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"An audacious and concrete proposal…Half-Earth completes the 86-year-old Wilson’s valedictory trilogy on the human animal and our place on the planet." —Jedediah Purdy, New Republic In his most urgent book to date, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and world-renowned biologist Edward O. Wilson states that in order to stave off the mass extinction of species, including our own, we must move swiftly to preserve the biodiversity of our planet. In this "visionary blueprint for saving the planet" (Stephen Greenblatt), Half-Earth argues that the situation facing us is too large to be solved piecemeal and proposes a solution commensurate with the magnitude of the problem: dedicate fully half the surface of the Earth to nature. Identifying actual regions of the planet that can still be reclaimed—such as the California redwood forest, the Amazon River basin, and grasslands of the Serengeti, among others—Wilson puts aside the prevailing pessimism of our times and "speaks with a humane eloquence which calls to us all" (Oliver Sacks).
This white paper sets out proposals for a detailed programme of action to repair damage done to the environment in the past, and urges everyone to get involved in helping nature to flourish at all levels - from neighbourhoods to national parks. The plans are directly linked to the groundbreaking research in the National Ecosystem Assessment that showed the strong economic arguments for safeguarding and enhancing the natural environment. They also act on the recommendations of 'Making Space for Nature', a report into the state of England's wildlife sites, led by Professor John Lawton and published in September 2010, which showed that England's wildlife sites are fragmented and not able to respond to the pressures of climate change and other pressures we put on our land. Key measures proposed include: i) Reconnecting nature with New Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs) with a £7.5 million fund for 12 initial NIAs, biodiversity offsetting, New Local Nature Partnerships with £1 million available this year, phasing out peat, ii) Connecting people and nature for better quality of life with Green Areas Designation, better urban green spaces; more children experiencing nature by learning outdoors, strengthening local public health activities, the new environmental volunteering initiative "Muck in 4 Life" to improve places in towns and countryside for people and nature to enjoy and iii) Capturing and improving the value of nature with a Natural Capital Committee; an annual statement of green accounts for UK Plc, a business-led Task Force to expand the UK business opportunities from new products and services which are good for the economy and nature alike.
Environmental issues are a rapidly growing focal point in today’s global discussion. These issues are becoming increasingly pertinent due to the potentially devastating outcomes of human environmental carelessness. As a species, humans now have realized the need for worldwide environmental engagement. This engagement is intended to heighten awareness about environmental problems, build knowledge in education, and change human behaviors to improve sustainability. Synthesizing the literature on cultural dimensions (e.g., attitudes, beliefs, values) that undergird positive views of environmental issues and engagement of sustainability practices would significantly contribute to the development of effective approaches to fostering sustainable environmental practices. Through the identification of commonalities across cultures and sensitivity to cultural differences we can begin to work toward a global consensus on viable solutions this critical issue.
Even though a growing number of people have begun to consider the impact of their actions on the environment, the planet remains vulnerable to human activity and the byproducts of modern conveniences. Thanks to an increasing number of conservation efforts, the planet’s ecosystems may emerge from the looming shadow of ecological threats. This stimulating volume examines the various individual-level and institutional responses to Earth’s damaged natural resources, discussing ways to stem the tide of disappearing species and habitats and examining potential methods of protecting the planet for future generations.
Observing Earth's Lifestyle is an attempt at sharing one geographer's perspective on how Earth lives. The writer lives in North America, where the indigenous peoples have lived for thousands of years, locked into Earth's lifestyle. They understood Earth's lifestyle in ways that today's modern society are just beginning to understand.Observing Earth's Lifestyle begins with a description of the way the plant works. It proceeds to highlight the contrast between Earth's lifestyle and our modern lifestyle. It outlines the consequences of the modern departure from an observation of natural forces as a source of living examples to a reliance on a lifestyle that assumes a lifetime quest to achieve "human control of nature". This quest is the most prominent cause of today's climate crisis.Traditional societies existed for tens of thousands of years before the modern era. They conformed to the harmony of Earth's lifestyle. Our modern lifestyle of the past few hundred years has imposed its will on the land hoping to "improve on nature" through a variety of technological manipulations. This has caused nature to adapt its weather and climate to maintain its own overall harmony of operations. The resulting climate is becoming increasingly inhospitable to human survival. The problem is especially critical in the USA, where the government is unprepared to face up to the consequences of living in combat with the natural environment. Earth's lifestyle includes several routine, but inconvenient natural events, which were taken into account by traditional societies and accommodated in their daily lives to allow them to live in relative safety on the planet. In modern society, however, these events are routinely ignored, often leading to "natural disasters". The author, David Romain, applies his economic development and urban planning expertise to his geographic analysis of the global climate crisis and its projected limits on future generations. He feels strongly that we owe it to our grandchildren to do our utmost to abandon our assault on the natural environment and revert to genuine Earth stewardship, with a particular focus on using Earth's resources in a sustainable manner. In appropriate humility, we need to acknowledge our subordination to Earth's environment and be mature in our response to the current global climate crisis.
Environmental concerns figure prominently in the work of the United Nations, and especially in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. One focus of UNESCO has to do with the ethical principles at stake in environmental sciences and policies. What is the moral value of the environment? What in nature is worth protecting, preserving or respecting? What do we mean by global sustainability? How much should we care for the interests of future generations? What are the implications of the principle of justice for policy decisions related to environmental issues? In this volume, eight experts in environmental ethics from around the world, advising the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology, come together to address these questions. The studies presented here analyze the state of the art in the relatively new area of applied ethics that is environmental ethics. They also develop approaches to determining how international policy can promote ethical reflection about the environment.--Publisher's description.
Everyone agrees that firms should obey the law. But beyond what the law requires-beyond bare compliance with regulations-do firms have additional social responsibilities to commit resources voluntarily to environmental protection? How should we think about firms sacrificing profits in the social interest? Are they permitted to do so, given their fiduciary responsibilities to their shareholders? Even if permissible, is the practice sustainable, or will the competitive marketplace render such efforts and their impacts transient at best? Furthermore, is the practice, however well intended, an efficient use of social and economic resources? And, as an empirical matter, to what extent do firms already behave this way? Until now, public discussion has generated more heat than light on both the normative and positive questions surrounding corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the environmental realm. In Environmental Protection and the Social Responsibility of Firms, some of the nation‘s leading scholars in law, economics, and business examine commonly accepted assumptions at the heart of current debates on corporate social responsibility and provide a foundation for future research and policymaking.
Many people believe humans have a responsibility to take care of the planet. However, other people believe it isn't their job to protect the environment. Readers discover the facts behind these two opposing points of view and how those points of view determine people's actions. Along the way, they examine their own opinion on this topic, which aligns with common science curricula, and learn to use facts to back up their opinion. Fact boxes, graphic organizers, and vibrant photographs come together to create an eye-catching design that enhances this exploration of critical-thinking skills.
We live in a world confronted by mounting environmental problems; increasing global deforestation and desertification, loss of species diversity, pollution and global warming. In everyday life people mourn the loss of valued landscapes and urban spaces. Underlying these problems are conflicting priorities and values. Yet dominant approaches to policy-making seem ill-equipped to capture the various ways in which the environment matters to us. Environmental Values introduces readers to these issues by presenting, and then challenging, two dominant approaches to environmental decision-making, one from environmental economics, the other from environmental philosophy. The authors present a sustained case for questioning the underlying ethical theories of both of these traditions. They defend a pluralistic alternative rooted in the rich everyday relations of humans to the environments they inhabit, providing a path for integrating human needs with environmental protection through an understanding of the narrative and history of particular places. The book examines the implications of this approach for policy issues such as biodiversity conservation and sustainability. Written in a clear and accessible style for an interdisciplinary audience, this volume will be ideal for student use in environmental courses in geography, economics, philosophy, politics and sociology.