Environmental Science: Economic, Social and Political Dimensions

by Har Darshan Kumar

ISBN: 9789383129683
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Imprint : Daya Publishing House
Year : 2021
Price : Rs. 14995.00
Biblio : ix+459p., figs., tabls., ind., 23 cm

About The Book

Day after day after day, everyday, human lifestyles damage the environment and despoil life which manifest themselves, in due course of time, as polluted air and water, global warming, drought, floods, or famine. All over the world, increasingly powerful technologies are making it possible for people to extract more and more from ecosystems to feed not only themselves but also numerous industries that generate various kinds of toxins and wastes. The book, which has a glossary, discusses some of the environmental and demographic messes of today from a multidimensional perspective of economics, sociology, science and technology and, wherever feasible, suggests suitable strategies for addressing the issues. It should prove informative to scientists, ecologists, biologists, economists, sociologists, engineers, politicians, policy makers, as well as consumers and providers of energy.

Table of Contents

Contents Chapter 1: General Introduction, Definition and history, Geography as a bridge between environment and society, Holocene and anthropocene, The earth system (Gaia), Complexity of ecological systems, Top environmental issues; Unknown environmental problems, Environmental discontinuities and synergisms, Environmental anti-science, The economy environment relations, Economic reforms and air pollution, Environment and income inequalities, Environmental maladaptation and political centralization, The ETC century, Global energy prospects, The socio-economic environment, The concept of consilience; Chapter 2: Population Problems, Introduction, The earth’s carrying capacity, Population policy: consensus and challenges, Population, Resources and globalization, Population, Human development and sustainability, Affluence and environment, Urban population trends, World urbanization prospects, Poverty, Urbanization and poverty, Hunger, Social and economic dimensions of environmental change, Environmental technology, Role of social policy in development, Problems of population and food, Linkage between global environment change and food systems; Chapter 3: Energy Use and Economic Development, Introduction, Mainstream economics, The biophysical systems, Perspective of environment and society, Economic growth, Integrating economics and ecology, The global environmental crisis, Ecological economics, Nature valuation, Energy supply development, Energy demand management, Sectoral strategies, Energy market and the environmet, Renewable energy, Nuclear power and sustainable development, Energy-environment integration, Environmental value systems, Technology and the environment, Best available techniques for large combustion plants, Noval gas technologies, Alternatives to petrol and diesel, Diesel substitute; Chapter 4: Economics, Trade and Globalization, Introduction, Invisible government, The new economy, Impacts of WTO rules, World trade and consumer rights, Trade in plant genetic resources, Environment and business, Structural adjustment, Farmers and the environment, Loans for agribusiness, Impact of world trade on health, Green environment, agriculture and globalization, A decade after the Rio Earth Summit, Global public goods and health, Globalization and Poverty, Sustainability and Global change, Promoting socially responsible business in developing countries, Ecology of overshooting human economy, Textiles and the environment; Chapter 5: Politics and Society, Introduction, Sustainable development, The risk society, The kyoto protocol and landuse and landuse change and forestry, Between sovereignty and globalization, Democratic governance, Ecological modernization, Ecosystem goods and services, Environmental values, An environmental matrix, Participatory environmental processes, Environmental performance indicators, An ecosystems approach to developing indicators; Chapter 6: Environmental Degradation, Introduction, Industrialization, Urbanization and po