Environment and Society: A Reader

by Christopher Schlottmann (Editor), Dale Jamieson (Editor), Colin Jerolmack (Editor), Anne Rademacher (Editor), Maria Damon (With)

Overview

Environment and Society connects the core themes of environmental studies to the urgent issues and debates of the twenty-first century.



In an era marked by climate change, rapid urbanization, and resource scarcity, environmental studies has emerged as a crucial arena of study.



Assembling canonical and contemporary texts, this volume presents a systematic survey of concepts and issues central to the environment in society, such as: social mobilization on behalf of environmental objectives; the relationships between human population, economic growth and stresses on the planet’s natural resources; debates about the relative effects of collective and individual action; and unequal distribution of the social costs of environmental degradation.



Organized around key themes, with each section featuring questions for debate and suggestions for further reading, the book introduces students to the history of environmental studies, and demonstrates how the field’s interdisciplinary approach uniquely engages the essential issues of the present.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781479801930
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	01/24/2017
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Christopher Schlottmann is Clinical Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at New York University.

Dale Jamieson is Professor of Environmental Studies and Philosophy at New York University.

Colin Jerolmack is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Sociology at New York University.

Anne Rademacher is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Anthropology at New York University.

Maria Damon analyzes policy instruments for sustainable development as well as capacity building in response to climate change.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

Part I Ideas of Nature 3

1 Excerpts from The End of Nature Bill McKibben 5

2 The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature? Will Steffen Paul J. Crutzen John R. McNeill 12

3 Excerpts from The World without Us Alan Weisman 32

4 Excerpts from "Reinventing Eden: Western Culture as a Recovery Narrative" Carolyn Merchant 42

5 Excerpts from Laudato Si Pope Francis 56

6 Excerpts from "The Etiquette of Freedom" Gary Snyder 60

7 Excerpts from "The Land Ethic" Aldo Leopold 68

Reading Questions and Further Readings 69

Part II Environmentalists and Environmental Movements 71

8 Hetch Hetchy Valley John Muir 74

9 Excerpts from Silent Spring Rachel Carson 80

10 Excerpts from "Environmentalism and Social Justice" Robert D. Bullard 87

11 Excerpts from "Where We Live, Work, and Play" Robert Gottlieb 97

12 Excerpts from "The Death of Environmentalism" Ted Nordhaus Michael Shellenberger 103

13 The Paradox of Global Environmentalism Ramachandra Guha 109

14 Excerpts from "Between Violence and Desire: Space, Power, and Identity in the Making of Metropolitan Delhi" Amita Baviskar 116

Reading Questions and Further Readings 121

Part III Population and Consumption 123

15 Excerpts from "An Essay on the Principle of Population" Thomas Malthus 126

16 How Do We Know We Have Global Environmental Problems? Science and the Globalization of Environmental Discourse Peter J. Taylor Frederick H. Buttel 136

17 Excerpts from "The IPAT Equation and Its Variants" Marian R. Chertow 153

18 Excerpts from "Socioeconomic Equity, Sustainability, and Earth's Carrying Capacity" Gretchen C. Daily Paul R. Ehrlich 161

19 The NEXT Industrial Revolution William McDonough Michael Braungart 165

20 Excerpts from "In Search of Consumptive Resistance: The Voluntary Simplicity Movement" Michael Maniates 177

21 Excerpts from "Overpopulation versus Biodiversity" Leon Kolankiewicz 189

Reading Questions and Further Readings 198

Part IV Publtc Goods and Collective Action 199

22 Excerpts from "The Tragedy of the Commons" Garrett Hardin 202

23 Revisiting the Commons: Local Lessons, Global Challenges Elinor Ostrom Joanna Burger Christopher B. Field Richard B. Norgaard David Policansky 213

24 Excerpts from "Rationality and Solidarities: The Social Organization of Common Property Resources in the Imdrhas Valley of Morocco" Peggy Petrzelka Michael M. Bell 226

25 Averting the Tragedy of the Commons Mark Van Vugt 242

26 Excerpts from "Climate, Collective Action and Individual Ethical Obligations" Marion Hourdequin 251

27 Excerpts from "About Free-Market Environmentalism" Jonathan H. Adler 259

Reading Questions and Further Readings 265

Part V Values and Justice 267

28 Excerpts from "Walking" Henry David Thorenu 269

29 Excerpts from "Naturalness as a Source of Value" Robert E. Goodin 277

30 Excerpts from "Conservation" John Passmore 285

31 Sustainability Alan Holland 295

32 Excerpts from "Theorising Environmental Justice: The Expanding Sphere of a Discourse" David Schlosberg 309

Reading Questions and Further Readings 319

Part VI Environmental Controversies 321

City and Country 323

33 Excerpts from "More like Manhattan" David Owen 324

34 Excerpts from "Freedom and Wilderness, Wilderness and Freedom" Edward Abbey 335

Reading Questions and Further Readings 341

Agrarian and Industrial Agriculture 343

35 Excerpts from "The Green Revolution Revisited and the Road Ahead" Norman Borlaug 344

36 The Agrarian Standard Wendell Berry 353

Reading Questions and Further Readings 361

Managing Nature versus Stewardship 363

37 Excerpts from "Earth Systems Engineering and Management" Brad Allenby 364

38 The Earth Is Not Yet an Artifact David W. Keith 373

Reading Questions and Further Readings 380

Index 381

About the Editors 386

Editorial Reviews

"This book is both well-organized and nicely abridged for use in undergraduate courses this textbook fulfills the major criteria for teaching undergraduates: it is accessible, affordable, and informative. I highly recommend its integration into environmental history courses."

Western Historical Quarterly

"Environment and Societylives up to its ambitious aims. Providing essential readings in environmental studies, this book serves as an excellent introduction to the enduring questions and most important emerging ideas in the field today."

Kimberly Smith

"Environment and Societyprovides a thoughtful and diverse selection of key readings in environmental studies, including pieces from some of the best known thinkers along with some well chosen works that don't appear in other readers. This is a valuable book for teachers, students, and anyone interested in environmental thought."

Richard York

"Environment and Society provides a thoughtful and diverse selection of key readings in environmental studies, including pieces from some of the best known thinkers along with some well chosen works that don't appear in other readers. This is a valuable book for teachers, students, and anyone interested in environmental thought."-Richard York,co-author of The Ecological Rift: Capitalism’s War on the Earth

"Environment and Society lives up to its ambitious aims. Providing essential readings in environmental studies, this book serves as an excellent introduction to the enduring questions and most important emerging ideas in the field today."-Kimberly Smith,Professor of Environmental Studies, Carleton College

From the Publisher