with two new chapters, is an indispensable guide to the way in which the environment and social theory relate to one another. This popular text outlines the complex interlinking of the environment, nature and social theory from ancient and pre-modern thinking to contemporary social theorizing. John Barry: examines the ways major religions such as Judaeo-Christianity have and continue to conceptualize the environment analyzes the way the non-human environment features in Western thinking from Marx and Darwin, to Freud and Horkheimer explores the relationship between gender and the environment, postmodernism and risk society schools of thought, and the contemporary ideology of orthodox economic thinking in social theorising about the environment. How humans value, use and think about the environment, is an increasingly central and important aspect of recent social theory. It has become clear that the present generation is faced with a series of unique environmental dilemmas, largely unprecedented in human history. With summary points, illustrative examples, glossary and further reading sections this invaluable resource will benefit anyone with an interest in environmentalism, politics, sociology, geography, development studies and environmental and ecological economics.
Think globally, act locally emphasizes the importance of scale in dealing with environmental challenges, but not how to factor it in. This major new book focuses on the spatial dimensions of urban environmental burdens, showing how important it is to take these into account when pursuing environmental justice and good governance - whether in the context of the sanitary risks of slum living, the pollution of uncontrolled industrialization and motorization, or the enormous ecological footprints of affluent urban lifestyles. Written by leading experts in the fields of urban development and environmental planning, the book reviews the urban environmental shifts that have shaped today s challenges, and examines conditions and problems in the urban centres of low-, middle- and high-income countries. Case studies address such economically diverse cities as Accra, New Delhi, Mexico City and Manchester, while thematic chapters explore issues including water, sanitation and transportation. The book concludes by exploring and analysing different scales of governance. The editors argue that we should not rely solely on local governance to address local burdens like poor sanitation, nor depend only on global governance for global challenges such as greenhouse gas emissions, but that scale is crucial in both understanding the problems and devising successful responses. Published with UNU-IAS and IIED.
From an evolutionary perspective, individuals have a vi- tal interest in the reproduction of their genes. Yet this interest is overlooked by social and political theory at a time when we need to steer an adaptive course through the unnatural modern world of uneven population growth and decline, global mobility, and loss of family and communal ties. In modern Darwinian theory, bearing children is only one way to reproduce. Since we share genes with our families, ethnic groups, and the species as a whole, ethnocentrism and humanism can be adaptive. They can also be hazardous when taken to extremes. "On Genetic Interests" canvasses strategies and ethics for conserving our genetic interests in an environmentally sustainable manner sensitive to the interests of others. " This] is a fresh and deep contribution to the sociobiology of humans, combining genetics with social science in original ways."--Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University "The book greatly expands Hamiltonian kin selection' by making ethnies in control of territory the central arena of selfish genery' in a modern world of mass migration."--Pierre van den Berghe, University of Washington, Seattle "Salter argues that all humans have a vital interest in genetic continuity that is threatened by mass migration. Salter advocates non-aggressive universal nationalism' as part of a balanced fitness portfolio' that includes investments in three levels of genetic interests--family, ethny, and the species as a whole. The synthesis is persuasive; the policy formulations provocative."--Irenus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Max Planck Society "Five stars for Salter--he has provided us with a deep and compelling explanation of what most people know and what guides much of their behavior, but fear to acknowledge publicly."--Michael T. McGuire, UCLA "We are indeed all part of each other, as John Donne insisted
even before the help of evolutionary genetics. But we are more part
of some than others, and the nature of these boundaries of ethnic
kinship has been ignored, avoided or denied. After Salter's
virtuoso synthesis we can no longer duck these issues which become
more important daily."--Robin Fox, Rutgers University
News reports appear every day now on the ecological state of our planetary home and the news is not good. Ecological systems are in terrible peril, species are dying by the millions, and global warming is getting worse. Increasing numbers of people feel the impact of this, feel some form of what is being called climate grief, ecological loss, or sometimes even solastalgia. Our species is entering a time of difficult and deep mourning. As environmentalist Leslie Head has said, "Grief will be our companion on this journey-it is not something we can deal with and move on." It will be with us for a long time to come. Stephen Harrod Buhner takes the reader on a journey into and through that grief to what is waiting on the other side, a place that Viktor Frankl, Jacques Cousteau, Vaclav Havel, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and so many others have found. It's where one becomes an engaged witness, alive to the losses that are occurring and the grief that is felt but is not overcome by them. Then he travels into and through the common feelings of guilt and shame (feelings that are put on so many but in actuality belong to very few) that come from ecological devastation. From there Stephen moves deep into what occurs when those we love die, when the planetary landscapes, forests, fields and rivers that are engraved into our deepest selves are lost, when we are forced to travel into the territory of death and loss and deep grief ourselves. Throughout it, Stephen draws on his studies with Elizabeth Kubler Ross and others who worked with the dying, his years as a psychotherapist, extensive work with the chronically ill, and deep immersion in and relationship with plants, wild ecosystems, and this living planet that is our home. At journey's end what arises is not the optimism of false hope (as Greta Thunberg calls it) but a deeper and more realistic hope, one that is intimately entangled with gravitas and the journey through loss. It's born from the heart's integration of grief and a deep faith in the green world, in this planet from which we have emerged, and in the new life that comes with every spring. Stephen's book is written with the exquisite prose style, intimacy, depth of insight, and engaged storytelling for which he is known. No one who reads it will remain unmoved or ever again feel as if they are alone in the grief they feel for what is happening to our home.
From Hurricane Katrina and the south Asian tsunami to human-induced atrocities, terrorist attacks and the looming effects of climate change, the world is assailed by both natural and unnatural hazards and disasters. These expose not only human vulnerability - particularly that of the poorest, who are least able to respond and adapt - but also the profound worldwide environmental injustices that result from the geographical distribution of risks, hazards and disasters. This collection of essays, from one of the most renowned and experienced experts, provides a timely assessment of these critical themes. Presenting the top selections from Susan L. Cutter's thirty years of scholarship on hazards, vulnerability and environmental justice, the volume tackles issues such as nuclear and toxic hazards, risk assessment, communication and planning, and societal responses. Cutter maps out the terrain and draws out the salient themes with a fresh, powerful introduction written in the wake of her work in the aftermath of Katrina. This essential collection is ideal for professionals, researchers, academics and students working on hazards, risk, disasters and environmental justice across a range of disciplines.
*The first practical reference devoted to the emerging field of environmental impact assessment (EIA) follow-up--destined to be the classic text on follow-up * Written and edited by an authoritative team of internationally known experts in EIA * The "must-have" tool for impact assessment professionals, academics, regulators, and proponents working on projects of all scales in all jurisdictionsThis is the first book to present in a coherent manner the theory and practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) follow-up. Without some form of follow-up, the consequences of impact assessments and the environmental outcomes of development projects will remain unknown.Assessing Impact examines both EIA follow-up and the emerging practice of SEA follow-up, and showcases follow-up procedures in various countries in North America, Europe, and Australasia. It offers theoretical and legislative perspectives through detailed case study examples. The authors present a micro-, macro- and meta-scale analysis of EIA practice ranging from individual plan and project level through to the jurisdictional level, as well as an analysis of the concept of EIA. They give full coverage to the roles of proponents, both private and governmental, EIA regulators, and the affected public in designing and executing follow-up programs.The Contributors: Barry Sadler (Canada), Leonard Ortolano (US), Maria Rosario Partidario (Portugal), Thomas Fischer (Germany/UK), Bill Ross (Canada), Elvis Au (Hong Kong/China), Ross Marshall (UK), John Bailey (Australia), Bryan Jenkins (New Zealand), Jill Baker (Canada), Simon Hui (Hong Kong/China), Christine May (US), Johan Meijer (TheNetherlands)
* This is a revised edition of Colin Mason's "The 2030 Spike," that received the following acclaim: * "A bold, thought-provoking and ultimately rewarding [read], well-researched, full of ideas and thus a good, all-round primer on the stateof the planet." -- BBC Wildlife* "An impressive tour of our current world: from sexual slavery to sailing ships, from malaria to microcredits, from nanotechnology toneopaganism, all the horrors and promises of our troubled Zeitgeist seem to be reflected here." -- Resurgence* "Only the foolhardy would surely dare leave it unread on the shelf." -- International AffairsHas the future a future? Are we bringing history to an end? If we look at any one of several individual but critical trends, it would appear that history might have only a short way to run.This book describes the seven natural and human-made drivers that will converge around the year 2030 and wreak havoc: depleted fuel suppliesmassive population growth povertyglobal climate changefaminegrowing water shortagesinternational lawlessness.In this compelling book, Colin Mason explains in clear and irrefutable terms what is going on-largely below the surface of our daily or weekly news bulletins. The picture he paints is stark, and yet it is not bleak. Being forewarned, we are forearmed, and he draws on his own extensive political experience to describe how much we can do as individuals, and above all collectively, not merely to avert crisis but to engineer thoroughgoing change that can usher in genuinely sustainable and valuable alternatives to the way we live now.
This book contains a collection of cutting-edge chapters that explore various connections between urban living, sexuality and sexual desire around the world. The key themes featured address a number of topical issues including: the controversies and debates raging around the evolution, defining patterns and appropriate regulation of commercial sex zones and markets in the urban landscape how gay public spaces, districts and 'gay villages' emerged and developed in various towns and cities around the world how changing attitudes to, and the usage of urban sexual spaces, as depicted in iconic television series such as Sex and the City and Queer as Folk, reflect the reality of working women's or gay men's changing life experiences. With detailed case studies, and a strong interdisciplinary appeal, this book will be a valuable reference for postgraduates and advanced students in the fields of cultural studies as well as human, urban and social geography. This book was previously published as a special issue of the journal Urban Studies.
Many researchers have studied people's everyday use of time. National and international agencies increasingly collect and analyze time-use data. Yet this perspective and its techniques remain a black box to most social science researchers and applied practitioners, and the potential of time-use data to expand explanation in the social sciences is not fully recognized by even most time-use researchers.Sociologist William Michelson's unique book places the study of time-use data in perspective, demystifies its collection and analytic options, and carefully examines the potential of time-use analysis for a wide range of benefits to the social sciences. These include the sampling of otherwise socially "hidden" groups, bridging the gap between qualitative and quantitative phenomena, gender studies, family dynamics, multitasking, social networks, built environments, and risk exposure.
There is no greater aspiration than saving the world. Natalie Fee's upbeat and engaging book is a life-altering guide to making those changes that will contribute to helping our planet. Covering all key areas of our lives, from food and leisure to travel and sex, Natalie will galvanise you to think and live differently. You will feel better, live better and ultimately breathe better in the knowledge that every small change contributes towards saving our world.
Bringing together well-established interdisciplinary scholars - including geographers Phil Hubbard, Chris Philo and Hester Parr, and sociologists Jenny Hockey, Mike Hepworth and John Urry - and a new generation of researchers, this volume presents a wide range of innovative studies of fundamentally important questions of emotion. Following an overarching introduction, three interlinked sections elaborate key intersections between emotions and spatial concepts, on which each chapter offers a particular take informed by substantive research. At the heart of the collection lies a commitment to convey how emotions always spill over from one domain to another, as well as to illuminate the multiplicity of spaces that produce and are produced by emotional life. The book demonstrates the richness that an interdisciplinary engagement with the emotionality of socio-spatial life generates.
As everything from global warming to GM foods becomes headline
news, the use and abuse of nature is on the agenda as never before.
Is geography just one of several disciplines whose task is to
reveal the "truths" of nature so that governments, businesses and
the public can know what threats and opportunities it presents for
human well-being?
For forty years, in a variety of books and articles, Gerhard Lenski has become the most influential proponent of ecological and evolutionary explanations of human societies, their development and transformations, from the Stone Age to the present. In his newest book, Lenski offers a succinct but comprehensive statement of the full body of his theory followed by demonstration of how it can be used to generate new and valuable insights when applied to a set of highly diverse issues. These include debates concerning the origin of ancient Israel and its distinctive culture, the rise of the West in the modern era, the highly varied trajectories of development of Third World nations in recent decades, and the failure of Marxist efforts to transform society in the Soviet Union and elsewhere. In the concluding chapter, Lenski discusses a number of other issues and areas where ecological-evolutionary theory may be fruitfully applied in the future.
This is a new edition of the classic examination of major philosophical, ethical, scientific and economic roots of environmental problems which examines the ways that radical ecologists can transform science and society in order to sustain life on this planet. It features a new Introduction from the author, a thorough updating of chapters, and two entirely new chapters on recent Global Movements and Globalization and the Environment.
For forty years, in a variety of books and articles, Gerhard Lenski has become the most influential proponent of ecological and evolutionary explanations of human societies, their development and transformations, from the Stone Age to the present. In his newest book, Lenski offers a succinct but comprehensive statement of the full body of his theory followed by demonstration of how it can be used to generate new and valuable insights when applied to a set of highly diverse issues. These include debates concerning the origin of ancient Israel and its distinctive culture, the rise of the West in the modern era, the highly varied trajectories of development of Third World nations in recent decades, and the failure of Marxist efforts to transform society in the Soviet Union and elsewhere. In the concluding chapter, Lenski discusses a number of other issues and areas where ecological-evolutionary theory may be fruitfully applied in the future.
Cognitive mapping is a construct that encompasses those processes that enable people to acquire, code, store, recall, and manipulate information about the nature of their spatial environment. It refers to the attributes and relative locations of people and objects in the environment, and is an essential component in the adaptive process of spatial decision-making--such as finding a safe and quick route to from work, locating potential sites for a new house or business, and deciding where to travel on a vacation trip. Cognitive processes are not constant, but undergo change with age or development and use or learning. Image and Environment, now in paperback, is a pioneer study. It brings a new academic discipline to a wide audience. The volume is divided into six sections, which represent a comprehensive breakdown of cognitive mapping studies: "Theory"; "Cognitive Representations"; "Spatial Preferences"; "The Development of Spatial Cognition"; "Geographical and Spatial Orientation"; and "Cognitive Distance." Contributors include Edward Tolman, James Blaut, Stephen Kaplan, Terence Lee, Donald Appleyard, Peter Orleans, Thomas Saarinen, Kevin Cox, Georgia Zannaras, Peter Gould, Roger Hart, Gary Moore, Donald Griffin, Kevin Lynch, Ulf Lundberg, Ronald Lowrey, and Ronald Briggs.
This book provides a comprehensive examination of the effects of a natural disaster on businesses and organisations, and on a range of stakeholders, including employees and consumers. Research on how communities and businesses respond to disasters can inform policy and mitigate the cost and impacts of future disasters. This book discusses how places recover following a disaster and the vital roles that business and other organisations play. This volume gives a detailed understanding of business, organisational and consumer responses to the Christchurch earthquake sequence of 2010-2011, which caused 185 deaths, the loss of over 70 per cent of buildings in the city's CBD, major infrastructure damage, and severely affected the city's image. Despite the devastation, the businesses, organisations and people of Christchurch are now undergoing significant recovery. The book sheds significant new light not only on business and organisation response to disaster but on how business and urban systems may be made more resilient.
Discusses how young adult fiction offers new ways of thinking about climate change and definitions of citizenship. The Necessity of Young Adult Fiction argues that YA fiction helps us to think about some of most pressing problems of the twenty-first century by offering imaginative reconceptualizations about identity, nation, family, and the human relationship to the planet. Using examples from YA fiction that range from the Harry Potter series to Nnedi Okorafor's trilogy set in contemporary Nigeria, this book argues that the cultural work of YA fiction shapes readers perceptions, making them receptive to-and invested in-the possibility of positive social change. The novels examined could all be considered "fantastical," but they offer insights into the real world that all readers-and particularly young adult readers-might draw on in order to reimagine social structures and the well-being of the planet. The book is designed to bring readers into the conversation about how we might create cosmopolitan societies that are shaped around conversation and engagement rather than fear and isolation. Each of these novels, in different ways, illustrate the dangers inherent in fundamentalist visions of the world. Through its discussions about the relationships between reading and citizenship, monsters and families, the local and the global, The Necessity of Young Adult Fiction demonstrates that YA fiction is doing some of the most important and creative work in literature today.
Humans and human mobility, including driving and flying, are entangled with the climate emergency. Fossil-fuelled mobility worsens severe weather, and in turn, severe weather disrupts human mobility. A shift to zero-emission vehicles is critical but insufficient to repair the damage or prepare communities for the coming disruptions severe weather will bring. In Under the Weather Stephanie Sodero explores the intersection between human mobility and severe weather. Anchored in two Atlantic Canadian hurricane case studies, Hurricane Juan in Mi'kma'ki/Nova Scotia in 2003 and Hurricane Igor in Ktaqmkuk/Newfoundland in 2010, the book contributes to contemporary cultural and policy discussions by offering five practical recommendations - revolutionize mobility, prioritize vital mobility of medical goods and services, embrace ecological mobilities, rebrand redundancy, and think flexibly - for how mobility can be reimagined to work with, rather than against, the climate in ways that also benefit the health, education, and economy of local communities. This ecological approach to mobilities sheds light on extreme mobility dependency and the impact of mobility disruptions on the ground in Canadian communities. Focusing on the entangled relationship between human mobility and the climate, Under the Weather examines how communities can transform their relationship with mobility to enable greater resilience.
This book inquires into the relations between society and its natural environment by examining the historical discourse around several cases of state building in the American West: the construction of three high dams from 1928 to 1963.
Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is the process of analysing and managing the intended and unintended consequences on the human environment of planned interventions (policies, programmes, plans, projects) so as to bring about a more sustainable and equitable biophysical and human environment. This important Handbook presents an indispensable overview of the range of new methods and of the conceptual advances in SIA. Recent increased attention to social considerations has led to substantial development in the techniques useful to, and the thinking in, SIA. A distinguished group of contributors provides an up-to-date and comprehensive account of the cutting-edge in SIA development. This Handbook outlines a new understanding and definition of SIA and, as such, will be an invaluable reference tool for both practitioners and scholars at different levels working in the fields of SIA and environmental studies (including both impact assessment and management).
'Human Geography' examines the major trends, debates, research and conceptual evolution of human geography during the twentieth century. Considering each of the subject's primary subfields in turn, it addresses developments in both continental European and Anglo-American geography, providing a cutting-edge evaluation of each. Written clearly and accessibly by leading researchers, the book combines historical astuteness with personal insights and draws on a range of theoretical positions. A central theme of the book is the relative decline of the traditional subdisciplines towards the end of the twentieth century, and the continuing movement towards interdisciplinarity in which the various strands of human geography are seen as inextricably linked. This stimulating and exciting new book provides a unique insight into the study of geography during the twentieth century, and is essential reading for anyone studying the history and philosophy of the subject.
With rapid commercialization, a booming urban economy, and the
relaxation of state migration policies, over 100 million peasants,
known as China's "floating population," have streamed into large
cities seeking employment and a better life. This massive flow of
rural migrants directly challenges Chinese socialist modes of state
control. |
You may like...
Handbook on Teaching and Learning for…
Walter Leal Filho, Amanda Lange Salvia, …
Paperback
R1,596
Discovery Miles 15 960
Research Handbook on Ethical Consumption…
Marylyn Carrigan, Victoria K. Wells, …
Hardcover
R5,948
Discovery Miles 59 480
Ethics and Politics of Space for the…
Anu Valtonen, Outi Rantala, …
Hardcover
R3,060
Discovery Miles 30 600
The Impact of Environmental Law…
Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio, Elizabeth A. Kirk, …
Paperback
R1,222
Discovery Miles 12 220
|