Sustainability and the Environment: Books on Environmental Issues

The environmentalist author of Natural Capitalism traces the contributions of a diverse, worldwide grassroots humanitarian movement through which conscientious individuals and organizations are dedicating their efforts to restoring the environment and fostering social justice.

The violence wrought by climate change, toxic drift, deforestation, oil spills, and the environmental aftermath of war takes place gradually and often invisibly. Using the innovative concept of âeoeslow violenceâe#157; to describe these threats, Rob Nixon focuses on the inattention we have paid to the attritional lethality of many environmental crises, in contrast with the sensational, spectacle-driven messaging that impels public activism today. Slow violence, because it is so readily ignored by a hard-charging capitalism, exacerbates the vulnerability of ecosystems and of people who are poor, disempowered, and often involuntarily displaced, while fueling social conflicts that arise from desperation as life-sustaining conditions erode. In a book of extraordinary scope, Nixon examines a cluster of writer-activists affiliated with the environmentalism of the poor in the global South. By approaching environmental justice literature from this transnational perspective, he exposes the limitations of the national and local frames that dominate environmental writing. And by skillfully illuminating the strategies these writer-activists deploy to give dramatic visibility to environmental emergencies, Nixon invites his readers to engage with some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

This integrative book about human-environment relations connects many issues about human societies, ecological systems, and environments with data and perspectives from different fields of study. While the viewpoint is primarily sociological, coverage is specifically designed to relate to a diverse audience.

InMy Green Manifesto, David Gessner embarks on a rough-and-tumble journey down Boston's Charles River, searching for the soul of a new environmentalism. With a tragically leaky canoe, a broken cell phone, a cooler of beer, and the environmental planner Dan Driscoll in tow, Gessner grapples with the stereotype of the environmentalist as an overzealous, puritanical mess. But as Dan recounts his own story of transforming the famously polluted Charles into an urban haven for wildlife and wild people, the vision of a new sort of eco-champion begins to emerge: someone who falls in love with a forgotten space, and then fights like hell for it. Considering everything from Ed Abbey's legacy to Jimmy Carter's sweater, Gessner points toward a scrappy environmentalism that, despite all odds, just might change the world.

Now, from the authors of the quintessential how-to-go-green guide for individuals and households, this definitive do-it-yourself manual is for the working world--businesses, workers, and day-to-day life at the office. Positive and practical, True Green at Work tells everyone who holds a job, from top executives on down the ladder, how to help minimize their company’s carbon footprint. The book is accessible and actionable, with its signature, crisp design and lively text. Each page contains a single tip for reducing waste, making it easy for anyone in any job to take small steps toward a healthier planet. Suggestions run the gamut, from obvious recycling to innovative strategies that encourage sustainability. Authors McKay and Bonnin draw on their extensive industry expertise to address corporate culture, branding, and marketing and to profile American businesses on the leading edge of green--inspiring stories that are sure to motivate any company and employee. Timely and smart, True Green at Work is one business book that will pay dividends.

The scientific, political, and economic policy debates about the global environmental crisis have tended to ignore its historical, ethical, religious, and aesthetic dimensions. This book redresses that omission by highlighting these humanistic components that are integral to the fabric of our ecological understanding and, consequentially, essential to a broad, multidisciplinary approach to environmental studies and public policy initiatives. In this slim volume, seven world-class scholars discuss the wide range of perspectives that the fields of literature, history, religion, philosophy, environmental ethics, and anthropology bring to the natural environment and our place in it. The preface summarizes the development of the religion and ecology movement; the editor's critical introduction highlights the essays' major themes. Bringing insights from the humanities to bear on ecological concerns, this volume will appeal to a wide audience in the humanities and environmental studies, policy makers, and the general public. The book represents a continuation of the Center for the Study of World Religions' highly regarded Religions of the World and Ecology series.

The book reviews the science of climate change and explains why it is one of the most difficult problems humanity has ever tackled. Climate change is a "wicked" problem bound up with problems of population growth, environmental degradation, and world problems of growing social and economic inequality. The book explores the politicization of the topic, the polarization of opinion, and the reasons why, for some, science has become just another ideology to be contested. How do humans assess risk? Why are they are so bad at focusing on the future? How can we solve the problem of climate change? These are the questions this work answers. The goal of this new, unique Series is to offer readable, teachable "thinking frames" on today¿s social problems and social issues by leading scholars, all in short 60 page or shorter formats, and available for view on http://routledge.customgateway.com/routledge-social-issues.html For instructors teaching a wide range of courses in the social sciences, the Routledge Social Issues Collection now offers the best of both worlds: originally written short texts that provide "overviews" to important social issues as well as teachable excerpts from larger works previously published by Routledge and other presses.

More than 300 million people in over 70 countries make up the world¿s indigenous populations. Yet despite ever-growing pressures on their lands, environment and way of life through outside factors such as climate change and globalization, their rights in these and other respects are still not fully recognized in international law. In this incisive book, Laura Westra deftly reveals the lethal effects that damage to ecological integrity can have on communities. Using examples in national and international case law, she demonstrates how their lack of sufficient legal rights leaves indigenous peoples defenceless, time and again, in the face of governments and businesses who have little effective incentive to consult with them (let alone gain their consent) in going ahead with relocations, mining plans and more. The historical background and current legal instruments are discussed and, through examples from the Americas, Africa, Oceania and the special case of the Arctic, a picture emerges of how things must change if indigenous communities are to survive. It is a warning to us all from the example of those who live most closely in tune with nature and are the first to feel the impact when environmental damage goes unchecked.

Visually rich, up-to-date, and authoritative, The Atlas of Global Conservation is a premier resource for everyone concerned about the natural world. Drawing from the best data available, it is an unprecedented guide to the state of the planet and our most pressing resource and environmental issues. Top scientists at The Nature Conservancy, the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and water, have joined forces to create this extraordinary reference. It features 79 richly-detailed, fullcolor maps and other graphics paired with an informative, inviting discussion of major trends across the world's terrestrial, marine, and freshwater environments. Interspersed throughout, essays by noted international authorities point the way forward in confronting some of our greatest conservation challenges. * The most comprehensive single volume on global environmental conservation and future sustainability * Includes the latest data on environmental threats, such as climate change, water use, habitat protection, deforestation and overfishing * Full-color maps and graphics are designed to facilitate sideby-side comparisons, empowering readers to draw their own conclusions * Brings together information that has been widely dispersed across myriad publications and databases in a format thatinvites evaluation and application * Supporting data is available on an accompanying website

Biodiversity is as close as your breakfast table. Your cereal and coffee are the products of at least a dozen species of plants and animals. And believe it or not, you are related to your morning meal--all life on earth is descended from a common ancestor, giving new meaning to the old saying "You are what you eat."             Making clear why the future of biodiversity matters, Fragile Web--which takes its name from the delicate mechanism that holds all life together--unites a team of international experts to explore the wonder of the natural world. Drawing on the very latest research, the book explains what biodiversity is and explores its evolution, from 3.5 billion years ago to the present day. It discusses the importance of the world's ecosystems and how directly or indirectly humans are responsible for the fate of nature. Crucially, it also examines what can be done to protect the natural world and why it matters. Although we cannot undo all that we have done, ignoring the current crisis facing biodiversity could fundamentally change the lives of future generations. Fully illustrated with color photographs, diagrams, and maps, and edited by celebrated ecologist Jonathan Silvertown, this book is a timely snapshot of the state of life on Earth. From the plant and animal products that make up our breakfast to the ecosystems that help to produce clean water, our very survival depends upon the variety of plant and animal life on our planet. The year 2010 has been declared by the United Nations the International Year of Biodiversity, and The Fragile Web will be an essential guidebook for our time.

This book explains to the general reader the roles of chemistry in various areas of life ranging from the entirely personal to the worryingly global. These roles are currently not widely appreciated and certainly not well understood. The book is aimed at educated laypeople who want to know more about the world around them but have little chemical knowledge. The themes relate to the importance of chemistry in everyday life, the benefits they currently bring, and how their use can continue on a sustainable basis. Topics include: Health - conquering the diseases and stresses which still threaten us. Food - the role of agrochemicals and food chemists. Water - drinking water; the seas as a resource of raw materials. Fuels - what are they and from what are they made? Plastics - what are the used for and can they be sustainable? Cities - what role has chemistry in modern life? Sport - chemistry has changed the game. The world stands at a crossroads. What route to the future should we take? The road to a sustainable city beckons, but what effect will this have on chemistry, which appears so dependent on fossil resources? Its products are part of everyday living, and without them we could regress to the world of earlier generations when lives were blighted by disease, famines, dirt, and pain. In fact the industries based on chemistry the chemical, agrochemical, and pharmaceutical industries could be sustainable and not only benefit those in the developed world but could be shared by everyone on this planet and for generations to come. This book shows how it might be achieved.

The pursuit of sustainability has generated lifestyle changes for individuals across the globe, widespread initiatives within civil society and business, historic policies for municipal, regional, and national governments, and crucial protocols and agreements by international organizations. Increasingly, sustainability provides a common language and goal for diverse peoples and nations. Yet the meaning of sustainability remains unsettled, and the term frequently serves as a PR strategy--a green veneer for business as usual--rather than a driver of fundamental change. Leslie Paul Thiele's accessible yet thorough book provides a broad-ranging introduction to the concept and practice of sustainability today. It addresses the history, scope, and contested meanings of sustainability as an ethical ideal, an ascendant ideology, and a common sense approach to living in an ever more crowded world of increasingly scarce resources. Key topics covered include environmental health and ecological resilience, the promise and unintended consequences of technology, political and legal challenges, economic limits and opportunities, and cultural change. Unlike most other approaches to this crucial topic, Thiele argues that sustainability requires innovation and adaptation as much as the conservation of resources. His book will be a valuable resource for students in a broad range of courses, including environmental studies and related areas, as well as general readers keen to grapple with one of the most pressing issues of our times.

Protecting the environment should be a priority of every theatrical production, but it can be challenging to mount an environmentally-friendly show with limited time, resources, and information. A Practical Guide to Greener Theatre: Introduce Sustainability Into Your Productions not only gives you the information you need to make greener decisions, but provides you with practical, workable solutions. You will learn how to assess and improve every production area ¿ from costuming and painting, lighting and technical direction, to administrative offices and the rehearsal process. Checklists, examples of successful strategies, and step-by-step instructions will show you how to identify areas where manageable, sustainable changes can make your productions greener, and advice from working professionals, with experience greening their own productions, will leave you confident that your processes are environmentally sound. Even non-technical people who find themselves responsible for supervising productions will find green solutions that can be instituted with a staff of volunteers or students. Remember: every step toward sustainability is a step forward. Discover small fixes that will make your theatre productions greener. Examine ways to introduce greener practices in the design, execution, and strike process. Explore how introducing sustainability into your theatre productions can save your company time and money. Learn how sustainability and safety intersect to help protect your workers and volunteers.

From cities to biofuels, competition for water is accelerating. Climate change threatens to intensify the onset and severity of the water crisis in several regions of the developing world: this is already happening throughout much of Asia, the Mediterranean, southwestern Australia, and the southwestern US. Along with water shortages, unsafe water becomes an increasingly widespread problem, too. As water crises trigger food and health crises, billions may slip further into poverty, leading to greater social and political unrest, new wars, and worsening national security. Out of Water doesn't just illuminate the coming global water crisis: it presents innovative solutions in agriculture, engineering, governance, and beyond, including state-of-the art techniques for integrated water management. This book will help raise the level of debate about water to the highest levels of government, and identify workable reforms and incentives to help water users utilize this crucial resource far more efficiently.

What does it really take to live eco-effectively? For one year, Colin Beavan swore off plastic and toxins, turned off his electricity, went organic, became a bicycle nut, and tried to save the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his young daughter and his Prada-wearing wife along for the ride. Together they attempted to make zero impact on the environment while living right in the heart of Manhattan, and this is the sensational, funny, and consciousness-raising story of how they did it. With No Impact Man, Beavan found that no-impact living is worthwhile--and richer, fuller, and more satisfying in the bargain.

Winner 2013 Critics Choice Award from the American Educational Studies Association (AESA). This is the academic Age of the Neoliberal Arts. Campuses--as places characterized by democratic debate and controversy, wide ranges of opinion typical of vibrant public spheres, and service to the larger society--are everywhere being creatively destroyed in order to accord with market and military models befitting the academic-industrial complex. While it has become increasingly clear that facilitating the sustainability movement is the great 21st century educational challenge at hand, this book asserts that it is both a dangerous and criminal development today that sustainability in higher education has come to be defined by the complex-friendly "green campus" initiatives of science, technology, engineering and management programs. By contrast, Greening the Academy: Ecopedagogy Through the Liberal Arts takes the standpoints of those working for environmental and ecological justice in order to critique the unsustainable disciplinary limitations within the humanities and social sciences, as well as provide tactical reconstructive openings toward an empowered liberal arts for sustainability. Greening the Academy thus hopes to speak back with a collective demand that sustainability education be defined as a critical and moral vocation comprised of the diverse types of humanistic study that will benefit the well-being of our emerging planetary community and its numerous common locales.

The word is nearly ubiquitous: at the grocery store we shop for "sustainable foods" that were produced from "sustainable agriculture"; groups ranging from small advocacy organizations to city and state governments to the United Nations tout "sustainable development" as a strategy for local and global stability; and woe betide the city-dweller who doesn't aim for a "sustainable lifestyle." Seeming to have come out of nowhere to dominate the discussion-from permaculture to renewable energy to the local food movement-the ideas that underlie and define sustainability can be traced back several centuries. In this illuminating and fascinating primer, Jeremy L. Caradonna does just that, approaching sustainability from a historical perspective and revealing the conditions that gave it shape. Locating the underpinnings of the movement as far back as the 1660s, Caradonna considers the origins of sustainability across many fields throughout Europe and North America. Taking us from the emergence of thoughts guiding sustainable yield forestry in the late 17th and 18th centuries, through the challenges of the Industrial Revolution, the birth of the environmental movement, and the emergence of a concrete effort to promote a balanced approach to development in the latter half of the 20th century, he shows that while sustainability draws upon ideas of social justice, ecological economics, and environmental conservation, it is more than the sum of its parts and blends these ideas together into a dynamic philosophy. Caradonna's unique and concise history broadens our understanding of what "sustainability" means, revealing how it progressed from a relatively marginal concept to an ideal that shapes everything from individual lifestyles, government and corporate strategies, and even national and international policy. For anyone seeking understand the history of those striving to make the world a better place to live, here's a place to start.

"The concept of sustainability is inherently multi-disciplinary because it concerns a complex system having economic, technological, ecological, political, and other perspectives. Consequently, any effort in the area of sustainability involves concepts, pr"

Sustainability policies shape the ways that society and the economy interact with the environment, natural resources, and ecosystems, and they address issues such as water, energy, food security, and climate change. These policies are complex and, at times, obscured by contestation, uncertainty, and sometimes ignorance. Ultimately, sustainability problems are social problems, and they need to be addressed through social and policy change. Social Science and Sustainabilitydraws on the wide-ranging experience of CSIRO's social scientists in the sustainability policy domain. These researchers have extensive experience in addressing complex issues of society-nature relationships, usually in interdisciplinary collaboration with natural scientists. This book describes some of the evidence-based concepts, frameworks, and methodologies they have developed, which may guide a transition to sustainability. Contributions range from exploring ways to enhance livelihoods and alleviate poverty to examining Australians' responses to climate change, to discussing sociological perspectives on sustainability, and how to make policy relevant. Researchers, policy-makers and decision-makers around the globe will find this book a valuable and thought-provoking contribution to the sustainability literature. It is also suited to academics and students in postgraduate-level courses in social sciences and sustainability, or in courses in applied sociology, applied social psychology and other applied social sciences.

This book will take a broad look at the ways in which the concept of sustainability is being applied in the business context. It answers the question, 'What does Sustainability mean to the way we practice business?' A key characteristic is its concise, readable, comprehensive treatment of the complex issues sustainability raises for the business world. The goal of the book is to provide the reader an introduction to knowledge and skills they need to help organizations understand and act upon the principles of sustainability. The reader will also gain a deeper understanding of the relationships among business, society, and the environment. The approach of this book is to examine a variety of market failures and how different businesses choose to respond to them. It will explore strategies to correct these market failures - with improved product innovation, entrepreneurial activity, and government action. This book will also explore the techniques and tools of sustainability from a practical, business-oriented perspective. As an introduction to sustainability, this book will function to anchor the Business Expert Press sustainability collection, helping the reader appreciate its coherence and depth. This book is written for an advanced undergraduate and graduate-level business school reader, as well as for their professors. It will also find a readership with science, social science and engineering professors and students for courses on sustainability in those disciplines and with the management practitioner striving to build the competitive advantage sustainability can confer.

For cultural and heritage institutions around the world, sustainability is the major challenge of the twenty-first century. In the first major work to analyze this critical issue, Barthel-Bouchier argues that programmatic commitments to sustainability arose both from direct environmental threats to tangible and intangible heritage, and from social and economic contradictions as heritage developed into a truly global organizational field. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interviews over many years, as well as detailed coverage of primary documents and secondary literature, she examines key international organizations including UNESCO, ICOMOS, and the World Monuments Fund, and national trust organizations of Great Britain, the United States, and Australia, and many others. This wide-ranging study establishes a foundation for critical analysis and programmatic advances as heritage professionals encounter the growing challenge of sustainability.

Scientists turn to metaphors to formulate and explain scientific concepts, but an ill-considered metaphor can lead to social misunderstandings and counterproductive policies, Brendon Larson observes in this stimulating book. He explores how metaphors can entangle scientific facts with social values and warns that, particularly in the environmental realm, incautious metaphors can reinforce prevailing values that are inconsistent with desirable sustainability outcomes.  Metaphors for Environmental Sustainability draws on four case studies—two from nineteenth-century evolutionary science, and two from contemporary biodiversity science—to reveal how metaphors may shape the possibility of sustainability. Arguing that scientists must assume greater responsibility for their metaphors, and that the rest of us must become more critically aware of them, the author urges more critical reflection on the social dimensions and implications of metaphors while offering practical suggestions for choosing among alternative scientific metaphors.

Why an awareness of Earth's temporal rhythms is critical to our planetary survival Few of us have any conception of the enormous timescales in our planet's long history, and this narrow perspective underlies many of the environmental problems we are creating for ourselves. The passage of nine days, which is how long a drop of water typically stays in Earth's atmosphere, is something we can easily grasp. But spans of hundreds of years--the time a molecule of carbon dioxide resides in the atmosphere--approach the limits of our comprehension. Our everyday lives are shaped by processes that vastly predate us, and our habits will in turn have consequences that will outlast us by generations. Timefulness reveals how knowing the rhythms of Earth's deep past and conceiving of time as a geologist does can give us the perspective we need for a more sustainable future. Marcia Bjornerud shows how geologists chart the planet's past, explaining how we can determine the pace of solid Earth processes such as mountain building and erosion and comparing them with the more unstable rhythms of the oceans and atmosphere. These overlapping rates of change in the Earth system--some fast, some slow--demand a poly-temporal worldview, one that Bjornerud calls "timefulness." She explains why timefulness is vital in the Anthropocene, this human epoch of accelerating planetary change, and proposes sensible solutions for building a more time-literate society. This compelling book presents a new way of thinking about our place in time, enabling us to make decisions on multigenerational timescales. The lifespan of Earth may seem unfathomable compared to the brevity of human existence, but this view of time denies our deep roots in Earth's history--and the magnitude of our effects on the planet.

Universities have a key role to play in contributing to environmental development and combating climate change. The chapters within this volume detail the challenges faced by higher education institutions in considering environmental sustainability, and provide both a broad view of university engagement and a detailed examination of various projects. As part of this series in association with the Place and Social Capital and Learning (PASCAL) International Observatory, the three key PASCAL themes of place management, lifelong learning and the development of social capital are considered throughout the book. While universities have historically generated knowledge outside of specific local contexts, this book argues that it is particularly important for them to engage with the local community and to consider diverse perspectives and assets when looking at issues within an ecological context. The chapters in this volume provide new perspectives and frames of reference for transforming universities by engaging in the development of resilient communities.

The major challenge for the current generation of mankind is to develop a shared vision of a future that is both desirable to the vast majority of humanity and ecologically sustainable. Creating a Sustainable and Desirable Future offers a broad, critical discussion on what such a future should or can be, with global perspectives written by some of the world's leading thinkers, including: Wendell Berry, Van Jones, Frances Moore Lappe, Peggy Liu, Hunter Lovins, Gus Speth, Bill McKibben, and many more.