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Environmental issues in the 1990s
192
Book reviews
A. M. and Bowlby. S. R. (eds) Mannion, Environmerltal issues in the 1990s. Chichester: Wiley. 1992. 339pp. $14.95 paperback. Enviroll~~~ntal issues are high on the political agenda and this collection of essays is designed to examine key issues relating to debates on environmental change and policy in the 19905. The editors have done an excellent job in structuring so many important themes within 20 chapters. contributed by present and past members of the Cicography Department at the [Jniversity of Reading. The material is divided Into tour sections. Section I. dealing with ideas and concepts. paints II clear picture of why and how the main environmental problems have evolved. John Soussan’s chapter on sustainable development is particularly interesting and relevant. Section II covers a range of global issues and is subdivided into two parts-the first four chapters review past environmental change. recent climatic change. forest clearance and marinc pollution, whilst the next four deal with change in society (exploring population. cncrgy, biotechnology and genetic engineering. and the environmental movement). Section III focuses on local impacts and reactions and this too is sub~li~~ided into sections dealing with the physical environment (acidification, pollution and development. wetlands. soil crosion. dcscrtification) and socictics (transport. au
Brown, L. R.. Flavin, C. and Pastel. S. Sn~irzg ~/ZE platzcr: ~OVV to shape an environmentally sustainable glohd economy. London: Earthscan. 1992. 224~~. &H.SO paperback.
This book, the first in the new Earthscan Wordwatch Environmental Alert series. is about the issues that need to be addressed if we are to develop a world economy which is not based upon the destruction and exploitation of ecosystems. The book’s strength lies in the abundance of tables and statistics illustrating some of the environmental problems that the world needs to address. However. this comes as no surprise given that the authors-Brown, Flavin and Postel-are leading figures in the Worldwatch Institute and all have made c(~mmendahle ~ontrib~iti~)r~s to the Worldwatch Stutc of th World series. The weakness, if any. is that sometimes I felt almost disorientated by the numerous examples which are drawn from all over the world and utilized to cxemplifv the issues addressed hy the authors. In .‘Gv& rhu plunut. Brown and his colleagues argue that most people recognize that wc arc facing a potential ~nvir~~~~~~~ent~~l crisis the like of which has never before been witnessed by humanity. The general reaction to this threat. however. remains slow. with a stubborn hclicf that global environmental change and its associated ecological devastation just cannot happen. During the last two decades WC have seen an ~jn~~r~~~d~nted gfowth in the ~ilvir(~lin~ellt~~l movement. yyt still the problems continue with only token effort? to rcvcrsc the trend. Each ycalthe production of greenhouse gases incrca\es and the depletion of the ozone Iaycr continues. Given that there is increased envIronmental awarcne\s. the authors a?k why the problem is continuing almoatd unabated. The answer. they suggest. in part lies in the basic pattern of human activity-most of us arc unahlc to detect the nature of the changes we are causing: Brown and hi\ colleagues argue that the predominant view is that the global economy is still buoyant-so long as wc continue to advance along certain pre\cribcd p”liticat-economic pathways then we can overcome any difficulties that WC might uncountcr. Tht message is si~npi~-~x~~~~di~~g economic activities cannot he separated from the natural systems and resources from which they ultimately derive; lhua any activity that undermines the global ccosystcrn cannot continue indefinitely. SrrbYrrg the planet is nicety divided into three readable sections: the first attempts to outline what a sustainable society would look like and how it would function; the second asse%es how thib could be achieved. considering in particular what socioeconomic reforms would need to bc incorporated into human activities: the final section looks at the key agents which would need to bet mobilized if a redirection towards a more sustainable global economy is to be realized. Given that there is now a prolific amount of literature b&g published on envir(~nmelltal issues. it can sometimes prove difficult to keep up with all the latest texts. Indeed, in some of my more cynical moments I cannot deny thinking that
Book reviews
A. M. and Bowlby. S. R. (eds) Mannion, Environmerltal issues in the 1990s. Chichester: Wiley. 1992. 339pp. $14.95 paperback. Enviroll~~~ntal issues are high on the political agenda and this collection of essays is designed to examine key issues relating to debates on environmental change and policy in the 19905. The editors have done an excellent job in structuring so many important themes within 20 chapters. contributed by present and past members of the Cicography Department at the [Jniversity of Reading. The material is divided Into tour sections. Section I. dealing with ideas and concepts. paints II clear picture of why and how the main environmental problems have evolved. John Soussan’s chapter on sustainable development is particularly interesting and relevant. Section II covers a range of global issues and is subdivided into two parts-the first four chapters review past environmental change. recent climatic change. forest clearance and marinc pollution, whilst the next four deal with change in society (exploring population. cncrgy, biotechnology and genetic engineering. and the environmental movement). Section III focuses on local impacts and reactions and this too is sub~li~~ided into sections dealing with the physical environment (acidification, pollution and development. wetlands. soil crosion. dcscrtification) and socictics (transport. au
Brown, L. R.. Flavin, C. and Pastel. S. Sn~irzg ~/ZE platzcr: ~OVV to shape an environmentally sustainable glohd economy. London: Earthscan. 1992. 224~~. &H.SO paperback.
This book, the first in the new Earthscan Wordwatch Environmental Alert series. is about the issues that need to be addressed if we are to develop a world economy which is not based upon the destruction and exploitation of ecosystems. The book’s strength lies in the abundance of tables and statistics illustrating some of the environmental problems that the world needs to address. However. this comes as no surprise given that the authors-Brown, Flavin and Postel-are leading figures in the Worldwatch Institute and all have made c(~mmendahle ~ontrib~iti~)r~s to the Worldwatch Stutc of th World series. The weakness, if any. is that sometimes I felt almost disorientated by the numerous examples which are drawn from all over the world and utilized to cxemplifv the issues addressed hy the authors. In .‘Gv& rhu plunut. Brown and his colleagues argue that most people recognize that wc arc facing a potential ~nvir~~~~~~~ent~~l crisis the like of which has never before been witnessed by humanity. The general reaction to this threat. however. remains slow. with a stubborn hclicf that global environmental change and its associated ecological devastation just cannot happen. During the last two decades WC have seen an ~jn~~r~~~d~nted gfowth in the ~ilvir(~lin~ellt~~l movement. yyt still the problems continue with only token effort? to rcvcrsc the trend. Each ycalthe production of greenhouse gases incrca\es and the depletion of the ozone Iaycr continues. Given that there is increased envIronmental awarcne\s. the authors a?k why the problem is continuing almoatd unabated. The answer. they suggest. in part lies in the basic pattern of human activity-most of us arc unahlc to detect the nature of the changes we are causing: Brown and hi\ colleagues argue that the predominant view is that the global economy is still buoyant-so long as wc continue to advance along certain pre\cribcd p”liticat-economic pathways then we can overcome any difficulties that WC might uncountcr. Tht message is si~npi~-~x~~~~di~~g economic activities cannot he separated from the natural systems and resources from which they ultimately derive; lhua any activity that undermines the global ccosystcrn cannot continue indefinitely. SrrbYrrg the planet is nicety divided into three readable sections: the first attempts to outline what a sustainable society would look like and how it would function; the second asse%es how thib could be achieved. considering in particular what socioeconomic reforms would need to bc incorporated into human activities: the final section looks at the key agents which would need to bet mobilized if a redirection towards a more sustainable global economy is to be realized. Given that there is now a prolific amount of literature b&g published on envir(~nmelltal issues. it can sometimes prove difficult to keep up with all the latest texts. Indeed, in some of my more cynical moments I cannot deny thinking that