Ecology of Everyday Life
Ecology of Everyday Life

Author: Chaia Heller

Publisher: Black Rose Books

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13:

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Ecology of Everyday Life examines the ecological impulse as a 'desire for nature', a desire that emerges as people within industrial capitalist contexts respond to the personal and aesthetic, rather than the physical and political implications of ecological breakdown. While exploring the historical causes of this romantic 'desire for nature', Heller also offers a way to reconstruct ideas of both `nature' and 'desire', drawing from feminist, anarchist, and social ecological theory. She provides an activist response to ecological questions, arguing that the ecology movement too often links ecological problems to personal, psychological, and spiritual concerns, rather than to concerns of social justice. Yet rather than dismiss such personal and qualitative concerns, Heller links the desire for a more meaningful and integral quality of life to the activist impulse itself. Questioning assumptions about 'nature', 'desire', and 'the ecological agenda', the author encourages readers to consider new ways of desiring nature that entail changes not only in personal life-style and outlook, but changes in social institutions as well. Chaia Heller holds a MA in psychology and has worked for many years as a clinical social worker counselling and advocating for women struggling with issues of domestic abuse and poverty. In addition, she has had a long career as a teacher and international lecturer in the fields of social ecology and ecofeminism and is currently on the faculty at the Institute for Social Ecology. She also teaches at the University of Massachusetts where she is pursuing a PhD.

The Ecology of Everyday Things
The Ecology of Everyday Things

Author: Mark Everard

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2020-12-22

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 1000284441

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Nature is all around us, in the beautiful but also in the unappealing and functional, and from the awe-inspiring to the mundane. It is vital that we learn to see the agency of the natural world in all things that make our lives possible, comfortable and profitable. The Ecology of Everyday Things pulls back the veil of our familiarity on a range of ‘everyday things’ that surround us, and which we perhaps take too much for granted. This key into the magic world of the everyday can enable us to take better account of our common natural inheritance. Professor James Longhurst, Assistant Vice Chancellor, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) For many people, ecosystems may be a remote concept, yet we eat, drink, breathe and interface with them in every moment of our lives. In this engaging textbook, ecosystems scientist Dr. Mark Everard considers a diversity of ‘everyday things’, including fascinating facts about their ecological origins: from the tea we drink, to the things we wear, read and enjoy, to the ecology of communities and space flight, and the important roles played by germs and ‘unappealing creatures’ such as slugs and wasps. In today’s society, we are so umbilically connected to ecosystems that we fail to notice them, and this oversight blinds us to the unsustainability of everyday life and the industries and policy environment that supports it. The Ecology of Everyday Things takes the reader on an enlightening, fascinating voyage of discovery, all the while soundly rooted in robust science. It will stimulate awareness about how connected we all are to the natural world and its processes, and how important it is to learn to better treat our environment. Ideal for use in undergraduate- and school-level teaching, it will also interest, educate, engage and enthuse a wide range of less technical audiences.

Spiritual Ecology
Spiritual Ecology

Author: Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Publisher: The Golden Sufi Center

Published: 2017-05-01

Total Pages: 115

ISBN-13: 1941394183

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Spiritual Ecology: 10 Practices to Reawaken the Sacred in Everyday Life offers inspiring and practical guidance for reconnecting to the sacred in every day life and transforming our relationship with the Earth. Describing the power of simple, daily practices such as Walking, Gardening, Cooking with Love, and Prayer, this small book supports profound changes in how we think about and respond to the ecological crisis of our times. Our groundbreaking book, Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth, (now in its second edition)—which included spiritual perspectives on climate change, species loss, deforestation, and other aspects of our present environmental crises from renowned spiritual teachers, scientists, and indigenous leaders—drew an overwhelmingly positive reaction from readers, many of whom are asking: "What can I do?" Spiritual Ecology: 10 Practices to Reawaken the Sacred in Everyday Life answers that question with inspiring, personal anecdotes from the author—Sufi teacher Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee—and simple practices we all can do. Rooted in the mystical foundation of the world's great spiritual traditions, with a particular connection to Sufism, these timeless practices remind readers of our deep connections to life, each other, and the Earth, and invite a return of meaning to our desecrated world. As Rumi says, "there are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground," and it is this sacred ground that is calling to us, that needs our living presence, our attentiveness. This small book offers simple ways to reconnect so that we can once again feel the music, the song of our living connection with the Earth. "This small book, exquisite in its luminous simplicity, brings me home to my life. Even in a dark time, its practices center me in a sense of the sacred, our birthright." —JOANNA MACY, teacher, activist, and author of Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work That Reconnects “Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee's book on practices for Spiritual Ecology in everyday life awakens us to the potential to take small steps towards big transformation. It overcomes the artificial divide between nature and humans, and spirituality and action. No matter who we are, where we live, these are steps each of us can take.” —VANDANA SHIVA, activist and author “A beautiful book. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee and Hilary Hart do a brilliant job sharing simple and powerful practices that help readers connect to the sacredness within nature, the earth, and our own daily lives.” —SANDRA INGERMAN, author, Walking in Light: The Everyday Empowerment of Shamanic Life

The Ecology of Learning
The Ecology of Learning

Author: John Blewitt

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2010-09-23

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1136535993

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Your house is flooded by 'unseasonal' heavy rain. What do you learn from this experience? Do you shrug your shoulders and call your insurer? Or do you choose to learn about climate change, switch to renewable energy and lobby politicians? In this insightful book, John Blewitt explores the possibilities for developing a sustainable society through 'lifelong learning' that is, learning that happens in everyday environments and activities as diverse as shopping, community, 'edutainment', information and communication technology, the internet, broadcasting, people's experience of place and space, green building, social networks and consumer culture. Drawing on a range of sociological, anthropological and educational studies as well as new research, The Ecology of Learning is ideal for educators, teachers, corporate trainers and consultants working to integrate environmental education, sustainability and innovation in non-traditional learning situations. The coverage is extensive, with an accessible but informed engagement with both theory and practice and a wide range of examples. Throughout, the voices, stories and experiences of many people are used to illustrate the ways people may reshape our understanding of learning and sustainability.

Human Ecology
Human Ecology

Author: Frederick R. Steiner

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2016-02-16

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1610917383

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Humans have always been influenced by natural landscapes, and always will be—even as we create ever-larger cities and our developments fundamentally change the nature of the earth around us. In Human Ecology, noted city planner and landscape architect Frederick Steiner encourages us to consider how human cultures have been shaped by natural forces, and how we might use this understanding to contribute to a future where both nature and people thrive. Human ecology is the study of the interrelationships between humans and their environment, drawing on diverse fields from biology and geography to sociology, engineering, and architecture. Steiner admirably synthesizes these perspectives through the lens of landscape architecture, a discipline that requires its practitioners to consciously connect humans and their environments. After laying out eight principles for understanding human ecology, the book’s chapters build from the smallest scale of connection—our homes—and expand to community scales, regions, nations, and, ultimately, examine global relationships between people and nature. In this age of climate change, a new approach to planning and design is required to envision a livable future. Human Ecology provides architects, landscape architects, urban designers, and planners—and students in those fields— with timeless principles for new, creative thinking about how their work can shape a vibrant, resilient future for ourselves and our planet.

The Philosophy of Social Ecology
The Philosophy of Social Ecology

Author: Murray Bookchin

Publisher: AK Press

Published: 2022-04-19

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13: 1849354413

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What is nature? What is humanity's place in nature? And what is the relationship of society to the natural world? In an era of ecological breakdown, answering these questions has become of momentous importance for our everyday lives and for the future that we and other life-forms face. In the essays of The Philosophy of Social Ecology, Murray Bookchin confronts these questions head on: invoking the ideas of mutualism, self-organization, and unity in diversity, in the service of ever expanding freedom. Refreshingly polemical and deeply philosophical, they take issue with technocratic and mechanistic ways of understanding and relating to, and within, nature. More importantly, they develop a solid, historically and politically based ethical foundation for social ecology, the field that Bookchin himself created and that offers us hope in the midst of our climate catastrophe.

Ecology and Genetics
Ecology and Genetics

Author: Arjun Makhijani

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 64

ISBN-13:

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The central thesis of this book is that the genetic structures of living beings are internal biological expressions of the ecosystems they need to survive. That is why living beings contribute to the reproduction of ecosystems by their everyday acts of living, in a global-scale symbiosis. Inter-species genetic engineering creates new types of living beings, which could not arise naturally and which are being introduced without a sound understanding of their ecological impacts. The potential for nasty ecological surprises, possibly greater than anything seen with chemicals, is outlined in this monograph, which is based on fundamental theoretical arguments, illustrated with many examples.

Elements of Ecology
Elements of Ecology

Author: Thomas Michael Smith

Publisher: Pearson Educacion

Published: 2011-11-04

Total Pages: 612

ISBN-13: 9780321796578

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Known for its evolution theme and strong coverage of the relevance of ecology to everyday life and the human impact on ecosystems, the thoroughly revised Eighth Edition features expanded quantitative exercises, a restructured chapter on life history, a thoroughly revised species interactions unit including a chapter introducing the subject, and a new chapter on species interactions. To emphasize the dynamic and experimental nature of ecology, each chapter draws upon current research in the various fields of ecology while providing accessible examples that help you understand species natural history, specific ecosystems, the process of science, and ecological patterns at both an evolutionary and demographic scale. To engage you in using and interpreting data, a wide variety of Quantifying Ecology boxes walk through step-by-step examples of equations and statistical techniques.

Rethinking Nature
Rethinking Nature

Author: Aurélie Choné

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2017-05-18

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1315444755

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This textbook provides an overview of different ways of conceptualising nature in epistemological terms, reflecting the tensions between the polarities of humans as masters or protectors of nature, or as part of or outside of nature.