Disaster by Design: The Aral Sea, Lessons for Sustainability addresses the impacts of the Aral Sea disaster. The virtual disappearance of what was the world's fourth largest inland body of water was neither natural nor accidental. It was the result of deliberate policy decisions. The sea's disappearance is hardly the entire disaster. Instead, we find an accumulation of cascading effects, beginning with the decision to grow cotton, reached remotely in Moscow that altered the farming practices surrounding the Aral Sea. Unsustainable choices resulted in soil salinization, water pollution and toxic blowing sands, impacting the entire bioregion and beyond. A remote island was used to test biological weapons. Uzbekistan, most notably Karakalpakstan, was the autonomous republic at the epicenter of the disaster. Sustainable prospects exist, including renewable energy, permaculture and strengthening the social fabric amidst poverty and ecological collapse. This volume of Research in Social Problems and Public Policy is essential reading for everyone concerned with averting environmental disaster and instead creating livable, sustainable communities. Disaster by Design is a clarion call and an insightful study of Central Asia today.

The anthology Sustainability: Global Issues, Global Perspectives gives readers a firm grounding in issues related to sustainability today. The book is rooted in the idea that to achieve sustainability requires an understanding of many global topics, and it uses global examples and case studies. The readings are organized into three sections. The first introduces major concepts and trends in environmental thinking, the second identifies current challenges to sustainability, and the third addresses paradigm shifts for sustainability. The selections are a blend of environmental science, especially as it relates to agriculture, soils, and land management with social topics such as how to govern fairly and equitably to ensure that the voices of all seven billion of Earth's inhabitants will be heard. Specific topics include the global food economy, environmentally sound landscaping, waste management, and human migration. Figures and tables throughout the book provide visual support. Forward-looking, the book discusses governance structures that work and what different countries are doing to reform their education systems to respond to sustainability issues. Sustainability: Global Issues, Global Perspectives is intended for introductory or survey courses in environmental studies and global issues.

Sustainability: Global Issues, Global Perspectives Workbook is a companion text to the anthology of the same title. The workbook is a valuable learning tool that supports mastery of the material from the main text through meaningful, rigorous questions, and data analysis exercises. While the workbook is intended for regular, weekly use, its flexible design allows instructors to use chapters selectively as well as comprehensively from start to finish. It gives students the opportunity to further explore topics such as the global food economy, environmentally sound landscaping, waste management, and human migration. Sustainability: Global Issues, Global Perspectives Workbook is one of the few practical exercise workbooks designed to accompany texts on sustainability. It is intended for introductory or survey courses in environmental studies and global issues.