Find an interdiscliplinary view of sustainable agriculture that emphasizes the potential contributions of ecology to agricultural sustainability in this groundbreaking book. Integrating Sustainable Agriculture, Ecology, and Environmental Policy explores how ecological knowledge, applied as part of a multidisciplinary effort, can be used to design a sustainable and environmentally sound agriculture. A more ecologically based agriculture can increase production efficiency and decrease environmental impacts, but hard choices regarding population control, energy conservation, and land use must still be made. This interdisciplinary approach ensures that the results are beneficial to all components, for example, an ecologically based management scheme which bankrupts the farmer is not considered a viable option for sustainable agriculture. These thought-provoking chapters are an excellent introduction to the contributions of ecological principles to an environmentally sound sustainable agriculture. This multidisciplinary examination provides readers interested in agriculture with a valuable introduction to related work in other fields including ecology and economics. Agronomists, ecologists, educators, and policymakers will find essential information on diverse topics including: the definition and measurement of ecological sustainability in agriculture landscape ecology and the design of sustainable agricultural landscapes soil ecology as a foundation for sustainable agriculture Federal agricultural policies as incentives or deterrent to sustainable agriculture applying farming systems research and extension to sustainable agriculture population growth and other threats to sustainableagriculture environmental policies and their effects on sustainable agriculture the role of precollege education in developing sustainable agriculture

Synopsis: Does religion need to look more like a science? If much of the contemporary work published in science and religion is any indication, the answer appears to be a resounding "yes." Yet the current tendency to dress religion up in the language and methods of science does more harm than good. In Kneeling at the Altar of Science, Robert Bolger argues that much of the recent writing in science and religion falls prey to the practice of what he calls "religious scientism," or the attempt to use science to explain and clarify certain religious concepts. Bolger then shows, with clarity and humor, how religious scientism harms rather than helps, arguing in the end that religious concepts do better when their meaning is found in the context of their religious use. This book promises to be a fresh approach to the ever-popular dialogue between science and religion. Endorsements: "This is an impressive new contribution to current debates over the proper relationship between science and religion. Bolger argues convincingly that what he calls 'religious scientism' is a mistake made by both scientific critics of religion, as well as by some misguided theologians. Bolger's careful dissection of where these very different thinkers go wrong gets to the root of many of these issues." --Brian L. Keeley, Professor, Pitzer College "In clear and jargon-free prose, Bolger offers sophisticated arguments to uncover the intellectual errors of applying claims of science to religion--errors made by thinkers from Richard Dawkins to Ian Barbour to Arthur Peacocke. The 'science and religion' debates have neglected a position that deserves the thoughtful hearing Bolger gives it. Brimming with well-informed arguments, Kneeling at the Altar of Science is both original and enjoyable." --Lynne Rudder Baker, author of The Metaphysics of Everyday Life "Kneeling at the Altar of Science tells it straight. Asserting that 'God is not the type of thing that exists doesn't distort religious meaning, but may, in fact, be the best, most religious way to start smashing our idols once and for all." --Scott Korb, author of Life in Year One: What the World Was Like in First-Century Palestine "Bolger's analysis is strong, original, and provocative. His book is worthy of careful reading; his treatment of the topic deserves much further discussion." --Willem B. Drees, editor of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science Author Biography: Robert Bolger (PhD, Claremont Graduate University) currently lives and teaches near Seattle.

Exploring the natural scientific foundations of far-reaching social ideologies

The nineteenth century produced scientific and cultural revolutions that forever transformed modern European life. Although these critical developments are often studied independently, Richard G. Olson's "Science and Scientism in ""Nineteenth-Century Europe" provides an integrated account of the history of science and its impact on intellectual and social trends of the day. Focusing on the natural scientific foundations underlying liberalism, socialism, positivism, communism, and social Darwinism, Olson explores how these movements employed science to clarify their own understanding of Enlightenment ideals, as well as their understanding of progress, religion, industry, imperialism, and racism. Starting with the impact of the French Revolution on scientific thought, Olson engages with key texts from J. B. Say, Henri Saint-Simon, Kant, Goethe, Darwin, Walter Bagehot, and Edward Bellamy to demonstrate the complex set of forces that shaped nineteenth-century thinking.