An in-depth look at the history of the environment. Is it possible for the economy to grow without the environment being destroyed? Will our lifestyles impoverish the planet for our children and grandchildren? Is the world sick? Can it be healed? Less than a lifetime ago, these questions would have made no sense. This was not because our ancestors had no impact on nature-nor because they were unaware of the serious damage they had done. What people lacked was an idea: a way of imagining the web of interconnection and consequence of which the natural world is made. Without this notion, we didn't have a way to describe the scale and scope of human impact upon nature. This idea was "the environment." In this fascinating book, Paul Warde, Libby Robin, and Sverker Soerlin trace the emergence of the concept of the environment following World War II, a period characterized by both hope for a new global order and fear of humans' capacity for almost limitless destruction. It was at this moment that a new idea and a new narrative about the planet-wide impact of people's behavior emerged, closely allied to anxieties for the future. Now we had a vocabulary for talking about how we were changing nature: resource exhaustion and energy, biodiversity, pollution, and-eventually-climate change. With the rise of "the environment," the authors argue, came new expertise, making certain kinds of knowledge crucial to understanding the future of our planet. The untold history of how people came to conceive, to manage, and to dispute environmental crisis, The Environment is essential reading for anyone who wants to help protect the environment from the numerous threats it faces today.

An in-depth look at the history of the environment. Is it possible for the economy to grow without the environment being destroyed? Will our lifestyles impoverish the planet for our children and grandchildren? Is the world sick? Can it be healed? Less than a lifetime ago, these questions would have made no sense. This was not because our ancestors had no impact on nature-nor because they were unaware of the serious damage they had done. What people lacked was an idea: a way of imagining the web of interconnection and consequence of which the natural world is made. Without this notion, we didn't have a way to describe the scale and scope of human impact upon nature. This idea was "the environment." In this fascinating book, Paul Warde, Libby Robin, and Sverker Soerlin trace the emergence of the concept of the environment following World War II, a period characterized by both hope for a new global order and fear of humans' capacity for almost limitless destruction. It was at this moment that a new idea and a new narrative about the planet-wide impact of people's behavior emerged, closely allied to anxieties for the future. Now we had a vocabulary for talking about how we were changing nature: resource exhaustion and energy, biodiversity, pollution, and-eventually-climate change. With the rise of "the environment," the authors argue, came new expertise, making certain kinds of knowledge crucial to understanding the future of our planet. The untold history of how people came to conceive, to manage, and to dispute environmental crisis, The Environment is essential reading for anyone who wants to help protect the environment from the numerous threats it faces today.

The idea that a bird is good news and needs all our support is probably the only thing amateur birdos, professional zoologists and 'birdscapers'—people who redesign their gardens to support birdlife—have in common. But together they form a conservation community that cares about the future of birds and their habitats, who are working to heal the damage wrought by those who don't notice birds.What Birdo is That? reveals how bird-people in Australia have gone about their craft across the years. Its stories come from wild places — at sea as well as on the land—from dusty archives, from restoration projects, gardens and urban wastelands. They are human stories, but the birds themselves interject and interrupt any self-important anthropocentrism. They educate. They counter the imperialism of the ever-expanding economies of the new millennium. They turn up in unexpected places, giving surprise and joy. This field guide to Australia's bird-people provides a basis for understanding the complex relationship between people and birds in a land of extremes at the forefront of changing climate and habitats.

In 1968 Sir William McDonald, Victoria's Minister of Lands, announced a rural settlement scheme for the Little Desert in Victoria's far north-west. The conservation campaign that ensued was one of unprecedented vehemence and sophistication. It cost McDonald his parliamentary seat and consigned the Little Desert Settlement Scheme to oblivion. The Little Desert dispute was a watershed in Australian environmental politics. Suburban activists, scientists, amateur naturalists, economists and bureaucrats banded together to oppose McDonald's ill-conceived scheme. It marked the beginning of a new consciousness of nature and the concept of `biological diversity' was voiced in the halls of parliament for the first time. In Defending the Little Desert, Libby Robin offers a sensitive account of the unlikely coalition of forces that assembled to save the Little Desert. This beautifully written account of the campaign, perhaps the earliest expression of ecological consciousness in Australia, will be read by all Australians interested in conservation and the environment, in participatory political processes and in 'public science'.

Bridging the Disciplinary Divides brings together some of the world's leading environmental researchers in the life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences and humanities to bridge the disciplinary divides in understanding the environment.

An innovative anthology that offers a global perspective on how people think about predicting the future of life on Earth This anthology provides an historical overview of the scientific ideas behind environmental prediction and how, as predictions about environmental change have been taken more seriously and widely, they have affected politics, policy, and public perception. Through an array of texts and commentaries that examine the themes of progress, population, environment, biodiversity and sustainability from a global perspective, it explores the meaning of the future in the twenty-first century. Providing access and reference points to the origins and development of key disciplines and methods, it will encourage policy makers, professionals, and students to reflect on the roots of their own theories and practices.