Author: Kenneth E. Wilkening
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262265096
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 348
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Book Description
Acid Rain Science and Politics in Japan is a pioneering work in environmental and Asian history as well as an in-depth analysis of the influence of science on domestic and international environmental politics. Kenneth Wilkening's study also illuminates the global struggle to create sustainable societies. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 ended Japan's era of isolation- created self-sufficiency and sustainability. The opening of the country to Western ideas and technology not only brought pollution problems associated with industrialization (including acid rain) but also scientific techniques for understanding and combating them. Wilkening identifies three pollution-related "sustainability crises" in modern Japanese history: copper mining in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which spurred Japan's first acid rain research and policy initiatives; horrendous post-World War II domestic industrial pollution, which resulted in a "hidden" acid rain problem; and the present-day global problem of transboundary pollution, in which Japan is a victim of imported acid rain. He traces the country's scientific and policy responses to these crises through six distinct periods related to acid rain problems and argues that Japan's leadership role in East Asian acid rain science and policy today can be explained in large part by the "historical scientific momentum" generated by efforts to confront the issue since 1868, reinforced by Japan's cultural affinity with rain (its "culture of rain"). Wilkening provides an overview of nature, culture, and the acid rain problem in Japan to complement the general set of concepts he develops to analyze the interface of science and politics in environmental policymaking. He concludes with a discussion of lessons from Japan's experience that can be applied to the creation of sustainable societies worldwide.
Author: Kenneth E. Wilkening
Publisher: Mit Press
ISBN: 9780262232357
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322
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Book Description
What we can learn from the Japanese approach to theproblem of acid rain: a historical study of the influence ofscience on policy and sustainability.
Author: Neil E. Harrison
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742520202
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 410
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Book Description
This book seeks to explain what 'science' and 'politics' are in the context of environmental policymaking & how the interplay of science & politics influences international environmental policy.
Author: A.H.M. Bresser
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9781461389439
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
"awareness" of the world's citizens and encourage governments to devote more attention and resources to address this issue. The series editors thank the international panel of contributors for bringing this timely series into completion. We also wish to acknowledge the very insightful input of the following colleagues: Prof. A. L. Page of the University of California, Prof. T . C. Hutchinson of the University of Toronto , and Dr. Steve Lindberg of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We also wish to thank the superb effort and cooperation of the volume editors in handling their respective volumes. The constructive criticisms of chapter review ers also deserve much appreciation. Finally, we wish to convey our appreciation to my secretary, Ms. Brenda Rosier, and my technician, Ms. Claire Carlson, for their very able assistance in various aspects of this series. Aiken, South Carolina Domy C. Adriano Coordinating Editor Preface to Acidic Precipitation, Volume 5 (Advances in Environmental Science) Acidification research has been ongoing for several decades. It was not until the 1980s, however, that scientists began to recognize the complex ity of the factors causing the decline in forest growth and deterioration of fish populations in acidified lakes. The general feeling, based on correla tive research, was that long-range transported air pollution was the main cause. Proof, however, was difficult to obtain because of complex interac tions of various stress factors including natural ones.
Author: Ann Campbell Keller
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262512963
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 293
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Book Description
In the later, more structured legislative and implementation phases, scientists--working hard to give the appearance of neutral expertise--cede the role of persuader to others.
Author: Shlomi Dinar
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262014971
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 351
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Book Description
An argument that resource scarcity and environmental degradation can provide an impetus for cooperation among countries.
Author: Nick Middleton
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1444145290
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 512
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Book Description
he Global Casino is a compelling introduction to environmental issues which links the physical environment to its political, social and economic contexts. Case studies from around the globe are used to illustrate key environmental issues, from global warming and deforestation to natural hazards and soil erosion. The book highlights the underlying causes behind environmental problems, including human actions and emphasises the potential for solutions. In line with contemporary international trends, emphasis is placed on the critical concept of sustainable development. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, with the introduction of new illustrative material and up-to-the-minute case studies on topics such as endangered deep-sea species, the global uptake of unleaded petrol, geothermal energy in Iceland, genocide in Rwanda and the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. Particularly useful features for students include points for discussion at the end of each chapter as well as a comprehensive glossary. The lists of key readings and websites, again linked specifically to the content of each chapter, have been fully updated and expanded. The Global Casino is the essential course companion for students of the environment, geography, earth sciences and development studies.
Author: Rolf Lidskog
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262016508
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 385
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Book Description
Experts offer theoretical and empirical analyses that view the regulation of transboundary air pollution as a dynamic process. Governing the Air looks at the regulation of air pollution not as a static procedure of enactment and agreement but as a dynamic process that reflects the shifting interrelationships of science, policy, and citizens. Taking transboundary air pollution in Europe as its empirical focus, the book not only assesses the particular regulation strategies that have evolved to govern European air, but also offers theoretical insights into dynamics of social order, political negotiation, and scientific practices. These dynamics are of pivotal concern today, in light of emerging international governance problems related to climate change. The contributors, all prominent social scientists specializing in international environmental governance, review earlier findings, analyze the current situation, and discuss future directions for both empirical and theoretical work. The chapters discuss the institutional dimensions of international efforts to combat air pollution, examining the effectiveness of CLRTAP (Convention for Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution) and the political complexity of the European Union; offer a broad overview and detailed case studies of the roles of science, expertise, and learning; and examine the "missing link" in air pollution policies: citizen involvement. Changing political conditions, evolving scientific knowledge, and the need for citizen engagement offer significant challenges for air pollution policy making. By focusing on process rather than product, learning rather than knowledge, and strategies rather than interests, this book gives a nuanced view of how air pollution is made governable.
Author: Kemi Fuentes-George
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026203428X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 345
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Book Description
A study of biodiversity governance analyzes the factors that determine the effectiveness of transnational advocacy networks and the importance of justice claims to conservation. In the late 2000s, ordinary citizens in Jamaica and Mexico demanded that government put a stop to lucrative but environmentally harmful economic development activities—bauxite mining in Jamaica and large-scale tourism and overfishing on the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. In each case, the catalyst for the campaign was information gathered and disseminated by transnational advocacy networks (TANs) of researchers, academics, and activists. Both campaigns were successful despite opposition from industry supporters. Meanwhile, simultaneous campaigns to manage land in another part of the Yucatán and to conserve migratory birds in Egypt had far less success. In this book, Kemi Fuentes-George uses these four cases to analyze factors that determine the success or failure of efforts by TANs to persuade policymakers and private sector actors in developing countries to change environmental behavior. Fuentes-George argues that in order to influence the design and implementation of policy, TANs must generate a scientific consensus, create social relationships with local actors, and advocate for biodiversity in a way that promotes local environmental justice. Environmentally just policies would allow local populations access to their lands provided they use natural resources sustainably. Justice claims are also more likely to generate needed support among local groups for conservation projects. In their conservation efforts, Jamaica, Mexico, and Egypt were attempting to meet their obligations under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and other regional agreements. Fuentes-George's innovative analysis shows the importance of local environmental justice for the implementation of international environmental treaties.
Author: D. G. Webster
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262534738
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 483
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Book Description
An analysis of how responsive governance has shaped the evolution of global fisheries in cyclical patterns of depletion and rebuilding dubbed the “management treadmill.” The oceans are heavily overfished, and the greatest challenges to effective fisheries management are not technical but political and economic. In this book, D. G. Webster describes how the political economy of fisheries has evolved and highlights patterns that are linked to sustainable transitions in specific fisheries. Grounded in the concept of responsive governance, Webster's interdisciplinary analysis goes beyond the conventional view of the "tragedy of the commons.” Using her Action Cycle/Structural Context framework, she maps long-running patterns that cycle between depletion and rebuilding in a process that she terms the management treadmill. Webster documents the management treadmill in settings that range from small coastal fishing communities to international fisheries that span entire oceans. She identifies the profit disconnect, in which economic incentives are out of sync with sustainable use, and the power disconnect, in which those who experience the costs of overexploitation are politically marginalized. She examines how these disconnects shaped the economics of expansion and documents how political systems failed to prevent related cycles of serial resource depletion. Webster also traces the increasing use of restrictive management in response to worsening fisheries crises and the emergence of new, noncommercial interests that demand greater management but also generate substantial conflict. She finds that the management treadmill is speeding up with population growth and economic development, and so concludes that sustainable fisheries can only exist within a sustainable global economic system.
