The Democracy of Species

The Democracy of Species PDF Author: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141997052
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
In twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement. In The Democracy of Species Robin Wall Kimmerer guides us towards a more reciprocal, grateful and joyful relationship with our animate earth, from the wild leeks in the field to the deer in the woods. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world.

Latin American Democracy

Latin American Democracy PDF Author: Richard L. Millett
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317908422
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
More than thirty years have passed since Latin America began the arduous task of transitioning from military-led rule to democracy. In this time, more countries have moved toward the institutional bases of democracy than at any time in the region’s history. Nearly all countries have held free, competitive elections and most have had peaceful alternations in power between opposing political forces. Despite these advances, however, Latin American countries continue to face serious domestic and international challenges to the consolidation of stable democratic governance. The challenges range from weak political institutions, corruption, legacies of militarism, transnational crime, and globalization among others. In the second edition of Latin American Democracy contributors – both academics and practitioners, North Americans, Latin Americans, and Spaniards—explore and assess the state of democratic consolidation in Latin America by focusing on the specific issues and challenges confronting democratic governance in the region. This thoroughly updated revision provides new chapters on: the environment, decentralization, the economy, indigenous groups, and the role of China in the region.

Latin American Democracy

Latin American Democracy PDF Author: Richard L. Millett
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135854165
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Nearly thirty years have passed since Latin America began the arduous task of transitioning from military-led rule to democracy. In this time, more countries have moved toward the institutional bases of democracy than at any time in the region’s history. Nearly all countries have held free, competitive elections and most have had peaceful alternations in power between opposing political forces. Despite these advances, however, Latin American countries continue to face serious domestic and international challenges to the consolidation of stable democratic governance. The challenges range from weak political institutions, corruption, legacies of militarism, transnational crime and globalization among others. In Latin American Democracy contributors – both academics and practitioners, North Americans and Latin Americans – explore and assess the state of democratic consolidation in Latin America by focusing on the specific issues and challenges confronting democratic governance in the region.

Honeybee Democracy

Honeybee Democracy PDF Author: Thomas D. Seeley
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 140083595X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
How honeybees make collective decisions—and what we can learn from this amazing democratic process Honeybees make decisions collectively—and democratically. Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building. In fact, as world-renowned animal behaviorist Thomas Seeley reveals, these incredible insects have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision making. A remarkable and richly illustrated account of scientific discovery, Honeybee Democracy brings together, for the first time, decades of Seeley's pioneering research to tell the amazing story of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees. In the late spring and early summer, as a bee colony becomes overcrowded, a third of the hive stays behind and rears a new queen, while a swarm of thousands departs with the old queen to produce a daughter colony. Seeley describes how these bees evaluate potential nest sites, advertise their discoveries to one another, engage in open deliberation, choose a final site, and navigate together—as a swirling cloud of bees—to their new home. Seeley investigates how evolution has honed the decision-making methods of honeybees over millions of years, and he considers similarities between the ways that bee swarms and primate brains process information. He concludes that what works well for bees can also work well for people: any decision-making group should consist of individuals with shared interests and mutual respect, a leader's influence should be minimized, debate should be relied upon, diverse solutions should be sought, and the majority should be counted on for a dependable resolution. An impressive exploration of animal behavior, Honeybee Democracy shows that decision-making groups, whether honeybee or human, can be smarter than even the smartest individuals in them.

Gathering Moss

Gathering Moss PDF Author: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 014199763X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
'Kimmerer blends, with deep attentiveness and musicality, science and personal insights to tell the overlooked story of the planet's oldest plants' Guardian 'Bewitching ... a masterwork ... a glittering read in its entirety' Maria Popova, Brainpickings Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites readers to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses. In these interwoven essays, Robin Wall Kimmerer leads general readers and scientists alike to an understanding of how mosses live and how their lives are intertwined with the lives of countless other beings. Kimmerer explains the biology of mosses clearly and artfully, while at the same time reflecting on what these fascinating organisms have to teach us. Drawing on her experiences as a scientist, a mother, and a Native American, Kimmerer explains the stories of mosses in scientific terms as well as within the framework of indigenous ways of knowing. In her book, the natural history and cultural relationships of mosses become a powerful metaphor for ways of living in the world.

Requiem for a Species

Requiem for a Species PDF Author: Clive Hamilton
Publisher: Earthscan
ISBN: 1849710813
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
First Published in 2010. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Democracy of Suffering

The Democracy of Suffering PDF Author: Todd Dufresne
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0773559612
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
In The Democracy of Suffering philosopher Todd Dufresne provides a strikingly original exploration of the past, present, and future of this epoch, the Anthropocene, demonstrating how the twin crises of reason and capital have dramatically remade the essential conditions for life itself. Images, cartoons, artworks, and quotes pulled from literary and popular culture supplement this engaging and unorthodox look into where we stand amidst the ravages of climate change and capitalist economics. With humour, passion, and erudition, Dufresne diagnoses a frightening new reality and proposes a way forward, arguing that our serial experiences of catastrophic climate change herald an intellectual and moral awakening - one that lays the groundwork, albeit at the last possible moment, for a future beyond individualism, hate, and greed. That future is unapologetically collective. It begins with a shift in human consciousness, with philosophy in its broadest sense, and extends to a reengagement with our greatest ideals of economic, social, and political justice for all. But this collective future, Dufresne argues, is either now or never. Uncovering how we got into this mess and how, if at all, we get out of it, The Democracy of Suffering is a flicker of light, or perhaps a scream, in the face of human extinction and the end of civilization.

Biodiversity and Democracy

Biodiversity and Democracy PDF Author: Paul Malcolm Wood
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 9780774806893
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
This work argues that the problem of extinction can be traced to how we think about biodiversity and democratic societies. While biodiversity is usually confused with biological resources, Wood argues that it should be conceived as an essential environmental condition.

When Animals Speak

When Animals Speak PDF Author: Eva Meijer
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479859354
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
Winner, 2020 ASCA Book Award, given by the Amsterdam School of Cultural Analysis A groundbreaking argument for the political rights of animals In When Animals Speak, Eva Meijer develops a new, ground-breaking theory of language and politics, arguing that non-human animals speak—and, most importantly, act—politically. From geese and squid to worms and dogs, she highlights the importance of listening to animal voices, introducing ways to help us bridge the divide between the human and non-human world. Drawing on insights from science, philosophy, and politics, Meijer provides fascinating, real-world examples of animal communities who use their voices to speak, and act, in political ways. When Animals Speak encourages us to rethink our relations with other animals, showing that their voices should be taken into account as the starting point for a new interspecies democracy.

From Naked Ape to Superspecies

From Naked Ape to Superspecies PDF Author: David Suzuki
Publisher: Greystone Books Ltd
ISBN: 1926685199
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
For millennia, we lived in harmony with the Earth, taking only what we required to survive. But in just the past few centuries, we have used our powers to satisfy our obsession with consumption and new technology, without regard for the consequences. And in doing so, we have exploited our surroundings on an unprecedented scale. In this revised and updated edition of From Naked Ape to Superspecies, David Suzuki and Holly Dressel lucidly describe how we have evolved beyond our needs, trampling other species, believing that we can make the Earth work the way we want it to. And they introduce us to the people who are fighting back, those who are resisting the inexorable advance of the "global economy" juggernaut, the people whose voices are difficult to hear over the din of corporate public relations machines. We learn about how human arrogance—demonstrated by our disregard for the small and microscopic species that constitute the Earth’s engine and our reckless use of technological inventions like powerful herbicides or genetically engineered crops—is threatening the health of our children and the safety of our food supply.