The Sustainability Debate

This book goes beyond environmental protection and looks at sustainability by predominantly focusing on human and social sustainability and this focus is carried into sections of the book that discuss sustainable policies, media and gender. The book takes an academic and practitioner approach.

Can there be a common definition of sustainable development? Views on sustainable development range from those of the mainstream economist to the hardened environmentalist – via many shades of green. This book offers a clear overview of the debates and sets out the various theories, providing an accessible introduction for all who now need to understand how sustainable development affects their working practices. The text is structured around key questions on the concept of sustainable development: Does it define a starting point, a process, or the end-goal? Can it provide a coherent theory? Is it a workable concept in practice? Is it ‘balanced’ or does ‘balance’ form part of the solution? Mark Mawhinney explores the various strands of thought that claim to define sustainable development - as a concept, a theory or as a set of principles. He also highlights gaps in understanding that often arise and attempts to break down the barriers to a common understanding - redefining current concepts in terms that will help to progress the debate on sustainable development.

This book goes beyond environmental protection and looks at sustainability by predominantly focusing on human and social sustainability and this focus is carried into sections of the book that discuss sustainable policies, media and gender. The book takes an academic and practitioner approach.

Though the scientific community largely agrees that climate change is underway, debates about this issue remain fiercely polarized. These conversations have become a rhetorical contest, one where opposing sides try to achieve victory through playing on fear, distrust, and intolerance. At its heart, this split no longer concerns carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, or climate modeling; rather, it is the product of contrasting, deeply entrenched worldviews. This brief examines what causes people to reject or accept the scientific consensus on climate change. Synthesizing evidence from sociology, psychology, and political science, Andrew J. Hoffman lays bare the opposing cultural lenses through which science is interpreted. He then extracts lessons from major cultural shifts in the past to engender a better understanding of the problem and motivate the public to take action. How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate makes a powerful case for a more scientifically literate public, a more socially engaged scientific community, and a more thoughtful mode of public discourse.

What does it mean to live a good life in a time when the planet is overheating, the human population continues to steadily reach new peaks, oceans are turning more acidic, and fertile soils the world over are eroding at unprecedented rates? These and other simultaneous harms and threats demand creative responses at several levels of consideration and action. Written by an international team of contributors, this book examines in-depth the relationship between sustainability and the good life. Drawing on wealth of theories, from social practice theory to architecture and design theory, and disciplines, such as anthropology and environmental philosophy, this volume promotes participatory action-research based approaches to encourage sustainability and wellbeing at local levels. It covers topical issues such the politics of prosperity, globalization, and indigenous notions of "the good life" and happiness". Finally it places a strong emphasis on food at the heart of the sustainability and good life debate, for instance binding the global south to the north through import and exports, or linking everyday lives to ideals within the dream of the good life, with cookbooks and shows. This interdisciplinary book provides invaluable insights for researchers and postgraduate students interested in the contribution of the environmental humanities to the sustainability debate.

Measurements, Indicators, and Research Methods for Sustainability presents a thorough and accessible overview of the ways in which sustainability is charted worldwide. Some articles introduce basic concepts, such as quantitative versus qualitative data or the weak versus strong sustainability debate; others examine how indicators in specific areas (climate change and soil conservation, agriculture, and mining) have been applied (or not) to different regions. Research analysts explain the modes and media through which these measurements are broadcast, stressing the importance of developing methods that can be understood by both experts and ordinary citizens. They also examine the process of monitoring, itself a controversial topic affecting national or international policy, law, rules, and regulations.

Within the concept of the 'sustainable city' nothing is fixed, mapped or agreed upon. To some, the term encompasses innovation, change and commitment to the future and to others it means preservation, conservatism and a watchful eye on the future. City Fights follows on from the symposium 'Energy and Urban Strategies', which brought together contributors from a wide variety of disciplines, with the aim of developing sharp ideas about making better and more sustainable cities in environmental, social and economic terms. The result is a passionate and illuminating debate on this vast question, bringing into focus the complexity and diversity of the issues involved. City fights is essential and thought provoking reading for all with a common interest in the future of the city- from architects and urban designers, urban and town planners and policy makers, to academics and researchers, sociologists, environmentalists and economists.

This novel publication includes summaries of the main issues arising from an internet discussion on the changing perspectives on environmental education in the light of the global initiative on sustainable development. Fifty experts from around the world discussed in five rounds how they see the field evolving. The accompanying CD-ROM allows you to delve into the points made by each participant. It also contains a top-10 list of books and sites on the subject. It explains how the web site discussion was managed, for those interested in learning more about mobilizing knowledge using the opportunities of the worldwide web.