Globalization Globalism Environments And Environmentalism

Over the past two decades there has been a growing attention to environmental matters in both scientific research and public interest. Global concerns have arisen particularly surrounding global warming, the emission of toxic chemicals, threats to biodiversity, radioactivity and the depletion of the world's resources such as fisheries and forest cover. The expansion of environmental interests is evident in numerous ways. These include the rise in the number of environment-focused grass-root and non-government organizations, the proliferation of official environmental agencies at national levels, and the growth of 'green' consumerism. These examples demonstrate a set of ways in which a global 'consciousness of connections' is taking form. Scientists, policy-makers, and the general public have become increasingly aware of the connections between environmental domains, and how damage or depletion in one affects numerous others. Yet another kind of developing 'consciousness of connections' involves the evolving links between individuals, groups and organizations concerned with environmental issues around the world. They are ever more conscious of each other, are creating coalitions for effective public campaigns, and are increasingly gaining the ear of national and international policy-makers. This volume presents the views of a number of leading figures concerning the nature of environmental consciousness and the emergence of connections linking globalization (processes of intensifying social, political and economic networks), globalism (our sense of the world as a whole), specific environments (such as rainforests or cities), and environmentalism (expressed in the activities of social movement organizations).

The Globalization and Environment Reader features a collection of classic and cutting-edge readings that explore whether and how globalization can be made compatible with sustainable development. Offers a comprehensive collection of nearly 30 classic and cutting-edge readings spanning a broad range of perspectives within this increasingly important field Addresses the question of whether economic globalization is the prime cause of the destruction of the global environment – or if some forms of globalization could help to address global environmental problems Features carefully edited extracts selected both for their importance and their accessibility Covers a variety of topics such as the ‘marketization’ of nature, debates about managing and governing the relationship between globalization and the environment, and discussions about whether or not globalization should be ‘greened’ Systematically captures the breadth and diversity of the field without assuming prior knowledge Offers a timely and necessary insight into the future of our fragile planet in the 21st century

This book by two leading scholars offers the first systematic analysis of the relationship between globalization and the environment from the early Modern period to the present. Peter Christoff and Robyn Eckersley develop a broad conceptual framework for understanding the globalization of environmental problems and the highly uneven, often faltering, international political response. The authors develop linkages between economic globalization and environmental degradation and explore a range of key global environmental problems—focusing on the two most challenging of all: climate change and biodiversity loss. Finally, they critically explore the challenges of environmental governance in a world defined by global capitalism and sovereign states. Providing a normative framework for evaluating global environmental governance, they suggest alternative institutional and policy responses. Through a rich set of case studies, this powerful book will help readers grasp the systemic causes of global environmental degradation as well as the myriad opportunities for reform of global environmental governance.

This groundbreaking study brings together economic globalization and the environment as never before. Gabriela Kütting argues for an "eco-holistic" approach that merges social, political, economic, and environmental analysis, so that a globalizing political economy may be understood in relation to environmental and social concerns. Key to this merging are the historical dimension of environmental-societal relations, the concept of consumption, and the concept of equity. To illustrate the utility of the eco-holistic approach, Kütting draws out the linkages between social and environmental degradation in West Africa, environmental and economic policies in the North, and the shopping habits of individual consumers, using cotton agriculture and the globalizing political economy of textiles as a case study.

Globalization and the Environment critically explores the actors, politics and processes that govern the relationship between globalization and the environment. Taking key aspects of globalisation in turn - trade, production and finance - the book highlights the relations of power at work that determine whether globalization is managed in a sustainable way and on whose behalf. Each chapter looks in turn at the political ecology of these central pillars of the global economy, reviewing evidence of its impact on diverse ecologies and societies, its governance - the political structures, institutions and policy making processes in place to manage this relationship - and finally efforts to contest and challenge these prevailing approaches. The book makes sense of the relationship between globalisation and the environment using a range of theoretical tools from different disciplines. This helps to place the debate about the compatibility between globalisation and sustainability in an explicitly political and historical context in which it is possible to appreciate the ‘nature’ of interests and power relations that privilege some ways of responding to environmental problems over others in a context of globalisation.

This volume brings together contributions from prominent philosophers, political scientists and other scholars on the challenges that globalization poses to traditional environmental values.

Previously published as a special issue of Globalizations, this collection of essays addresses what is arguably the most pressing and urgent issue of our day - the continuing development of global environmental crises and the need for new and urgent responses to them by the world community. The contributors include social scientists, environmental historians, anthropologists, and science policy researchers, and together they give an overview of the history of the globalization of environmental crisis over the past several decades, both in terms of the science of measurement and the types of policy and public responses that have emerged to date. The specific issue areas addressed in the book cover a wide range of topics, including international environmental governance, North-South inequalities, climate change, global warming, tropical forests, air pollution, economic and paradigm shifts, sustainability, indigenous peoples and eco-conservation, EU environmental policy, the United States and politicized climate science, and more. The Globalization of Environmental Crisis will be of particular interest to all those concerned with the on-going debate over the state of the global environment and what to do about it.