Main Currents In Western Environmental Thought

Topics covered include the roots of environmental philosophy; the development of ecophilosophy, deep ecology, and ecofeminism; how religion relates to environmental values; environmentalists' writings on science and epistemology; animal liberation; the role of place; the economic dimensions of environmental thought; environmental writing in various political traditions; and "green" writers' critiques of political movements. The work draws from the disciplines of philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, and cultural studies.

Main Currents in Western Environmental Thought provides an inclusive and balanced survey of the major issues debated by Western environmentalists over the last three decades. Peter Hay examines issues in philosophy, religion, politics, and economics as presented or criticized by environmentalists. Topics covered include the roots of environmental philosophy; the development of ecophilosophy, deep ecology, and ecofeminism; how religion relates to environmental values; environmentalists' writings on science and epistemology; animal liberation; the role of place; the economic dimensions of environmental thought; environmental writing in various political traditions; and "green" writers' critiques of political movements. The work draws from the disciplines of philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, and cultural studies. Clearly and accessibly written and including a comprehensive bibliography, Main Currents in Western Environmental Thought is well suited both as a handbook and guide to the large environmental literature and as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in environmental studies.

Professor Hay (environmental studies, U. of Tasmania) must have been a patient and long-time follower of environmental debate over the last 35 years to have masterfully untangled the myriad and subtle contentions and changes of heart in ecophilosophy, ecofeminism, ecoreligiosity and spirituality, green critiques of science, green politics, philosophies of place, and ecology's relationship to democracy and postmodernism. Hay's Tasmanian provenance seems less weakness than strength since he provides a more international perspective on environmentalism that includes Australia, North America, and Europe. Not only geographically wide-ranging, Hay is ideologically inclusive, bringing into the environmental forum --without apology or pride--discussions among animal rightists and their critics, and assertions that environmental concern is partially pre-rational. Reading Hay's environmental tome is likely to introduce even seasoned readers to new names (Deborah Slicer, John Rodman, Warwick Fox, Stephen Clark, Ariel Salleh) and so, new arguments. Suitable as a primary or secondary text for an advanced undergraduate or graduate class in environmental thought. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Publisher's description. Australia's experience in community-based environmental repair is unique in the world, with no shortage of analysis by bureaucrats, academics and environmentalists. This collection of 17 case studies gives a view from ground level. It includes heroic accounts of families who changed their way of farming and their relationship to the land so significantly they found they could stop hand-feeding stock during a drought and see the bush coming back. It describes the experience with &‘bush tenders', which were oversubscribed, as farmers competed with each other for stewardship payments to manage their grazing lands for endangered ground-nesting birds as well as beef and wool. And it tells of a group of wheat growers who plant patches of grassland for beneficial insects that save them tens of thousands of dollars a year in pesticide bills. The case studies arose from a meeting of 250 farmers, foresters and fishers from all Australian states, who met in Launceston as guests of the community group Tamar Natural Resource Management to reflect on the question: &‘Is it possible to be good environmental managers and prosper in our businesses?' As well as tales of environmental hope, there are also messages about the limits of duty of care, the need to share the costs of achieving society's expectations, and the possibility of learning from unlikely places. Biodiversity: Integrating Conservation and Production includes the seven &‘Tamar Principles', distilled by the delegates from the meeting for those on the front line.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the complex and endlessly transforming state of western environmentalism, surveying the main strands of thought from the fields of politics, philosophy, religion, and economics.

This book seeks to better understand how International Environmental Law regimes evolve. The authors address throughout the major environmental, economic, and political tensions that have both shaped and constrained the evolution of international environmental policy within regimes, and its expression in international legal rule and norm development. Readers will gain an increased understanding of the growing role played by non-state actors in global environmental governance, including environmental non-government organisations, scientists, the United Nations, and corporations. The authors also look ahead to the future of International Environmental Law, evaluating key challenges and decisions that the discipline will face. The text is clear, concise, and accessible. It is ideally suited to students and professionals interested in International Environmental Law, and individuals who are intrigued by this dynamic area of law.

Concern over environmental problems is prompting us to reexamine established thinking about society and politics. The challenge is to find a way for the public's concern for the environment to become more integral to social, economic, and political decision making. Two interpretations have dominated Western portrayals of the nature-politics relationship, what John Meyer calls the dualist and the derivative. The dualist account holds that politics—and human culture in general—is completely separate from nature. The derivative account views Western political thought as derived from conceptions of nature, whether Aristotelian teleology, the clocklike mechanism of early modern science, or Darwinian selection. Meyer examines the nature-politics relationship in the writings of two of its most pivotal theorists, Aristotle and Thomas Hobbes, and of contemporary environmentalist thinkers. He concludes that we must overcome the limitations of both the dualist and the derivative interpretations if we are to understand the relationship between nature and politics. Human thought and action, says Meyer, should be considered neither superior nor subservient to the nonhuman natural world, but interdependent with it. In the final chapter, he shows how struggles over toxic waste dumps in poor neighborhoods, land use in the American West, and rainforest protection in the Amazon illustrate this relationship and point toward an environmental politics that recognizes the experience of place as central.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the complex and endlessly transforming state of western environmentalism, surveying the main strands of thought from the fields of politics, philosophy, religion, and economics.