Product Description
The book covers a wide range of known models, from classical(Cobb-Douglass production function, Leontiefinput-output analysis, Verhulst-Pearl andLotka-Volterra models of population dynamics, etc.) to themodels of world dynamics and the models of water contaminationpropagation after the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe. It uses a uniqueblock-by-block approach to model analysis, which explains how allthese models are constructed from common simple components (blocks)that describe elementary physical processes. The book providestheoretical insights to guide the design of practical models.
Special attention is given to modeling of hierarchical regionaleconomic-ecological interaction and technological change in thecontext of environmental impact. Mathematical topics consideredinclude discrete and continuous models, differential and integralequations, optimization and bifurcation analysis, and relatedsubjects. The book presents a self-contained introduction for thoseapproaching the subject for the first time. It provides excellentmaterial for graduate courses in mathematical modeling.
Audience: Researchers, graduate and postgraduate students, and awide mathematical audience. ... Read more

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Today there is a bewildering diversity of views on ecology and the natural environment. With more than two hundred distinct and valuable perspectives on the natural world—and with scientists, economists, ethicists, activists, philosophers, and others often taking completely different stances on the issues—how can we come to agreement to solve our toughest environmental problems?

In response to this pressing need, Integral Ecology unites valuable insights from multiple perspectives into a comprehensive theoretical framework—one that can be put to use right now. The framework is based on Integral Theory, as well as Ken Wilber’s AQAL model, and is the result of over a decade of research exploring the myriad perspectives on ecology available to us today and their respective methodologies.


Dozens of real-life applications and examples of this framework currently in use are examined, including three in-depth case studies: work with marine fisheries in Hawai’i, strategies of eco-activists to protect Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, and a study of community development in El Salvador. In addition, eighteen personal practices of transformation are provided for you to increase your own integral ecological awareness. Integral Ecology provides the most sophisticated application and extension of Integral Theory available today, and as such it serves as a template for any truly integral effort. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Ecology or Wilber Theory?
Four Stars * * * *
(unfortunately Amazon com doesn't provide the option for revising one's rating)

I had high hopes for this book.Both authors have impeccable credentials.Sean Esbjorn-Hargens has written some excellent articles introducing Wilber's multi-perspectival paradigm into mainstream academia.And Michael Zimmerman is an important environmental philosopher in his own right.Therefore, as someone who supports and contributes to the integral project, I was looking forward to reading this 800 page opus, which from the reviews seemed fascinating.I expected to find many perspectives here and many interdisciplinary thinkers and visionaries discussed, and their insights drawn upon.What I didn't expect to find, but perhaps should have expected, was such an unquestioning reliance on Wilberian theory alone.The two authors seem to have no presence of their own.

Even so, there are many good things about this work:

o For me the most valuable element in this book is the emphasise (as part of ist multi-perspectival methodology) on "interiors", that is, on the fact, always obvious to me but denied by mainstream science, that animals are not "objects" but have a rich inner life just as humans do.This then opens the way to many revolutionary insights involving inetrsubjectivity and cross-species communication. For its ground breaking contributions in this field alone, Integral Ecology is extremely important.

o And the multiperspectival approach to ecology is itself worth presentingm, and in this respect Integral Ecology constitutes the beginning of an important "paradigm shift" in science, moving away from an obsession with externals and objectivity only, to realization that objective reality and objective methodology is one of a number of perspectives.Within the context of pragmatic ecology, the multiperspectival theory means rejecting of limited approaches of development only, preservation only, and so on, while including the insights of each.

o One of the most intersting parts of the book is an all too short appendix which gives a brief listing of 200 different ecological perspectives, everything from Acoustic Ecology to Zoosemiotics.I would have preferred this section to have been several times longer then its 40-odd pages.

o As to be expected with the Integral community and the high standard they place on learning and on citations, the book is comprehensively and impressively researched, with 134 pages of footnotes as reference, very appealing to academic "geeks" like myself!

o I know this is rather trite, but I love the graphic showing the four aspects (quadrants) of the frog on the cover and the inside frontpiece.

o Finally, for anyone who is intersted in a synoptic overview of Wilber's increasingly elaborate and complex Integral Theory, but cannot be bothered reading the thousands of pages in print and online, this book can serve as an excellent primer, with clear text and useful diagrams.

But if I give this book four stars rather than the five it would certainly deserves from the above points, it is because of the following:

o as mentioned, an excessively uncritical tone as regards Mr Wilber himself. His name seems to appear on every second page, and you won't find a single challenge to even one of his ideas. This would be fine if this was a religious or hagiographic work, but it is an academic text. And even within the Wilber community itself those like Mark Edwards who, while sympathetic to Wilber, have positively critiqued his work, and suggested where his theory can be improved (and Wilber somewhere even praises Edwards' critiques).Michael Zimmerman has elsewhere (the Integral World website) provided a very readable synopsis of Edwards, so there is no reason that some of these critiques can't get at least a passing mention, considering how many pages are devoted to Wilber's ideas otherwise.

o Associated with the above is the fact that no one else but Wilber is considered in establishing the foundations for such an important field as integral ecology.The result is that integral ecology is reduced to nothing but a subset of Wilber's integral theory found in Integral Spirituality: A Startling New Role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern World and many other books.But I could think of Vladimir Vernadsky (The Biosphere: Complete Annotated Edition), James Lovelock (Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth and other books) and Erich Jantsch (Self Organizing Universe: Scientific and Human Implications (Systems Science and World Order Library. Innovations in Systems Science)) as examples of interdisciplinary scientists,and Integral Yoga: Sri Aurobindo's Teaching & Method of Practice in philosophy and spirituality, and Oliver Reiser (Cosmic Humanism, sadly long out of print) in both science and philosophy.

o One thing I felt in reading this book is a certain cognitive disjunction.In some places it reads as a primer on Wilber's philosophy, in others as a textbook on Ecology.Both are equally referred to, but they are not integrated.It is like two totally unrelated books that somewhow became slpiced together.

o A poor understanding of hard science seems to be a problem with much of the Wilberian movement, which comes instead from a postmodern philosophical, transpersonal psychological, and Eastern spiritual perspective.Take Darwinian evolution.As it is well known that Wilber prefers Intelligent Design (see his A Brief History of Everything p.20 (2nd edition, Shambhala, 2000), and also Frank Visser's Integral World website), I was curious to see how Esbjorn-Hargens and Zimmerman would handle this touchy (for Wilberians) subject.Sure enough, Darwinian science gets a curt and dismissive coverage, e.g. "No one has any idea how such an enormously complex code [as DNA] could have arisen by chance encounters of amino acids.So daunting is the task of explaining DNA that the world-famous defender of atheism, Antony Flew, recently became a theist who now believes in the existence of a God..." (p.79)Now, mind you, the authors (like Wilber himself) are not denying the development of life itself, only the scientific explanation of how life evolves.Again, were this a religious or philosophical book there would be no problem.But for me at least the value of the book is diminished because of this.Integral Ecology has to include many things, and among those things is real science.

o Finally (and this is admittedly a small thing, but is I believe symptomatic of problems with this work as a whole, and of the whole Integral initiative established by Wilber), I found it rather surprising that on the top of the inside front flap there is a recommendation by Wilber "This is the finest book on ecology bar none".Well, he would recommend it, because it is so uncritically about his ideas!But one wonders at the culture of narcissism of the Integral Institute, that it is considered necessary to have the master recommend a book about himself.

In the end, what can I say about this book?Would I recommend it?

Yes I would, because despite its flaws (which reflect in microcosm the flaws of the Wilber Integral community as a whole), it still does constitute an important and groundbreaking work.If you are a fan of Wilber, it serves as a masterful if uncritical application of his ideas to the field of ecology.If you are interested in different approaches to ecology, I would also recommend it, as it does make a very good case for the value of multiple but equally valid perspectives, if you are not bothered by the excessive overburden of Wilber theory.Certainly it serves as a useful reference in either field.

But at the same time, a truely comprehensive Integral Ecology will have to wait until there is a wider synthesis of many different insights.It cannot be limited to just the theories of one man alone.

A remarkable integration of knowledge from many previous diverse fields
Integral Ecology gives us the first of major application of Ken Wilber's integral model beyond his own writings. Not surprisingly its scope and depth are vast, and the scholarship upon which it rests detailed and exquisite. This amazing investigation will be required reading and an invaluable resource for future ecologists for many years to come.

Allan Combs, author of the forthcoming Consciousness Explained Better; The Radiance of Being; Changing Visions (with Ervin Laszlo), etc.

Integral Ecology
I feel I must preface this review with a note that I am not an ecologist, environmental studies specialist, or educator in an environmentally related field. I am, however, quite familiar with integral theory as set out by Ken Wilber, as pertains to my own area of expertise. In addition to this, I have read a few of his articles that define and outline integral ecology.

Integral Ecology is an advanced text of study. It is suitable for those well read in either integral theory or environmental studies. It would likely be most useful as a advanced text in a university or college situation. The overall purpose of the book is to present the theory, show how it relates to environmental issues, and then integrate this new way of looking at potential issues into actual study.

In this way, the first part of the book presents Ken Wilber`s integral theory. I think the authors do a very good job of summarizing and clarifying this somewhat confusing and complex topic. Explained in the most simplistic terms, this philosophy recognizes that everyone has their own perspective and this perspective colors the way that each person views a particular situation. In this way, some may see an environmental calamity whereas others might not even see an issue. It's not as simply as educating others on such issues.

Parts two, three, and four, build upon the information presented in the previous section. Part two moves into more explanation of integral ecology, specifically framework definition and concepts that are important to grasp before moving onto more depth in the next section. Section three then examines how integral ecology would change the way environmental issues would be studied. Finally, the last portion of the book provides a number of interesting and informative case studies which not only illustrate this method of study in real life use but also help to further clarify issues and concepts.

Who said that, How'd they do that, What the --!
This was a very good book, and very readable if you have some familiarity with Ecology or with Wilber's theory; if you are lucky enough to be familiar with both this should be a walk in the park.
There is a great deal of material that the writers try to synthesize, so it is difficult to summarize the book adequately, but I'll try to give the bare bones version.
Ecological views consist of a WHO a WHAT and a HOW. The WHO is usually an individual or groups of individuals who are interested in the planet, the WHAT is the terrain they are interested in. The writers hold that perspectives are fundamental to all forms of knowledge, but like a good constructive postmodernist, they claim that a "good¨ perspective can lead to "real" knowledge.Thus a perspective a WHO takes (sometimes unreflectively) leads them to look at a specific dimension of the WHAT (a terrain) and ask HOW can I learn more about it? What are these terrains? Well theoretically they can me a huge amount but the writers focus on 4 major perspectives available to a WHO that have been explored historically.These are the I domain ("subjective realities of any being at all levels of its perception"), WE domain (inter-subjective realities of any being at all levels of its communion), IT ("objective realities at all levels of its organization"), ITS ("inter-objective realties of any being at all levels of its intersection").
Having just foreshadowed this point, all beings have depth and complexity. Depth can be mapped as levels of interior and cultural experience/meaning-communication respectively. Complexity shows up as emergent properties in the physical domain (physics, chemistry, biology to give most obvious example), and nested systems within systems in how objective properties relate to each other (most systems approaches are dealing with this).Interestingly the depth dimension in beings applies to both what we look at and who does the looking, i.e. the researcher/theorist and the "being" looked at.This view leads to the importance of the individual who is looking. Some time is spent at showing how interior depth is important in a person's ability to adequately engage certain approaches, since certain kinds of knowledge are only available by 1st person acquaintance. To really study the emotional lives of chimps, you probably shouldn't send someone with anti-personality disorder (or what use to be called a psychopath, sociopath); you want someone with a very developed sensitivity to the emotional domain in both its span (types of emotions) and depth (profundity/subtlety of emotions).The writers cover much more material in the levels of a Who that is simply too complex to summarize in this format, but hopefully the above gives you a sense for the direction they take.
A little summary so far from a diagram(p261) I domain (WHO: researcher, HOW: Comparative psychology, WHAT: Animal as psychologically structured organism), WE domain(WHO: researcher, HOW: long term field study, WHAT: animal as culturally regulated organism), IT domain(WHO: researcher, HOW: direct observation, WHAT: Animal as physical and behavioral organism), ITS (WHO: researcher, HOW Functional fit analysis, WHAT: Animal as system-bound organism).
These domains are then further subdivided into two each giving eight total. This is done because you can try to take an insider's or outsider's perspective relative to each domain. I'm just going to give examples: I domain divides into Zone 1(animal phenomenology/experience) and Zone 2(developmental Ethology, mental development of animals). The WE domain divides into Zone 3(Zoohermeneutics, animal interpretations), and Zone 4(Zooethnography, animal culture). The It domain divides into Zone 5(Cognitive Ethology, animal cognition, a field waiting for its own Pinker to popularize itselfº ) and Zone 6(Zoology, animal biology). The ITS domain divides into Zone 7(Biocybersemiotics, socio-communication) and Zone 8 (Socioecology (animal societies).
All this dividing and mapping is useful in getting a fuller, richer, and more accurate understanding of the environment and our relationship to it. Most theorists or researches tend to only include 1-3 of the eight possible views highlighted above and because they don't properly see the role of their Who and the HOW in enacting the WHAT they tend to take their WHAT as the only way to see it (reductionism) and their HOW as the only way to again knowledge about it (epistemological reductionism).
Also since they include depths of interiors in all beings they can and do talk about the spiritual implications of this view. There is much more detail to the theory then I was able to summarize. Also if you're left feeling this is too abstract to be applicable, blame me not the book.Half the book is concerned about what it means to apply/enact their perspective when dealing with ecological issues. It even includes three insightful case studies from three independent authors. There are numerous notes and citations to help the interested reader delve deeper into the topics mentioned. I appreciated the academic carefulness of the writers.They also classify around 200 ecological approaches within their eight domains. I hope integral books keeps coming out with such nice publications, and no I'm no academic, I'm just a curious dude.
Finally I think the book would appeal to two kinds of people: those who know a lot about ecology and are interested in bringing their knowledge into some sort of relatedness, and those who know Ken Wilber's integral theory and would like to see what it looks like when applied to a specific domain like ecology.

A Superb Synthesis
It is hard to do justice to this extraordinary book.Its scope is enormous, scholarship meticulous, degree of synthesis rare, and its spirit both inclusive and generous.

The book applies Ken Wilber's integral framework (the most inclusive and integrative conceptual framework currently available) to the field of ecology.It thereby manages to incorporate ideas and perspectives from more than 200 approaches to ecology.It does this by incorporating the contributions of each approach, while also identifying the partiality of each, and then going beyond them all to offer an inclusive, multidisciplinary (or actually transdisciplinary), multiperspectival synthesis.The result is an extremely impressive yet readable text that offers a superb, uniquely encompassing and synthetic overview of ecology.

... Read more

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Human ecology is an emerging discipline that studies the interrelationships between humans and their environment, drawing on insights from biology, sociology, anthropology, geography, engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, planning, and conservation. A vast, multidisciplinary literature underscores this approach, and in Human Ecology, Frederick Steiner synthesizes the work of diverse, sometimes divergent, scholars to illustrate how human interactions can be understood as ecological relationships, using hierarchy as an organizing device.

In Human Ecology, noted landscape planner Frederick Steiner builds on the work of leading thinkers including Christopher Alexander, William Cronon, Clifford Geertz, James Lovelock, Eugene Odum, Paul Shepard, Anne Whiston Spirn, E. O. Wilson, Gerald Young, and many others to present a historical and analytical examination of how humans interact with each other as well as with other organisms and their surroundings.

The first two chapters summarize the development of this "new ecology" and the theory of human ecology. The remainder of the book provides an accessible introduction to the major elements of human ecological theory including language, culture, and technology; structure, function, and change; edges and boundaries; interaction, integration, and institution; diversity; and adaptation. The chapters are organized hierarchically from the smallest scale to the largest with each chapter addressing a specific level as an ecosystem. The final chapter probes some of the ethical implications of this new field.

Human Ecology brings together for the first time scholarship from the social and natural sciences as well as the environmental design arts to offer an overview of the field of human ecology and to show how the field may help us to envision our futures. While the approach is largely theoretical, it has broad policy and practical implications, and represents an important new work for anyone concerned with interactions between humans and the environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good overview of a lot of ideas...
Just finished the book, and am relatively impressed by it overall, while it obviously has a few weaknesses.Steiner divides the world hierarchically into chapters, starting at the smallest human scale (habitat) and working gradually up to a global scale.The book reads like an adademic work, and Steiner continually interrupts the flow of ideas with quotes and references to the work of others.It seems like his main goal was to include as many names of people as possible in the text (nearly every paragraph mentions someone new).The bibliography is lengthy.That does mean that if any particular concept appeals to the reader, they know exactly where it originated, and where to go to learn more, but makes the book more challenging to read.Intellectually engaging, perhaps.

Overall, a good summary of an emerging field, along with plenty of review, critique, and synthesis of ideas.I'd recommend the book to "sustainability" types, the conservation-minded, ecologists, and (especially) city and regional planners.

His main point: We, as humans, need to consider the environment and our relation to it.Especially as pertains to our everyday life experience. ... Read more

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First published in 2007, this book asks what are the challenges to theatre and the purposes of performance in an ecologically threatened world? Is there a future for theatre as an ethically and politically alert art through environmental action? How might ecological understandings refigure the natural virtues of theatre and performance? Theatre Ecology gets to grips with such questions by investigating an eclectic cosmopolitan sample of environments and performance events, in theatres and beyond. It proposes that performance is a peculiarly twenty-first century addiction at the root global warming. Encountering this prospect head-on, it searches for pathological hope in historical theatre at the end of its tether and rumbles the contemporary paradigm of performance for signs of eco-sanity. Recognising the future is always before its time, Theatre Ecology is a paradoxical tract for survival past the final ecological era. ... Read more

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Presents a provocatively anthropocentric analysis of the way forward for green politics and environmental movements, exposing the deficiencies and contradictions of green approaches to post-modern politics and deep ecology. ... Read more

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Stephen Bocking provides a comparative history of ecology in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada since the 1940s, showing how varied institutions and their politics have influenced the role of ecologists and of their science in contemporary society. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (8)

Classic - proving propehtic 15 years +
A work of great synthesis and organization, displaying an obviously tough and commanding mind assaying the state of the environmental "movement" of the early 90's - and time has only proven Tom Athanasiou's insights prophetic. Who else did more to explore the term "greenwashing" and note the fatal nostrums of the Big Greens? However, the "movement," if it can be called that after Copenhagen, needs an updated critique from inside, an even stronger condemnation of greenwashers like Amory Lovins and Lester Brown, but it does not appear that Tom Athanasiou, despite his immense journalistic andscientific literary gifts, will do a second edition.

Makes the connection concrete
I've often heard vague assertions or individual examples concerning the relationship between environmental issues and social equity issues. But I never really gave it much thought; it seemed to me as if liberals were simply making a connection between two left wing issues out of convenience.

Now I know better.

Athanasiou has made a persuasive and detailed argument that poverty and pollution are one and the same problem; anyone who cares about the have-nots must care about the earth, and anyone who cares about the environment must see the huge role that social inequity plays in destroying the earth.

With access to better food, better water, better air, and better health care, the rich can avoid to be cavalier about the environmental woes that threaten those who are less fortunate. I've always derived a bit of comfort from the idea that environmental devastation is an equalizer that is insensitive to wealth and race; unfortunately, that's not quite true.

If the ravaging of the earth results in truly catastrophic events, everyone will be affected severely. But for the very long, intermediate stage between that scenario and the world in which we currently live, this is a divided planet, and the division is ugly.

Personally, I'm much more interested in the environment than social issues, and I wasn't completely convinced that the correct remedies to the earth's ills would be the sweeping global economic reform that the book seems to recommend.

Despite this, I think this book is an invaluable addition to the canon of environmental books; if nothing else, it demonstrates the very real connection between the plight of the world's poor, and the plight of Mother Earth, giving us all twice as many reasons to help either.

A new outlook...
Highly recommended for anyone looking to get beyond the tired, short-sighted rhetoric of those in the environmental movement avoiding the debate of economics and the current rich/poor gap in the world. An insightful critique of the environmental movement, focusing on right-wing environmentalists, politicians, ngo's, and population obsessors. Also included is an even more detailed critique of the new global order firmly established after the cold war and the challenges it presents a quickly destabalizing world. A much needed read for environmental activists, anti-corporate globalization activists, human rights advocates, and especially those opposed to their actions as the book is an intelligent, well-sighted, in-depth critique of the new economic world order.

A far-ranging, essential work
Divided Planet accomplishes what hundreds of other books about environmental politics don't: it digs into the big questions of the complicated web of relationships between economy and ecology, and so gets to the heart of most of the troubles facing the planet.Athanasiou writes clearly and coherently about various approaches to environmental problems, and he measures them against a wide view of the world's resources which has more in common with Oxfam than the Sierra Club.

The book offers a cogent analysis of our troubles and an almost unique vision of where we need to go from here, but also serves as a reliable history of the environmental movement and various environmental philosophies, from moderate pragmatism to Deep Ecology.Athanasiou is honest and fair about the strengths and limits of past approaches, while at the same time offering his own radical point of view.(And I don't mean radical as a demeaning term -- one of the benefits of this book is that Athanasiou recognizes the need for big, systemic changes.)

Unlike many books on similar subjects, this is not a manifesto of doom and gloom or two hundred pages of blame, blame, blame.Yes, Athanasiou admits the situation doesn't look good, but he's interested in figuring out what to do, not in sitting around and whining.Divided Planet offers an excellent and humane critique, but it also offers some paths forward.We could all stand to listen to the critique, and take a step onto one of the paths.

Sober analysis of current environmental realities
Divided Planet is the product of a veteran environmental advocate. Tom Athanasiou presents a sober analysis of current environmental realities in this well-written and thoughtful book.As our environment deteriorates,the author documents and analyzes the dialogue between those who plundernatural resources and those who are working to protect our planet. Importantly, the root cause of environmental destruction -- the dividebetween rich and poor -- is mostly overlooked, the author writes.Mr.Athanasiou's book explains why overcoming North/South economic disparitymay be a daunting task, yet he also provides inspiration for thoseindividuals who may ultimately work for environmental justice on a globalscale. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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Companion volume to Eastern Forests, these are the first field guides that go beyond identification to interpretation, combining wildlife and plant life in a single volume, and providing today's environmentally conscious readers with insightful, intriguing ecological information. 48 color plates. 50 line drawings. ... Read more

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The environment inflames passions in people on all points of the political spectrum. Controversies over such issues as the rise of cancer in industrialized countries, climate change, and urban sprawl have skyrocketed as we recognize the impact that humans have on the environment. Many people become immersed in these controversies at a local level before they know much about the topic - the nuances of many environmental conflicts are often overlooked as the media focuses on the adversarial nature of the conflict. This reference resource provides students, teachers, librarians, and citizens as a whole with the necessary first step in understanding these hot-button issues. Each entry identifies the issue involved, who was holding various points of view or positions, where and when the conflict occurred, and explains the cultural, social, and political context and dimensions of the conflict.

Battleground: Environment provides in-depth analysis of over 100 of the most controversial topics involving the environment, including childhood asthma, the Kyoto Summit and Treaty, smart growth, the Three Gorges Dam in China, and genetically modified food.

Entries include descriptions of public policies and discussions of the future of the controversy. Each entry concludes with cross references and a short, relevant bibliography suitable for student research. The resource includes numerous sidebars that discuss in detail particular local controversies that illuminate the complexity of the topics discussed.

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Buildings consume 40% of our planet’s materials and 30% of its energy. Their construction uses up to three million tonnes of raw materials a year and generates 20% of the soild waste stream. If we want to survive our urban future, there is no option but to build in ways which improve the health of ecosystems.

Understanding the concept of ecological sustainability and translating it into practice as sustainable development is a key challenge for today’s built environment professionals. The skill and vision of those who shape our cities and homes is vital to achieving sustainable solutions to the many environmental, economic and social problems we face on a local, national and global scale.

Peter Graham offers here a holistic view of ecologically sustainable building by drawing on established areas of knowledge, demonstrating their relevance to the environmentally-conscious building professional and putting the process, product and impact of building into context.

Case studies illustrate how sustainable principles have been applied successfully and discussion topics are offered to stimulate thought. Building Ecology will help planners, surveyors, designers and builders to incorporate sustainability into their everyday practice by:

· showing which styles of building are ecologically sustainable

· providing fundamental knowledge for making decisions using the principles of ecologically sustainable building

· explaining a complex subject in a clear, balanced way.

Building Ecology sets out the current scientific view of how nature works and how buildings link with and affect nature. It provides fundamental knowledge for building in harmony with nature and keeping Earth’s life-supporting ecosystems healthy. ... Read more

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The Mekong is the most controversial river in Southeast Asia, and increasingly the focus of international attention. It flows through 6 counties, China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam.The 4 downstream countries have formed the Mekong River Commission to promote sustainable development of the river and many of their people depend on it for their subsistence ? it has possible the largest freshwater fishery in the world, and the Mekong waters support rice agriculture in the delta in Viet Nam (which produces about 40% of that country's food) as well as in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

China is now building the first large mainstream dam on the river, and has proposals for several more.These dams are likely to affect the downstream countries. Several of the downstream countries also have plans for large scale hydropower and irrigation development which could also impact the river.

This book will provide a solid overview of the biophysical environment of the Mekong together with a discussion of the possible impacts, biophysical, economic and social, of some possible development scenarios.It is intended to provide a technical basis which can inform the growing political and conservation debate about the future of the Mekong River, and those who depend on it. It is aimed at river ecologists, geographers, environmentalists and development specialists both in the basin and (especially) outside for whom access to this material is most difficult.

This book will be the first comprehensive treatment of the Mekong system



Key Features

* The first comprehensive overview of all aspects of the Mekong River system.

* Deals with a regionally critical ecosystem and one under threat.

* The Mekong supports the world's largest freshwater fishery and provides water underpinning a major regional rice paddy system.

* Presents the authoritative findings of the Mekong River Commission's research for a wider audience for the first time outside of limited distribution reports
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Provides context for the political debate
There has been a lot of technical material produced, particularly on the Lower Mekong, but much of it is difficult to access, fragmented since much of it was produced for short-term consultancies of research projects, and not all of it is reliable.This book addresses that issue. Technical information cannot resolve the debate about the future of the Mekong, but it is critical to making sure it is at least informed. ... Read more

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Until recently, mainstream American environmentalism has been a predominantly white, middle-class movement, essentially ignoring the class, race, and gender dimensions of environmental politics. In this provocative collection of original essays, the environmental dimensions of the Chicana/o experience are explicitly expressed and debated. Employing a variety of genres ranging from poetry to autobiography to theoretical and empirical essays, the voices in this collection speak to the most significant issues of environmentalism and social justice, recognizing throughout the need for a pluralism of Chicana/o philosophies. The contributors provide an excellent basis for understanding how multiple Chicana/o views on the environment play out in the context of dominant social, political and economic views. Chicano Culture, Ecology, Politics examines a number of Chicana/o ecological perspectives. How can the ethics of reciprocity present in Chicana/o agropastoral life be protected and applied on a broader scale? How can the dominant society, whose economic structure is invested in "placeless mobility," take note of the harm caused to land-based cultures, take responsibility for it, and take heed before it is too late? Will the larger society be "ecologically housebroken" before it destroys its home?Grounded in actual political struggles waged by Chicana/o communities over issues of environmental destruction, cultural genocide, and socioeconomic domination, this volume provides an important series of snapshots of Chicana/o history. Chicano Culture, Ecology, Politics illuminates the bridges that exist—and must be understood—between race, ethnicity, class, gender, politics, and ecology.CONTENTS
Part 1: IndoHispano Land Ethics
Los Animalitos: Culture, Ecology, and the Politics of Place in the Upper R¡o Grande, Devon G. Peña
Social Action Research, Bioregionalism, and the Upper Río Grande, Rubén O. Martínez
Notes on (Home)Land Ethics: Ideas, Values, and the Land, Reyes García
Part 2: Environmental History and Ecological Politics
Ecological Legitimacy and Cultural Essentialism: Hispano Grazing in Northern New Mexico, Laura Pulido
The Capitalist Tool, the Lawless, and the Violent: A Critique of Recent Southwestern Environmental History, Devon G. Peña and Rubén O. Martínez
Ecofeminism and Chicano Environmental Struggles: Bridges across Gender and Race, Gwyn Kirk
Philosophy Meets Practice: A Critique of Ecofeminism through the Voices of Three Chicana Activists, Malia Davis
Part 3: Alternatives to Destruction
The Pasture Poacher (a poem), Joseph C. Gallegos
Acequia Tales: Stories from a Chicano Centennial Farm, Joseph C. Gallegos
A Gold Mine, an Orchard, and an Eleventh Commandment, Devon G. Peña
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great book about very important topics
The book is just great. It offers great explanation of all the environmental issues being faced in Europe. The usefulness of the book is incredible, even more in a moment like this where sustainability has become a major trend in the entire world. The book introduces and explains with great details all the principles needed in order to understand all what is going on in these times and what we should expect from the coming future.
Moreover, the guarantee provided by the qualified team behind the book lead by Mr. Stanner is another reason to buying the book.

A must have for everyone who is concerned about the issues our planet is facing!!!

Dictionary for European Environmental Issues
This book is one of those books that I call benchmarks. In case you have to search for certain specific issues on the environmental issues of Europe, here is your dictionary. The breakdowns are incredible detailed andinteresting. You will be able to find everything from soil pollution toaquaculture... ... Read more

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This collection of studies by anthropologists, botanists, ecologists, and biologists is an important contribution to the emerging field of historical ecology. The book combines cutting-edge research with new perspectives to emphasize the close relationship between humans and their natural environment.Contributors examine how alterations in the natural world mirror human cultures, societies, and languages. Treating the landscape like a text, these researchers decipher patterns and meaning in the Ecuadorian Andes, Amazonia, the desert coast of Peru, and other regions in the neotropics. They show how local peoples have changed the landscape over time to fit their needs by managing and modifying species diversity, enhancing landscape heterogeneity, and controlling ecological disturbance. In turn, the environment itself becomes a form of architecture rich with historical and archaeological significance.Time and Complexity in Historical Ecology explores thousands of years of ecological history while also addressing important contemporary issues, such as biodiversity and genetic variation and change.Engagingly written and expertly researched, this book introduces and exemplifies a unique method for better understanding the link between humans and the biosphere. ... Read more

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Offers a vivid, informative, and authoritative survey of the issues that affect the well-being of the Earth and suggests ways to help restore and protect it, along with a myriad of lists, quizzes, sidebars, and imaginative illustrations. ... Read more

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How can we explain the over-exploitation and degradation of natural resources in the countries of the South? Population growth, poverty and problems associated with common property resource management have been common themes in this debate, yet insufficient attention has been paid to how traditional political relations and local perceptions affect natural resource capture and resource allocation. This is especially evident with respect to groups and communities at the political and geographical peripheries of state influence and control for whom self-identity is constructed around notions of autonomy and food self-sufficiency. This informative book addresses this omission by discussing water resource allocation and management. It focuses in particular on the socio-economic and political contexts which influence approaches to and determine practices of water management. Taking the example of the tribal communities of the Sa'dah basin in the northern Yemen, it analyzes the politics of environmental change, with particular reference to groundwater resource degradation, within the conceptual framework of "political ecology". ... Read more

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Over the last year, the world has seen some cataclysmic changes. Eastern Europe is no longer yoked with Soviet communism, Germany is again a single, powerful nation, and Russia itself is pursuing a free-market economy at an almost frantic pace.Yet as we focus on the triumph of democracy, it is easy to overlook the potentially catastrophic changes that face the world environment, changes that are inextricably linked to the workings of the political and economic institutions of our time.Beyond Interdependence builds upon the Brundtland Commission's landmark report Our Common Future, a book that has been hailed as "the most important document of the decade on the future of the world" and has sold over one-half million copies in nineteen foreign languages.Dr. Jim MacNeill, the principal author of both works, has in this latest study extended the Commission's analysis of the critical relationships between the global environment, the world economy, and the international order.Together with his eminent colleagues, Pieter Winsemius and Taizo Yakushiji, MacNeill shows that while our global economy and ecology have become completely interlocked, they have remained separate in our institutions, and in the minds of our policymakers.The result is a wide range of domestic and international policies that are accelerating the depletion of Earth's basic ecological (and economic) capital--its rivers, lakes, and oceans, its soils and forests, its flora and fauna, and its ozone shield.These short-sighted policies also threaten us in the next century with a greater rise in global warming and sea level than have occurred in the ten-thousand years since the last ice age. The authors argue that this environmental degradation and resource depletion will be the principal source of interstate conflict in the post-cold war world.Providing a fresh analysis of the issues of global change, and taking into account such recent events as the tidal-shift in East/West relations and the G7 Economic Summit in Houston, Beyond Interdependence shows how industrialized nations can take unilateral action to address environmental threats while improving macroeconomic efficiency and international competitiveness.It also demonstrates how developed nations can negotiate a series of mutually advantageous "bargains" with Eastern European and Third World nations.With its incisive analysis and far-reaching recommendations for policy reform, Beyond Interdependence shows us how we can act urgently but intelligently to advance our common future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

one of the best texts for business challenges-sustainability
This book reviewed by Pieter Winsemius has practical knowledge on how to tackle the enviromental challanges our industries will have to face in the yers ahead to be profitable and sustainable. ERfficiency, effectiveness andequity are the key terms. ... Read more