For well over 4 billion people - approximately 60% of all humanity - annual income is less than $1,500. The term "Base of the Pyramid" was first coined by Stuart L. Hart and C.K. Prahalad in 2002 and has become synonymous with both the method by which we can more effectively address poverty and the opportunity that exists in a multi-trillion-dollar market. A whole new lexicon has emerged to describe this phenomenon, including new buzzwords and catch phrases like "inclusive business", "opportunities for the majority", "sustainable livelihoods", "pro-poor business" and "social business", and thousands of new businesses, institutions and investment funds have been set up.In this ground-breaking new book, Stuart L. Hart and Fernando Casado Caneque have worked with members of the BoP Global Network to shake the tree, look objectively at what has happened since 2002, highlight why earlier applications of BoP haven't worked and propose new objectives and ways of working to formulate more sustainable solutions. The book challenges the reader and organizations to think about the mindset and purpose across whole organizations, open innovation rather than simply co-creation, and a complete review of the innovation ecosystem. Through this book, practitioners will gain a clearer insight into which business models can work within different communities to ensure a sustainable transition to improved local economies. Equally, the book is a must-read for researchers and students in the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation, sustainable development and environmental management.

Humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively in the last 50 years than in any comparable period of human history. We have done this to meet the growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fiber, and fuel. While changes to ecosystems have enhanced the well-being of billions of people, they have also caused a substantial and largely irreversible loss in diversity of life on Earth, and have strained the capacity of ecosystems to continue providing critical services.
Among the findings:
Approximately 60% of the services that support life on Earth are being degraded or used unsustainably. The harmful consequences of this degradation could grow significantly worse in the next 50 years.
Only four ecosystem services have been enhanced in the last 50 years: crops, livestock, aquaculture, and the sequestration of carbon.
The capacity of ecosystems to neutralize pollutants, protect us from natural disasters, and control the outbreaks of pests and diseases is declining significantly.
Terrestrial and freshwater systems are reaching the limits of their ability to absorb nitrogen.
Harvesting of fish and other resources from coastal and marine systems is compromising their ability to deliver food in the future.
Richly illustrated with maps and graphs, Current State and Trends presents an assessment of Earth's ability to provide twenty-four distinct services essential to human well-being. These include food, fiber, and other materials; the regulation of the climate and fresh water systems; underlying support systems such as nutrient cycling; and the fulfillment of cultural, spiritual, and aesthetic values. The volume pays particular attention to the current healthof key ecosystems, including inland waters, forests, oceans, croplands, and dryland systems, among others. It will be an indispensable reference for scientists, environmentalists, agency professionals, and students.

Written by an award-winning historian of science and technology, Planet in Peril describes the top four mega-dangers facing humankind - climate change, nukes, pandemics, and artificial intelligence. It outlines the solutions that have been tried, and analyzes why they have thus far fallen short. These four existential dangers present a special kind of challenge that urgently requires planet-level responses, yet today's international institutions have so far failed to meet this need. The book lays out a realistic pathway for gradually modifying the United Nations over the coming century so that it can become more effective at coordinating global solutions to humanity's problems. Neither optimistic nor pessimistic, but pragmatic and constructive, the book explores how to move past ideological polarization and global political fragmentation. Unafraid to take intellectual risks, Planet in Peril sketches a plausible roadmap toward a safer, more democratic future for us all.

Freedom in the Anthropocene illuminates the Anthropocene from the perspective of critical theory. The authors contextualize our current ecological predicament by focusing on the issues of history and freedom and how they relate to our present inability to render environmental threats and degradation recognizable and surmountable.

Awareness of eco-literature has recalled the central ideology of environmentalism - "to think globally and act locally." As this volume shows, various tags of contemporary discourse have emerged, including transnational, cosmopolitan, hybridity, diaspora, and generally cultural. These concerns highlight such global environmental problems as biodiversity, climate change, and developing new forms of interconnectedness with local and regional communities. In this context, contemporary discourse becomes of immediate concern in understanding the environmental crisis. In a way, reading different cultures and experiences can contribute to a contemporary discourse that can facilitate an environmental sensibility and develop a unique ecological approach.

This book focuses on the vegetation history of the cultural landscape in southwestern Slovakia, which was established and adopted by mankind and has since constantly evolved in response to ongoing changes (in environmental conditions, biodiversity, land use, etc.). The book analyses four dominant ecosystems typical for the cultural landscape and affected by humans: woodlands, wetlands, grasslands and agricultural land. Each ecosystem is discussed in separate chapters. The chapters include (a) basic information, general aspects, development processes, trends and interpretations, (b) a published or non-published case study based on the author's own research, and (c) an extensive bibliography. A set of maps on the vegetation history and indices of geographical names and plants names serve to round out the coverage. The work provides an essential point of departure for describing the typical regional characteristics of the cultural landscape, with an eye to its future preservatio n.

Green Criminology has the potential to provide not only a different way of examining and making sense of various forms of crime and control responses, but can also make explicable much wider connections which are not generally well understood. As all societies face up to the need to confront harms against the environment, other animals and humanity, criminology will have a major role to play. This book will be an essential part of this process. This edited collection brings together internationally renowned scholars to explore green criminology through the interdisciplinary lenses of power, justice and harm. The chapters provide innovative case study analyses from North America, Europe and Australia that seek to advance theoretical, policy and practice discourses about environmental harm. The book unifies transnational debates in environmental law, policy and justice, and in doing so examines international agreements and policy within diverse environmental discourses of sociology, criminology and political economy. Emerging Issues in Green Criminology is an essential source for students, scholars and policy makers in this rapidly growing area of criminology, as well as environmental studies more broadly. The international range of contributors include Lieselot Bisschop (University College Ghent, Belgium), Avi Brisman (Eastern Kentucky University, USA), Matthew Hall (University of Sheffield, UK), M.H.A Kluin (Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands), Olga Knight (University of Colorado, Denver, USA), Peter Martin (Queensland University of Technology, Australia), Hanneke Mol (University of Kent, UK and Utrecht University, Netherlands), Angus Nurse (Birmingham City University, UK), Ragnhild Sollund (University of Oslo, Norway), Nigel South (University of Essex, UK), Paul B. Stretesky (University of Colorado, Denver, USA), Gudrun Vande Walle (University College Ghent, Belgium) and Rob White (University of Tasmania, Australia).

The study of literature and the environment evokes and promotes this highly original eco-critical collection and its contributions to evaluating the preservation of nature and human attachment and to situate it at a local, communitarian, or bio-regional level. Revisiting eco-literature can aid our exploration of numerous global issues and challenges through a literary rendition of the natural world in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Reflecting on different works will prompt the readers to intensify their search for viable and effective choices and healthy alternatives in a confusing world.

Asoka Bandarage provides an integrated analysis of the twin challenges of environmental sustainability and human well-being by investigating them as interconnected phenomena requiring a paradigmatic psychosocial transformation. She presents an incisive social science analysis and an alternative philosophical perspective on the needed transition from a worldview of domination to one of partnership.

How do and how did people perceive, manage and respond to natural disasters? How are the causes of natural disasters explained in history, how are they explained today? This volume investigates relationships between forces of nature and human culture in a multidisciplinary context bridging science and the humanities.

"Forces of nature and cultural responses" is divided into four sections: (1) ball lightnings, (2) earthquakes and tsunamis, (3) volcanic eruptions and plagues, and (4) hurricanes and floodings. Specifically, Section 1 investigates theories and case studies of ball lightning phenomena. Section 2 includes a psychological study on the impact of earthquakes on academic performance, a study on tsunami vulnerability and recovery strategies in Thailand and a study on the social and economic aftermaths of a tsunami and a hurricane in Hawaii. Section 3 consists of a chapter on volcanic eruptions and plagues as well as cultural responses in Ancient Times and a study on contemporary vulnerability and resilience under chronic volcanic eruptions. Section 4 investigates the impact of hurricane Katrina on the current jazz scene in New Orleans and cultural responses to floodings in The Netherlands in Early Modern Times.

The invasion and occupation of Kuwait by the Iraqi forces and the resulting Gulf War in 1991 led to unprecedented environmental contamination, the effects of which will be felt for years to come. The air was polluted by emissions from hundreds of burning oil wells, the sea fouled by the largest oil spill in history, and the land scarred by massive bombardment and troop movement. Information regarding this environmental legacy of the Gulf War has hitherto been scattered throughout the popular and scientific press. This is the first book that brings together what is currently known about the environmental aftermath of this tragic war.

Global city-thinking has, in the past years, had a very real pull on society. Global cities seem an unavoidable fact of everyday world affairs. This volume gathers a forum that integrates the extensive set of disciplinary dimensions to which the interdisciplinary concept of the global city can help to tackle the policy challenges of today's metropolises. Its chapters are drawn from viewpoints including the cultural, economic, historical, postcolonial, virtual, architectural, literary, security and political dimensions of global cities. Tasked with providing a rejoinder to the global city scholarship from each of these perspectives, the authors illustrate what twin analytical and practical challenges emerge from juxtaposing these stances to the concept of the 'global city'. They rely not solely on theory but also on sample case studies either drawn from long-lived global cities such as New York, Shanghai and London, or emerging metropolises like Dubai, Cape Town and Sydney.

Against the backdrop of the environmental impact of household electricity consumption and the history of cooling practices, Marlyne Sahakian considers how people keep cool, from Metro Manila to other mega-cities in Southeast Asia.

This book reviews the history, current state of knowledge, and different research approaches and techniques of studies on interactions between humans and plants in an important area of agriculture and ongoing plant domestication: Mesoamerica. Leading scholars and key research groups in Mexico discuss essential topics as well as contributions from international research groups that have conducted studies on ethnobotany and domestication of plants in the region. Such a convocation will produce an interesting discussion about future investigation and conservation of regional human cultures, genetic resources, and cultural and ecological processes that are critical for global sustainability.

The world has witnessed extraordinary economic growth, poverty reduction and increased life expectancy and population since the end of WWII, but it has occurred at the expense of undermining life support systems on Earth and subjecting future generations to the real risk of destabilising the planet. This timely book exposes and explores this colossal environmental cost and the dangerous position the world is now in. Standing up for a Sustainable World is written by and about key individuals who have not only understood the threats to our planet, but also become witness to them and confronted them. Combining the voices of leading academics as well as climate change and environmental activists, entrepreneurs and investors, the book highlights the urgent action that needs to be taken to foster sustainable, resilient and inclusive development in the face of powerful systemic forces. Chapters look ahead to a better path for human wellbeing, security and dignity, offering insight to ways this can be created. The book as a whole shares the visions and hopes of those fighting in a myriad of ways to make a sustainable world, attempting to tip the balance away from the crushing loss of biodiversity, rising sea levels and increasing global mean temperature, whilst increasing living standards across all dimensions, particularly for the poorest people. An imperative read for those concerned about the future of our planet, this book showcases not only why urgent action is now imperative, but also what changes are necessary for a sustainable, resilient and equitable world. It offers crucial insights for those interested in the dynamics of political action, in how change occurs, and in effective communication. Environmental economics, as well as environmental studies and human geography students and scholars more broadly will find this an invigorating read.

We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.

This book asks how we are to understand the relationship between capitalism and the environment, capitalism and food, and capitalism and social resistance. These questions come together to form a study of food regimes and the means by which capitalism organises both the environment and people to provision its distinctive system of ever-expanding consumption with food. Political Ecology, Food Regimes, and Food Sovereignty explores whether there are environmental limits to capitalism and its economic growth by addressing the ongoing and inter-linked crises of food, fossil fuels, and finance. It also considers its political limits, as the globally burgeoning 'precariat', peasants and indigenous people resist the further commodification of their livelihoods. This book draws from the field of Political Ecology to approach new ways of analysing capitalism, the environment and resistance, and also to propose new solutions to the current agro-ecological-economic crisis. It will be of particular interest to students and academics of Environmental Sociology, Human Geography, and Environmental Geography.

The main objective of this book is to provide a multidisciplinary overview of methodological approaches, architectures, platforms, and algorithms for the realization of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based Smart Urban Ecosystem (SUE). Moreover, the book details a set of real-world applications and case studies related to specific smart infrastructures and smart cities, including structural health monitoring, smart urban drainage networks, smart grids, power efficiency, healthcare, city security, and emergency management. A Smart Urban Ecosystem (SUE) is a people-centric system of systems that involves smart city environments, applications, and infrastructures. SUEs require the close integration of cyber and physical components for monitoring, understanding and controlling the urban environment. In this context, the Internet of Things (IoT) offers a valuable enabling technology, as it bridges the gap between physical things and software components, and empowers cooperation between distributed, pervasive, and heterogeneous entities.

Is fair trade a radical movement aiming to transform global systems of production and exchange, or is it a marketing niche that delivers small benefits to Southern farmers and a clean conscience to Northern consumers? Schisms currently opening between the US-based Fair Trade USA and the rest of the international fair trade movement are reflective of this choice. This book evaluates the extent to which fair trade is likely to be a transformative movement. The authors show that fair trade's most significant, and threatened, contribution is its potential to reveal to otherwise 'blinded' consumers the qualitative aspects of labour and nature embodied in commodities. Integrating insights from economic and sociological theory and research, the book sheds new light on this potential of the movement, its role in producing social change, and, given the recent strategic trajectory of the movement, the serious problems it now faces.

The second unputdownable book in the acclaimed THE LOOP trilogy - perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner ... 'A terrifying and sinister look into the future that will leave your jaw on the floor.' KASS MORGAN, New York Times bestselling author of THE 100 on book 1 'Your next YA obsession.' ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY on book 1 'Fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner should look no further ... Thrilling and terrifying in equal measure.' OBSERVER on book 1 Luka is in prison again - but this time it's worse. He's in the Block, a place where reality and simulation start to blur. But an audacious breakout reunites Luka and his friends at last. Hiding out in the heart of the destroyed city, Luka realises the scale of their mission to defeat all-powerful AI, Happy. How can they stay hidden, let alone win the war? Old friends and new - including annoyingly cheerful companion drone, Apple-Moth - hold the key to their slim chance of victory ... The second nail-biting instalment in The Loop trilogy: a must-read YA series for teens and adults alike Prison Break meets 1984 in this cutting-edge sci-fi thriller - perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner Complete the trilogy with book 3, The Arc

In the advent of important crises of both climate change and energy supply (in)security, questions are being asked about changes in energy governance. Caroline Kuzemko explains how and why change takes place and discusses the convoluted UK energy governance system that has emerged between 2000 and the present day. She applies a complex theoretical approach based on new institutional concepts of policy paradigm change, but which also utilises concepts of (de)politicisation and securitization. UK energy governance, like energy policy elsewhere, is moving from one heavily influenced by neoliberal economic ideas to one where state intervention is more commonplace. Moreover, the new governance system is informed not by one but by multiple perspectives on energy and governance - geopolitical, climate change and pro-market.

This book is a pioneering and comprehensive study of the environmental history of Southern Malawi. With over fifty years of experience, anthropologist and social ecologist Brian Morris draws on a wide range of data - literary, ethnographic and archival - in this interdisciplinary volume. Specifically focussing on the complex and dialectical relationship between the people of Southern Malawi, both Africans and Europeans, and the Shire Highlands landscape, this study spans the nineteenth century until the end of the colonial period. It includes detailed accounts of the early history of the peoples of Northern Zambezia; the development of the plantation economy and history of the tea estates in the Thyolo and Mulanje districts; the Chilembwe rebellion of 1915; and the complex tensions between colonial interests in conserving natural resources and the concerns of the Africans of the Shire Highlands in maintaining their livelihoods. A landmark work, Morris's study constitutes a major contribution to the environmental history of Southern Africa. It will appeal not only to scholars, but to students in anthropology, economics, history and the environmental sciences, as well as to anyone interested in learning more about the history of Malawi, and ecological issues relating to southern Africa.

This book is drawn out of a 'Dialogue', held in Venice at the Cini Foundation in September 2010, aimed at exploring the relationship between ecology and theology. The meeting involved experts from different disciplines (theologians, anthropologists, ecologists, economists, philosophers, and historians), sharing the awareness that the gamut of passions mobilized by ecology so far has not reached the level or intensity required for the huge task facing humanity today concerning the fate of the Earth. Can religions help us tackle the ecological crisis we are now facing? Can we redefine our relationship with the Earth, giving spiritual depth to ecological issues? How to mobilize the notions, cosmologies and rituals characterizing some religious traditions without overlooking the conflicts underlying the ecological debate and the essential role of politics?

From his home on the Texas Panhandle, John R. Erickson, rancher and author of the bestselling Hank the Cowdog series, saw firsthand the raw power of two megafires that swept across the high plains in 2006 and 2017. "These were landmark events that are etched onto the memory of an entire generation and will be passed down to the next. They made the old-time methods of fighting fire with shovels, wet gunny sacks, and ranch spray rigs a pathetic joke." Yet Bad Smoke, Good Smoke, while relating a tale of gut-wrenching destruction, also provides a more nuanced view of what is often a natural event, giving the two-sided story of our relationship with fire. Not just a first-hand account, Bad Smoke, Good Smoke also synthesizes and explains the latest research in range management, climate, and fire. Having experienced the bad smoke, Erickson tries to understand a rancher's relationship to good smoke and to reconcile the symbiotic relationship that a rancher has with fire. Evocatively chronicled, Erickson tells what it is like trying to stop the unstoppable: Bad Smoke, Good Smoke gives voice to the particular pains that ranchers must face in our era of climate change and ever more powerful natural disasters.