Book Description
Surveys find that over 80 percent of Americans agree with the goals of the environmental movement. Sadly, most Americans admit to doing little more than basic recycling when it comes to acting on that disposition. What is the reason for this great divide between environmental sentiment in this country and individual actions? Author and environmental consultant Crissy Trask seeks to answer this question-and solve the disparity-with a new book that makes it easy to be an environmentalist, no matter how busy or hectic your lifestyle. This is a day to day guide with simple, practical suggestions that anyone can put into action, like:
Customer Reviews:
Good Intro to Green Living.......2007-08-11
This book is smaller than many, which makes it pallatable to those who might want to dip their toe into the eco-pool. It has straightforward language, resource pages, short chapters and simple (occasionally humorous) illustrations.
The easy method of tracking actions that you can take gives you a sense of satisfaction as you check through what you are already doing, and what you can consider adding to your daily/weekly/monthly routines. Throughout certain areas of the chapters, there are three boxes next to some action items. The box farthest to the right signifies that this is an action that you would like to try, target or experiment with. Checking the middle box signifies that you are in the process of working on implementing it in your lifestyle. The left most and final box allows you to rate your success with that action on a scale of 1 to 5. For those of us who like lists and to see what we're doing, filling up this book with checks and numbers gives a sense that I can see that I'm making a difference.
Great gift for a hard to shop for person who has everything...
easy being green.......2007-07-28
type too small
horrible reading
I really wanted to send it back -still do
poorly written!
Green is good.......2007-07-20
Excellent book on how to become more environmentally and health conscious while saving money at the same time.
really cool book.......2007-01-06
this book is a fun read. it is very concise and well organized, so it makes for a good coffee table item.
Well, the info is good, but widely available without this book.......2006-11-03
If you need to have almost all the ideas for ways YOU can reduce your ecological damage of your lifestyle all in one easy to read place -- or know someone who you think is open to being greener but unaware of all the big and little changes one can fairly easily make, this might be a book for you.
If you've been paying attention to ecological, green, and sustainability issues for years there's not much point in this book. All the info in it is widely available on the 'net and other sources free.
Book Description
Clarke Snell and Timothy L. Callahan, whose popular Good House Book helped environmentally-minded readers create an earth-friendly home, have returned with a photo-packed, amazingly complete, start-to-finish guide to "green" housebuilding.
This absolutely groundbreaking manual doesn't just talk about eco-friendly building techniques, but actually shows every step! More than 1,200 close-up photographs, along with in-depth descriptions, follow the real construction of an alternative house from site selection to the addition of final-touch interior details. Co-authors Clarke Snell and Timothy Callahan (a professional builder and contractor) provide thorough discussions of the fundamental concepts of construction, substitutes for conventional approaches, and planning a home that's not only comfortable and beautiful, but environmentally responsible. Then, they roll up their sleeves and get to work assembling a guest house that incorporates four different alternative building methods: straw bale, cob, cordwood, and modified stick frame. The images show every move: how the site is cleared, the basic structure put together, the cob wall sculpted, the bales and cordwood stacked, a living roof created, and more. Most important, the manual conveys real-world challenges and processes, and offers dozens of sidebars with invaluable advice. It's head and shoulders above all others in the field.
Customer Reviews:
great service.......2007-09-05
recieved product within one week great book thinking about building using all natural products
Building Green.......2007-02-12
This is an excellent book that is easy to read and actual tells you step by step with over a 1000 beautiful photos how to build your own "Green" building. I am an inexperienced owner-builder and after reading this book I feel that each step of the process was described so clearly that I can use it as a guide for building my own house. None of the other books I've read on the subject have provided this level of clarity or detail - all in an upbeat, easy to read and sometimes humourous style.
The first part of the book does a good survey of the differnet types of materials used in green building and the considerations of siting and design as well. The second part covers actually building the house and what to do or to avoid in the process.
Great Book...not for northwestern climates.......2007-02-07
This is a VERY informative and educational book. I LOVED it, however, I live in a wet climate in Northwestern Canada and the methods used in this book are not condusive to this area.
Excellent and Comprehensive Intro and Education........2006-04-29
I have been looking for a book that would educate me on exactly what green building is, whether it is actually practical and what it would take to achieve it. This book answered all those questions. I think it has filled a void in the information market. So many people are not satisfied with current building practices especially in the US yet finding one comprehensive source for reliable answers is extremely difficult. There is lots of experience bound up in the very well-written, easy flowing text. The mass of photos is extremely instructive and attractive. This book is not clouds-in-the-sky, blindly pro-environment babble. Neither is it full of the marketing lies that exploit the "green" movement. It is useful for normal people who are interesting in trying to build earth-friendly but practical, efficient and affordable homes. The writers are very honest in their educated opinions and recommendations. And they actually built a small green building in order to write this book. So you get the useful, hands-on advice that they learned themselves the hard way even with their past, extensive building experience in the US. I appreciate their effort and book very much, and can't recommend it highly enough as one every non-expert should read if they have a possible interest in green building in the future or even in just building a marginally more efficient home.
Nicely presented intoduction to several green techniques.......2006-02-27
A very nicely presented 'survey' of several green building techniques with a practical and mainstream perspective. Less inspiring and holistic (in terms of presenting an overall philosophy of building AND living) than the likes of The Hand-Sculpted House (Evans, Smiley and Smith), etc. but the beautiful photography and clear writing is a powerful tool to use in convincing the skeptical that green building is a legitimate and aesthetically pleasing option in construction. Really more of a 'complete introduction' than a 'complete how-to guide' in my estimation- if you are really going to build you'll need to suppliment your knowledge with additional in depth books on the particular system(s) you choose to use, but this book will expose you to some of the options and provide you with an informational foundation to 'build' on (pun intended).
Book Description
Comforting terms such as "sustainable development" and "green production" frame environmental debate by stressing technology (not green enough), economic growth (not enough in the right places), and population (too large). Concern about consumption emerges, if at all, in benign ways--as calls for green purchasing or more recycling, or for small changes in production processes. Many academics, policymakers, and journalists, in fact, accept the economists' view of consumption as nothing less than the purpose of the economy. Yet many people have a troubled, intuitive understanding that tinkering at the margins of production and purchasing will not put society on an ecologically and socially sustainable path.
Confronting Consumption places consumption at the center of debate by conceptualizing "the consumption problem" and documenting diverse efforts to confront it. In Part 1, the book frames consumption as a problem of political and ecological economy, emphasizing core concepts of individualization and commoditization. Part 2 develops the idea of distancing and examines transnational chains of consumption in the context of economic globalization. Part 3 describes citizen action through local currencies, home power, voluntary simplicity, "ad-busting," and product certification. Together, the chapters propose "cautious consuming" and "better producing" as an activist and policy response to environmental problems. The book concludes that confronting consumption must become a driving focus of contemporary environmental scholarship and activism.
Customer Reviews:
Confronting Overconsumption.......2005-06-04
Obviously you need to consume in order to survive and consume more in order to live comfortably. But in this country at least, it is almost impossible not to overconsume. Our president encourages us to spend more. Our vice president sneers that some "virtuous" people would have us conserve energy rather than use as much as we want to, at any cost. TV and other media bombard us with messages to eat more and buy more. Our financial advisors tell us to buy the biggest house we can afford. When was the last time anyone suggested saving money rather than "investing" it?
Confronting Consumption tackles the problem from several angles. I'm afraid the larger global arguments Princen and his fellow editors and academics make are lost on me when they write of "commoditization" and "conceptualizing the consumption problem." But in the final section they get down to ground level and talk about voluntary simplicity, Adbusters, and alternate methods of home power (off the grid).
An especially interesting observation appears in Michael Maniates's essay about the voluntary simplicity movement. He attended a voluntary simplicity day at a university. Thousands of people showed up, many more than the organizers expected. They wanted to know about cutting living expenses, downshifting, and job-sharing. They were not at all interested in the Sierra Club presentation or other "save the planet" groups. It isn't that people aspiring to live simply don't want to help save the planet. They just want to do it in a more manageable way, one person, one family at a time.
Unfortunately, that won't undo the ecological, financial, and human damage already caused by overconsumption. For that, we will need leaders who at the very least acknowledge that overconsumption is a problem, not a virtue.
Best book in Global Environmental Affairs.......2003-02-02
This award-winning book ("The Best Book in Global Environmental Affairs" according to the International Studies Association) offers an accessible and engaging analysis of the 800 pound gorilla in the living room that environmentalists find difficult to talk about with force: overconsumption. The early portion of the book documents the problem; the middle chunk offers a set of mental lenses for making sense of our quandry; and the final chapters offer real-life stories of actors and movements (the voluntary simplicity movement, for example, and the home power and local currency movements too) challenging the upward escalating trajectory of the consumption of "stuff."
What's especially helpful about the book -- in addition to its "something for everyone" flavor -- is that it moves beyond simplistic prescriptions to "squash advertising" or "buy recycled products." Indeed, it is rather skeptical of these measures, which it views as diversionary activities meant to take our eye off the underlying forces at war with the planet. Instead, it offers strategies for coming together collectively to challenge broader powers and structures that make it so difficult for people worried about the future of the planet to live more with less.
Best Book in Global Environmental Affairs.......2003-01-30
This award-winning book ("The Best Book in Global Environmental Affairs" according to the International Studies Association) offers an accessible and engaging analysis of the 800 pound gorilla in the living room that environmentalists find difficult to talk about with force: overconsumption. The early portion of the book documents the problem; the middle chunk offers a set of mental lenses for making sense of our quandry; and the final chapters offer real-life stories of actors and movements (the voluntary simplicity movement, for example, and the home power and local currency movements too) challenging the upward escalating trajectory of the consumption of "stuff."
What's especially helpful about the book -- in addition to its "something for everyone" flavor -- is that it moves beyond simplistic prescriptions to "squash advertising" or "buy recycled products." Indeed, it is rather skeptical of these measures, which it tends to view as diversionary activities meant to take our eye off the underlying forces at war with the planet. Instead, it offers strategies for coming together collectively to challenge broader powers and structures that make it so difficult for people worried about the future of the planet to live more with less.
Amazon.com
Paper or plastic? Cloth or disposable? Regular or organic? Every day, environmentally conscious consumers are faced with the overwhelming catch-22 of a capitalist society--reconciling the harm we do by consuming, while still providing ourselves and our families with the goods and services we need. It's enough to make a city dweller crazy. Fret no more! The Union of Concerned Scientists has put together a well-researched and eminently practical guide to the decisions that matter. The authors hope that the book will help you set priorities, stop worrying about insignificant things, and understand the real environmental impacts of household decisions. For instance, you may be surprised to learn that buying and eating meat and poultry is much more harmful to the environment than the packaging the meat is wrapped in, even if it's Styrofoam. This guide takes on both sides of the consumer-impact argument, goring sacred cows of the environmentalist movement (like the strident emphasis on recycling) and the industrialist perspective (like the relentless message to buy more, more, more). If you're confused and overwhelmed by all the environmental decision-making in the modern world, you'll find new inspiration in this book. --Therese Littleton
Book Description
From one of the most prestigious nonprofit organizations devoted to environmental issues comes a clear, practical, and rational overview of the relationship between consumers and the environment.
Paper or plastic? Bus or car? Old house or new? Cloth diapers or disposables? Some choices have a huge impact on the environment; others are of negligible importance. To those of us who care about our quality of life and what is happening to the earth, this is a vastly important issue. In these pages, the Union of Concerned Scientists help inform consumers about everyday decisions that significantly affect the environment. For example, a few major decisions--such as the choice of a house or vehicle--have such a disproportionately large affect on the environment that minor environmental infractions shrink by comparison.
This book identifies the 4 Most Significant Consumer-Related Environmental Problems, the 7 Most Damaging Spending Categories, 11 Priority Actions, and 7 Rules for Responsible Consumption. Learn what you can do to have a truly significant impact on our world from the people who are at the forefront of scientific research.
Customer Reviews:
EVERYONE should read this book.......2007-09-30
Impeccably researched, well-referenced, and very convincing. This book will convince the shrewdest skeptics. It focuses on high-impact habits, and doesn't harp on the little tiny details that don't make a big difference. A fantastic book; true to its title!
Some good ideas.......2007-08-23
This was purchased as a gift for someone who is very interested in the health of our environment. It is a good book for those who share that interest.
Short and practical .......2007-07-04
This short and practical guide tells us how we can make a difference in protecting our environment...and also tells us what behaviors do not.
It sheds a lot of insight on the topic, while also dispelling lots of myths concerning different options and choices available to today's consumer (paper or plastic?, cloth or disposable?, etc., etc.)
worth reading, but getting dated.......2007-04-24
This book is now a bit dated. The largest impact we make on the environment according to the authors is driving a car. What, in 2007, is the best environmental car choice, a hybrid (what happens when all these batteries die?) or a high mileage diesel that the European car makers are building?
Likewise, in home heating, now that there are tax credits for energy efficient home improvements, what is the most cost effective thing we can do that makes a difference?
I would like to read something a little more up to date on these topics, but this book was a good readable into to making good choices.
restating the obvious.......2007-04-10
Travel less, install more energy efficient appliances and lighting, get better gas mileage in you car, install better insulation in your house, eat less meat. That's most of the book, it does break things down to help you decide what choices make the most difference, but there is no groundbreaking information in here that will change your life. If you want to make an impact on your environmental footprint, you need to make sacrifices in your life, that's what it comes down to. The one thing I did learn was that heating a cup of water in the microwave uses less energy (less wasted heat) that on the stove. But much of the info in this book is interesting statistically, but not really that useful to the average consumer.
Book Description
Among the contemporary voices for the Earth, none resonates like that of noted cultural historian Thomas Berry. His teaching and writings have inspired a generation's thinking about humankind's place in the Earth community and the universe, engendering widespread critical acclaim and a documentary film on his life and work.
This new collection of essays, from various years and occasions, expands and deepens ideas articulated in his earlier writings and also breaks new ground. Berry opens our eyes to the full dimensions of the ecological crisis, framing it as a crisis of spiritual vision. Applying his formidable erudition in cultural history, science, and comparative religions, he forges a compelling narrative of creation and communion that reconciles modern evolutionary thinking and traditional religious insights concerning our integral role in Earth's society.
While sounding an urgent alarm at our current dilemma, Berry inspires us to reclaim our role as the consciousness of the universe and thereby begin to create a true partnership with the Earth community. With Evening Thoughts, this wise elder has lit another beacon to lead us home.
Customer Reviews:
'God' created the entire world.......2007-08-23
Fr. Thomas Berry emphasizes that all things and beings have a place in Creation. It is a stimulating relief to have such a well respected scholar support what is my heart's understanding of the world I know. He is calm and accepting of the concept 'inclusiveness'. Science and spirituality are shown to be not only compatible but inseperable. The Universe Story tells us how our world was formed and comes alive. Thomas Berry emphasises appreciation of the beauty and strength found all around us. We are told we are moving into a new geologic time called the 'ecozoic' by the author. This book will help smooth our moves into the next chapter of the Creation.
Crucial Thoughts for Our Time.......2007-01-11
Outstanding brief introduction to the thoughts of Thomas Berry, one of the visionary thinkers of our time in terms of ecology, impact of the human on the earth, and providing a promising larger vision of the possibilities for the future. The collection of thoughts will appear a bit repetitive at first glance, but I found the repetition of the key thoughts from different perspectives useful. Highly recommended. Rated 4 star instead of 5 due only to the repetitiveness.
In comparison, our cultural thinking is dead. .......2006-10-09
The perspective I have come to is that for most of my life I lived in a human world which has not been able to offer in any comprehensive way, what really matters.
What is going on is that the sources of human survival, imagination, knowledge and emotional balance have been diminished, distanced, ignored and replaced by an enslaving, stale and insulting world views.
Enter Thomas Berry who after a lifetime of scholarship on human cultures has received the gifts of the scientific community and relit our human drama and our personal value. We are fortunate to be born into a community that knows how to survive through amazing trials. We are fortunate to be born into a school that has incomprehensible libraries and teachers to access. We are made with genes already experienced in phenomenal truth, art, music, flexibility and openness to diversity and enhancing possibility. There is nothing in the vast developing universe that is really foreign to us--it is our home and at this time in human history, we have a dinguished role to play. You'll have to read him to see what these remarks mean.
There is no one I have ever met, heard or read who comes close to explaining the grief and chaos of our times and to offering a healing of being and living as does Thomas Berry.
This is what children need to learn. This is the heroic task that young adults yearn to be presented. This is the good news that will bring a sign of contentment to more than our hopes. This is the story that provides a standard for every profession but especially education, economics, religion and government. At last we begin to hear what really matters.
Thomas Berry is a true genius .......2006-09-21
Every politician should read this book and then look into their hearts. I must say that Mary Tucker's Editorial Preface says everything about Thomas Berry and his desire to enhance human beings' relationship to Earth. His writing is accessible and undaunting. The gift of his genius, still going strong at 90 years of age is expressed again in this book and the message will bring you into the fold of his views with keen insight and compassion. I am so grateful for his gifts and just want you to read it and give it to everyone else you know.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful and inspiring........2005-08-30
With this book, David Suzuki takes us on a journey around the world and shares with us the intimate knowledge that idigenous tribes still have about the natural world they live in. Most of us live in cities and have all but lost our 'link' to the earth; this book makes me want to fight to get it back.
beautifully written and inspiring.......2000-05-25
A beautiful synthesis of native ecological knowledge and western scientific insights. Suzuki and Knudtson call for a new way of relating to nature by combining the "ways of knowing" of the indiginous and western mind. It is not only beautiful to read but incredibly important to our time. Highly recommended.
An OK book but largely a rehash of existing material.......1999-02-19
David is a sincere man and his TV series The Nature of Things broke ground in many areas. This book is well written but is mainly a collection a material from other sources pointing out that native peoples have had much more experience dealing with nature than science has. Many good points but does not draw strong philophical directions for those seeking to apply the illustrations to daily life.
Average customer rating:
- Good hagiography of a controversial man
- Perfect Start for anyone interested in Learning about Water
- An Excellent Appetizer, Please Pass the Main Course
- Thought provoking intro to little-known qualities of water
- Great introduction to IMPLOSION and what we missed out !
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Living Water: Viktor Schauberger and the Secrets of Natural Energy
Olof Alexandersson
Manufacturer: Newleaf
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Customer Reviews:
Good hagiography of a controversial man.......2003-05-04
This is a good introduction to the theories and life of Viktor Schauberger, an Austrian naturalist and inventor. Born in 1885, Schauberger started life as a forester who tried to understand and copy Nature. From watching mountain streams he developed unorthodox theories based on vortex movement about water and its use. He started out designing highly efficient log flumes that used water in vortex motion and at its densest temperature of 4 degrees Centigrade. He then proposed cleaning up the Rhine River by rebuilding the natural curves which stimulate vortex motion in the water. He said that this vortex motion in the Earth caused spring water to be more alive than plain water. He believed that plants grew better in this living water and developed laboratory sized egg-shaped water energizers to activate water.
He also developed theories about the harmfulness of iron and steel tools in agriculture and proposed replacing them with copper ones. He designed an egg-shaped composter that was supposed to develop Noble compost which would be much more beneficial in gardens.
Around the Second World War his theories and experiments take a much different direction and he starts talking about Implosion energy as opposed to combustion explosion energy. He starts developing machines that generate more energy than they use and that run on water and air. Out of this research he claims to have developed a domestic power station that generates large outputs of energy from slight streams of running water. Even more fantastic is a flying saucer that used a 1/20 horsepower electric motor as a starter and then ran on the surrounding flow of air. The research on these inventions was destroyed at the end of the war. Schauberger and his son Walter never seem to have been able to find the resources to develop working models again.
Today his theories on vortex motion of water are taught at the Anthroposophical Emerson College in England. His copper farming tools are sold from the school his son Walter started, the Pythagoras Kepler Schule in Austria. His water, forestry, and farming theories have been accepted by Biodynamic Farming communities and may be helpful to organic farmers today.
There are two appendices at the end of the book by New Age science experts on the underlying theories of vortex energy. I find these actually detract from the book rather than help it. A Bibliography also is less than useful. Most of the sources are to obscure journals or original Austrian publications. These types of resources are less than helpful in such an introductory text.
Perfect Start for anyone interested in Learning about Water.......2002-04-06
I agree that this book is only a brief introduction into the thoughts of Schauberger but hopefully many people are inspired by this book to move forward into the area of water research in an effort to uncover many more truths about what really makes water healthy.
Unfortunately there is so much...on the market, evolving around new-age water products, which in-no-way copy Mother Nature as Viktor had stressed. All these people need to purchase this book in order to obtain some form of initial clarity if they are going to be involved in water research or water products of any kind. Living-water; revitalized-water; restructured water; clustered & micro-clustered-water; alkaline water; Pi-water; crystal-water; snowflake-water; cupcake-water; energized-water; polarized-water; magnetized-water; and all the many others that are on the market have obviously never read any of Viktor's work or at least understood it. Let us all use Viktor's work as a basis to change the planet and make this world a better place to live.
An Excellent Appetizer, Please Pass the Main Course.......2001-04-16
This is an excellent, brief introduction to the thought of Viktor Schauberger, and I hope it inspires works which are more complete. Callum Coates' books reach in this direction, but what is really needed are more people to read these books, synthesize their information, and come up with new and original books which take us further into depth in these areas. This will probably involve synthesizing the work of Schauberger, Grander, Bienveniste, and others.
An understanding of Schauberger is very important for those attempting to reconstruct an Indigenous European Perspective. Schauberger has the elements of a modern water shaman, and his shamanic / intuitive techniques of letting his body float with the water should be closely correlated with what Hans Peter Duerr has to say about "out of body" experience in his tome "Dreamtime". Although Schauberger lived in the 20th Century, his perspective allows us to imagine back what earlier indigenous practitioners may have been like. The Colonial, Imperialist Europe is only one side of the coin of Europe. We must also include the suppressed indigenous, pagan, and green sides. Significantly, the Inquisition represents a watershed in European history where a great deal of the indigenous healers and theorists were wiped out in holocaust proportions. An understanding of Schauberger, coupled with an appreciation of Steiner, Hildegard of Bingen, Hans Peter Duerr, and others, will allow us to reconstruct what a noncolonial, nonimperialist Europe was like.
Understanding water's nature is essential in this regard, for water forms the basis of our understandings of flow. Furthermore, understanding water's energetic qualities will help us understand how it interacts with the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine, for example, would benefit from an accurate and holistic understanding of water's qualities.
In short, this book is an excellent appetizer, but I await the main course ...
Thought provoking intro to little-known qualities of water.......1998-11-19
Although it occasionally veers into new-age speculation or pseudoscience, this book offers a rare look at truly alternative ideas about water and energy. The description of Schauberger's early work with flumes is enthralling, and the brief exposition of "flow forms" towards the end of the book is valuable. Search "flow forms" in any web search engine to see some of the sites around the world espousing a fascinating technology that unites water pollution control with esthetics.
Great introduction to IMPLOSION and what we missed out !.......1998-08-24
I have to say - I got very AGGRAVATED by some portions of this book , because it TOTALLY agreed and expanded on my very own frustrations with our retarded "modern" technologies.
I have ALWAYS dreaded NOISE - I haven't done empirical research on this subject, but my gut instinct has led me to run from & truly hate noisy machines. I feel like someone were stabbing me when I am exposed to a Harley Davidson on the road ! The only friends I really have in this matter I think are the ANIMALS - have you ever noticed the DREAD & FEAR with which ANY animal reacts to our machines ( most notably our motors - be they lawnmowers, drilling machines ... ) Even birds totally abhor the NOISE from our aircraft & automobiles .. notice their flight, as from terror, when they are flying over traffic !
Now I see that IMPLOSION is essentially a NOISELESS phenomenon !! And this is the technology that truly supports the LIVING ! My question - FOLKS, WHEN WILL WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE NOT MACHINES ?? AND OUR SPIRITUALITY IS NOT SOME GOD-DEVIL-CRAP but a PHYSICAL manifestation of the higher ????
" They have eyes, but they don't see ..... "
Book Description
Environmental issues can be complex. You need an environmental ethics textbook that you can actually understand. WATERSHEDS 4: TEN CASES IN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS provides ten fascinating case studies of real-life environmental conflicts and explains the principles involved in an easy-to-understand, impartial way.
Customer Reviews:
Compelling cases, interesting reading.......2007-09-16
This book discusses various ethical situations regarding environmental issues, which could be rather dry material. However, the author writes in a more down-to-earth style, which makes it more enjoyable. The topics are certainly thought-provoking, and made for many interesting discussions at the dinner table.
****************************.......2007-09-02
This book is nice if you're looking for nice little vignettes on varied environmental subjects. But it is overtly biased politically, asides and analogies that have a left leaning are used throughout the text unnecessarily. Otherwise the information is pretty broad and it is not a bad little book.
Book Description
In this classic work that continues to inspire its many readers, Jim Lovelock puts forward his idea that life on earth functions as a single organism. Written for non-scientists, Gaia is a journey through time and space in search of evidence with which to support a new and radically different model of our planet. In contrast to conventional belief that living matter is passive in the face of threats to its existence, the book explores the hypothesis that the earth's living matter air, ocean, and land surfaces forms a complex system that has the capacity to keep the Earth a fit place for life. Since Gaia was first published, many of Jim Lovelock's predictions have come true and his theory has become a hotly argued topic in scientific circles. In a new Preface to this reissued title, he outlines his present state of the debate.
Customer Reviews:
Other Books.......2007-09-03
A really interesting book, and hypothesis. I first noticed this theory, funnily enough, after watching the excellent miniseries 'Edge of Darkness' and some of the writing involved with talking about that show. Well worth a look. The Earth as 'living' in the sense of a being a system, where life and the planet exist in a relationship. This is definitely a thought provoking piece of work.
Earth as an Organism.......2006-08-19
Lovelock is certainly an out-of-the-box thinker. The main point Lovelock drives home is that Earth behaves as an organism. The aim is to get the reader thinking that Earth is alive, and does have the same functions an organism. For example, the chemistry of the atmosphere and the ocean are controlled by life for the purposes maintaining the planet as a haven for life's continuance.
Life does appear to drive the planet away from the expected chemical equilibria. To this I give Lovelock credit for drawing a brilliant parallel that makes the book worth reading. There is a sort of alternate equilibrium under life's influence that hasn't been studied enough. The book really can change the way one looks at Earth. I'm not perfectly convinced with the precision here, but this is far better than picturing random life trying to survive on a otherwise dead world.
However, there were some chapters in the second half that were weak, and seemingly off-the-point. The role of mankind isn't supported as claimed. I'd give this 3 and a half stars if I could.
Not even good science.......2006-04-26
I ordered this book hoping for some scientific evidence supporting what I already knew from personal experience; that there is a gestalt emerging from all of the beings in the universe. An emergent property that some call `the spirit that moves through all things' and some call `god' and I was hoping that this book would call it Gaia. Bah! The author totally ignores the metaphysical evidence and misrepresents the impact of civilization on the natural world. He also misrepresents the relationship tribal aka primitive cultures had with the natural world. Furthermore, this isn't even good science. Typically I pass books on to friends or trade them at a used bookstore. The best thing about this book was how easily the pages tore out to become kindling for my fire. If I could I would give it a negative rating -- don't pollute your mind with this trash.
Brilliant hypothesis, poorly presented.......2005-10-27
In essence, Lovelock says that since evolution started eons ago, all forms of life evolved together resulting not only in balance among themselves and their surroundings, but also in such a way that they regulate the environment, controlling the atmosphere, the salinity of the seas and the temperature. This complex eco-system is presumably an inevitable consequence of the algorithm of evolution running successfully. Want to know if there is life on another planet? Easy, look at the atmosphere.
This comes out in the book, but it is a bit bizarre. Lovelock seems to go from anthropomorphism (the world learning to breath and making decisions) to using scientific terms that the average non-science reader will have to look up. He presents a table on page 63 that I think is incomprehensible unless you understood the work that went into it, which is not presented. He finishes with a plea not to hunt whales, which seems like a strange non-sequester to the book as whole.
As a consequence of this he seems to have appealed to crystal-swinging, horoscope-reading new age wo-wos rather than hard scientists. This is a shame, because the idea is brilliant (thus 4-stars), and could result in decades of research, added to which Gaia is a great name. It seems self-evident that we are part of and completely dependent upon the environment around us. Lovelock has such faith in the self-regulating mechanisms, he rather pooh poohs our ability to mess with it too much. However, it seems to me that evolution and balance takes time - we do things incredibly fast - our ability to warm the globe has only been for a couple of hundred years. We could easily give Gaia a fever, by overcoming her ability to make gentle regulations. If this happens, we do not know what the results will be, but we almost certainly will not benefit from them. As they say; "nature bats last".
Everyone should read this book and, despite its faults, it is readable.
Gaia: A Libertarian Manifesto.......2005-04-30
James Lovelock's book "Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth" reads like a libertarian manifesto. No doubt, many well-intentioned liberal environmentalists will be turned off by his laissez-faire approach to polution, as he believes that Gaia (the Earth-organism) can, and has handled much worse than our man-made pollution of the present day. Likewise, self-absorbed capitalists and fiscal conservatives may feel redeemed by some of Lovelock's claims, and may quote passages of this book to their liberal family members to score points in some future debate.
However, it would be wrong to interpret Lovelock as condoning pollution and the misdeeds of mankind. Lovelock instead implores us to participate in Gaia from a Taoist perspective, by learning to work with, rather than against the ways of the Earth. He believes (as do I) that we can only do this when we fully understand how the Earth has changed throughout history (including the environmental holocausts that the Earth has already endured), and how it presently changes to maintain a global homeostasis.
After reading this book I felt encouraged by the strength and mother Earth, and impressed by her ability to adapt to a wide range of near-cataclysmic events. My only critique of the book is that Lovelock sometimes makes certain leaps in his explanations, which at times left me (a lay scientist) confused as I was reading through them.
Book Description
How can you use philosophical to make progress toward solving environmental problems? ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: AN INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY introduces you to ethical theory in new and easily understood ways. But most of all, this environmental ethics textbook shows you how we can work together to build a better future.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting topics, very thought provoking.......2007-09-16
I purchased this book for an environmental ethics class, and found it to be very interesting! The many changes in our environment are truly thought-provoking, and to look at them through the eyes of an ethicist was enjoyable. The reading is compelling, and good fodder for many interesting dinner table conversations.
Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy.......2007-03-14
Book arrived in great shape and in a very timely fashion
Well written outlines of major ideas.......2003-09-13
This review is based on the 2nd edition. This book presents a good introduction to the major ideas of ethical thinking about the environment. He presents ideas on how rights might be derived as a gradation from purely human interest, rights based on whether animals suffer, and nature with its own right. Throughout the book questions of individual versus community rights are discussed. Each chapter starts with a short essay that highlights some of the complexities; for example whether Mountain Goats should be introduced or eliminated in Olympic National Park. Each chapter is concluded with discussion questions that also help the reader grapple with the issues.
He presents many of the major ideas and criticisms of animal rights, energy use, the land ethic, deep ecology, and ecofeminism. Particularly in the areas of deep ecology he presents the diversity of views. Perhaps he is weak in presenting third world views and the impact that "Deep ecology" might have on poor and agrarian populations. He is lacking discussion of religious based environmental ethics ("Theocentric ethics"). Christian Ecology seeks to develop a stewardship view, and Native American, and Eastern religions center on respect for nature. I think this book works best when read with selections from the authors discussed; for example read some of Leopold's "Sand County Almanac", then read the chapter on "The Land Ethic."
Thinking Deeply about the Environment, and Why it Matters.......2001-08-18
I read the first edition of this book (1993) and have no doubt that the third edition will surpass its scope and clarity. In a few hundred pages, Joseph Des Jardins unspools the thread of western philosophical tradition and makes it relevant for today's urgent environmental issues. Each chapter begins with a timely case study--salmon and economic develoment, nuclear waste and the rights of future generations to a clean environment--then develops the philosophical arguments required to more deeply understand just what is at stake in these and similar issues. Des Jardins' style is easy-going and eminently accessible. He wastes no words, gets to heart of the matter, and leaves the reader wanting more. Footnotes and additional readings lead to original material if the reader wants to delve more thoroughly into the topics. But you can just stop with Des Jardins if you are not a scholar, and still gain a firm grasp on how the big thinkers of western philosophy brought us to a critical divide in our environmental future. Edition One included late-breaking news from the social environmental and eco-feminist fronts, and I am confident the 2000 edition will be just as current.
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