| Description |
1 online resource |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Description |
text file |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Summary |
"Climate change and its attendant environmental catastrophes--droughts, wildfires, floods, heat waves, and so on--are no longer a looming threat; they're here, now. In this age of well-warranted environmental panic, every trip to the grocery store or purchase from Amazon must become a full-scale research project. Are these tomatoes local? Is this water bottle BPA-free? Did I remember to bring a canvas tote, or will I have to risk contributing to landfills by accepting a plastic bag? The ethos that one person's choices can make a difference is admirable, but ultimately misguided. In Who Rules the Earth?, Paul F. Steinberg, one of America's leading scholars on the politics of environmentalism, draws from the latest social science research to explain why there is room for hope. Green consumer choices and changes in personal lifestyles are important, but they are not nearly enough. Lasting social change requires modifying the very rules that guide human behavior and shape the ways we interact with the Earth. We know these rules by familiar names like city ordinances, product design standards, purchasing agreements, public policies, cultural norms, or national constitutions. Though these rules are largely invisible to us, their impact across the world has been dramatic. By changing the rules, the Canadian province of Ontario cut the levels of pesticides in its waterways in half. The city of Copenhagen has adopted new planning codes that will reduce its carbon footprint to zero by 2025. In the United States, a handful of industry mavericks designed new rules to promote greener buildings, and transformed the world's largest industry into a more sustainable enterprise. Steinberg takes the reader on a series of journeys, from a familiar walk on the beach to a remote village deep in the jungles of Peru, helping the reader to "see" the social rules that pattern our physical reality and showing why these are the big levers that will ultimately determine the health of our planet. Unveiling the influence of social rules at all levels of society-from private property to government policy, and from the rules governing our oceans to the dynamics of innovation and change within corporations and communities-Who Rules the Earth? is essential reading for anyone interested in bringing about real environmental change"-- Provided by publisher. |
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"Humanity is confronted with an alarming number of environmental problems. Paul F. Steinberg explains that there is room for hope if we can modify the rules that guide human behavior and shape the ways we interact with the Earth"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Contents |
Cover; Who Rules the Earth? How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; Part I: Searching for Solutions; 1: Recycling Is Not Enough; A NEW LANDSCAPE; MEANWHILE IN AMERICA; CHANGING THE RULES; EXPLAINING THE PUZZLE; WINDOWS INTO POLITICS; PAIRING RESEARCH AND ACTION; 2: Strings Attached; INVISIBLE WORLDS; TIES THAT BIND; RULES AND FREEDOM; THE WORLD'S LARGEST MACHINE; THE GHOST OF POLITICS; THE ROAD AHEAD; 3: Feasible Worlds; RE-BUILDING THE WORLD; THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE; BARRIERS AND BREAKTHROUGHS; SHARING INFORMATION. |
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LOWERING BARRIERS TO COOPERATIONPEERING INTO THE GARBAGE CAN; CONFRONTING POWER; WHAT IS POLITICALLY FEASIBLE?; CREATING VALUE; OF RUIN AND POSSIBILITY; Part II: Who Owns the Earth?; 4: A Perilous Journey; PROPERTIES OF NATURE; PROPERTY AND THE PEACH; A BIRD'S EYE VIEW; Callanga Valley, Peru; Junín Department, Peru; Cordillera Occidental, Colombian Andes; Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia; Central America's Atlantic Coast; Santa Catarina Ixtepeji, Mexico; The Caribbean Sea; Boone County, West Virginia; A BIRD IN THE HAND; 5: The Big Trade; GETTING THE LEAD OUT; THE RULE OF THE FRENCH FRY. |
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REGULATIONS ARE A CAPITALIST'S BEST FRIENDWHEN MARKETS FAIL; PROFITING FROM REGULATION; INTRODUCING MARKETS WITHIN RULES; CAP AND TRADE; THE "GRAND EXPERIMENT"; THE EMPTY JAR; THE MAD CAPPER; HOT PROPERTY; THE BOTTOM LINE ON BOTTOM-LINE APPROACHESTO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; 6: A Planet of Nations; NATIONS MATTER; CHARTING THE TERRITORY; SULTANS FOR SUSTAINABILITY?; THE CAPACITY TO ACT; SUSTAINING SUSTAINABILITY; A STRANGE MEDLEY; WHEN GOVERNMENTS DO RIGHT; WHEN GOVERNMENTS DO WRONG; WHICH WAY, USA?; SHIFTING SANDS; Part III: Transformations; 7: Scaling Up; THE RULEMAKERS; POWER UP. |
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A FRACTURED CONTINENTTAKING ON THE "EUROPEAN PROBLEM"; A UNITED STATES OF EUROPE?; GREENING EUROPE; A RELUCTANT EMBRACE; SOMETHING NEW ON THE CHARENTE RIVER; 8: Scaling Down; PIECES OF PARADISE; DOWNSHIFT; POWER PLAY; RESHUFFLING THE POLITICAL DECK; TILTING THE EARTH'S POLITICAL AXIS; IS LOCAL CONTROL A GOOD THING?; THE TRAGEDY OF THE OVERWORKED METAPHOR; THE BUS RIDE TO NOWHERE; A RACE TO THE BOTTOM?; INCREASING THE SPREAD; CHINESE BOXES; THE POLITICAL ELEVATOR; 9: Keep the Change; FOUR IDEAS THAT WILL NOT CHANGE THE WORLD; RECYCLING ALONE; THE RUTS WE CHOOSE; THE COLLECTIVE "SHOULD." |
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WATCHING SOCIETY CHANGE ITS MINDHIGH-SPEED CHANGE; MIND AND MUSCLE; CREATURES OF HABIT; EMBEDDED RELATIONSHIPS; THE PERILS OF PERMANENCE; TEFLON AND TAR PITS; DON'T JUST BREAK THE RULES-MAKE THEM; Part IV: Leverage; 10: Super Rules; WHO DECIDES?; TILTED BY DESIGN; SHAPING AND SHOPPING; MAKING IT MATTER; MAINSTREAMING; A LITTLE SUNSHINE; SYSTEM EFFECTS; 11: Paper, Plastic, or Politics?; THE EMPEROR AND THE ACTIVIST; FLOWER POWER; 1. RULE THE EARTH; 2. BRIDGE RESEARCH AND ACTION; 3. BUILD UNCONVENTIONAL COALITIONS; 4. CREATE PUBLIC VALUE; 5. BEG, BORROW, OR STEAL; 6. CULTIVATE PROCESS EXPERTISE. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Environmentalism -- Social aspects.
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Environmentalism -- Social aspects. |
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Environmental policy -- Social aspects.
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Environmental policy -- Social aspects. |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
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| Other Form: |
Print version: Steinberg, Paul F. Who rules the earth? 9780199896615 (DLC) 2014026033 (OCoLC)890952889 |
| ISBN |
9780199896622 (electronic book) |
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0199896623 (electronic book) |
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9780199896615 |
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0199896615 |
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