Understanding The Global Environment

Globalization is often discussed in terms of its ecological ramifications. Yet, while ecological imbalance is today one of the greatest threats to mankind, globalization is also a reality that is here to stay. The volume, therefore, seeks to address how globalizing and environmental interests can be reconciled. The essays in this volume state that globalization can work both in favour of and against the environment. The major issues discussed in this topical volume are, how globalization can be used to promote environmental reforms; the role of individuals, private organizations and governments in keeping environmental degradation in check and in promoting environmental reform; globalization and ecological inequality; women, the environment and globalization; changing nature of environmental movements; overpopulation and the ecology; the relation between the ecology and the economy; and the effects of global climate changes.

Understanding Global Environmental Politics develops a new, critical approach to global environmental politics. It argues that the major power structures of world politics are deeply problematic in ecological terms, and that they cannot be easily used to resolve major environmental challenges such as global warming. Instead of simply advocating the construction of new international institutions to respond to such challenges, therefore, the book argues that the construction of alternative social and political structures in necessary.

Globalization is often discussed in terms of its ecological ramifications. Yet, while ecological imbalance is today one of the greatest threats to mankind, globalization is also a reality that is here to stay. The volume, therefore, seeks to address how globalizing and environmental interests can be reconciled. The essays in this volume state that globalization can work both in favour of and against the environment. The major issues discussed in this topical volume are, how globalization can be used to promote environmental reforms; the role of individuals, private organizations and governments in keeping environmental degradation in check and in promoting environmental reform; globalization and ecological inequality; women, the environment and globalization; changing nature of environmental movements; overpopulation and the ecology; the relation between the ecology and the economy; and the effects of global climate changes.

Knowing Global Environments brings together nine leading scholars whose work spans a variety of environmental and field sciences, including archaeology, agriculture, botany, climatology, ecology, evolutionary biology, oceanography, ornithology, and tidology. Collectively their essays explore the history of the field sciences, through the lens of place, practice, and the production of scientific knowledge, with a wide-ranging perspective extending outwards from the local to regional, national, imperial, and global scales. The book also shows what the history of the field sciences can contribute to environmental history-especially how knowledge in the field sciences has intersected with changing environments-and addresses key present-day problems related to sustainability, such as global climate, biodiversity, oceans, and more. Contributors to Knowing Global Environments reveal how the field sciences have interacted with practical economic activities, such as forestry, agriculture, and tourism, as well as how the public has been involved in the field sciences, as field assistants, students, and local collaborators.

Global environmental change often seems to be the most carefully examined issue of our time. Yet understanding the human sideâ€"human causes of and responses to environmental changeâ€"has not yet received sustained attention. Global Environmental Change offers a strategy for combining the efforts of natural and social scientists to better understand how our actions influence global change and how global change influences us. The volume is accessible to the nonscientist and provides a wide range of examples and case studies. It explores how the attitudes and actions of individuals, governments, and organizations intertwine to leave their mark on the health of the planet. The book focuses on establishing a framework for this new field of study, identifying problems that must be overcome if we are to deepen our understanding of the human dimensions of global change, presenting conclusions and recommendations.

This is an invaluable, applied "how to" guide to understanding the unique characteristics of the international business environment that provides critical information to all managers considering entering an overseas market. The global marketplace is a reality, yet there are virtually no books dedicated to understanding the international business environment. The accessible, practitioner-oriented information in this book provides businesspeople with the tools necessary to accurately analyze the complex global environment and the perspective to be successful in international markets. A resource for business managers as well as for college-level business students, the book covers all major areas of the international business environment, including the cultural aspects of international commerce environments as well as economic, political, and competitive challenges. Additionally, the author explains how a business entity can impact the market environment in which it operates.

Aligning global governance to the challenges of sustainability is one of the most urgent environmental issues to be addressed. This book is a timely and up-to-date compilation of the main pieces of the global environmental governance puzzle. The book is comprised of 101 entries, each defining a central concept in global environmental governance, presenting its historical evolution, introducing related debates and including key bibliographical references and further reading. The entries combine analytical rigour with empirical description. The book: offers cutting edge analysis of the state of global environmental governance, raises an up-to-date debate on global governance for sustainable development, gives an in-depth exploration of current international architecture of global environmental governance, examines the interaction between environmental politics and other fields of governance such as trade, development and security, elaborates a critical review of the recent literature in global environmental governance. This unique work synthesizes writing from an internationally diverse range of well-known experts in the field of global environmental governance. Innovative thinking and high-profile expertise come together to create a volume that is accessible to students, scholars and practitioners alike.

This book marks a watershed in the social sciences. The qualitative, critical perspective of sociology and allied disciplines challenges the technocentric `managerialism' which dominates environmental policy, its discourse and its impact. The authors explore the relationship between social theory and sustainability in an attempt to transend technical rhetoric and embrace a broader understanding of `nature'.