Launched to mark World Environment Day 2005, and produced by the UNEP in collaboration with organisations such as the US Geological Survey and NASA, this publication uses text, illustrations, satellite images and ground photographs to depict and analyse humanity's impact on our environment. Issues discussed include: population growth and urbanisation, natural resources consumption, land use intensification, biodiversity and habitat loss; environmental impacts and trends including global warming, air and water pollution, and the impacts on oceans and coastal zones, forests and tundra; changes that result from geo-hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis, climate hazards such as floods and droughts, and industrial hazards such as nuclear accidents and oil spills; and suggestions for mitigating the effects of global environmental change.
One Planet, One Health provides a multidisciplinary reflection on the state of our planet, human and animal health, as well as the critical effects of climate change on the environment and on people. Climate change is already affecting many poor communities and traditional aid programs have achieved relatively small gains. Going beyond the narrow disciplinary lens and an exclusive focus on human health, a planetary health approach puts the ecosystem at the centre. The contributors to One Planet, One Health argue that maintaining and restoring ecosystem resilience should be a core priority, carried out in partnership with local communities. One Planet, One Health offers an integrated approach to improving the health of the planet and its inhabitants. With chapters on ethics, research and governance, as well as case studies of government and international aid-agency responses to illustrate successes and failures, the book aims to help scholars, governments and non-governmental organisations understand the benefits of focusing on the interdependence of human and animal health, food, water security and land care.
★ “The activists’ stories are extraordinary...It’s a powerful answer to Rao’s framing questions: ‘Who is an environmental defender? What does she or he look like? Maybe like you. Maybe like me.’”—Publishers Weekly, starred review ★ “Thought-provoking reading for young people figuring out their own contributions. This valuable compilation shows that Earth’s salvation lies in the diversity of its people.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review One Earth profiles Black, Indigenous and People of Color who live and work as environmental defenders. Through their individual stories, the book shows that the intersection of environment and ethnicity is an asset to achieving environmental goals. The twenty short biographies introduce readers to diverse activists from all around the world, who are of many ages and ethnicities. From saving ancient trees on the West Coast of Canada, to protecting the Irrawaddy dolphins of India, to uncovering racial inequalities in the food system in the United States, these environmental heroes are celebrated by author and biologist Anuradha Rao, who outlines how they went from being kids who cared about the environment to community leaders in their field. One Earth is full of environmental role models waiting to be found.
Planet Earth has been here for over 4.5 billion years but in just two human generations we have managed to place our only 'home' at great risk. Many lessons from history have not yet been learned and new lessons may prove equally, if not more, difficult to take on board as we head deeper into the twenty-first century. This book highlights two of our greatest social problems: changing the way we relate to the planet and to one another, and confronting how we use technology (dataism) for the benefit of both humankind and the planet. Covering a wide range of key topics, including environmental degradation, modern life, capitalism, robotics, financing of war (vs peace) and the pressing need to re-orient society towards a sustainable future, the book contends that lifelong learning for sustainability is key to our survival. The author argues that One Health - recognising the fundamental interconnections between people, animals, plants, the environment - needs to inform the UN-2030 Sustainable Development Goals and that working towards the adoption of a new mindset is essential. We need to replace our current view of limitless resources, exploitation, competition and conflict with one that respects the sanctity of life and strives towards well-being for all, shared prosperity and social stability. Clearly written, evidence based and transdisciplinary - and including contributions from the World Bank, InterAction Council, Chatham House, UNESCO, World Economic Forum, the Tripartite One Health collaboration (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, World Organisation for Animal Health and World Health Organization), One Health Commission and more - this book cuts across sociopolitical, economic and environmental lines. It will be of great interest to practitioners, academics, policy-makers, students, nongovernment agencies and the public at large in both developed and developing nations.
After the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear explosion in Ukraine, scientists believed radiation had created a vast and barren wasteland in which life could never resurface. But the Dead Zone, as the contaminated area is known, doesn't look dead at all. In fact, wildlife seems to be thriving there. The Zone is home to beetles, swallows, catfish, mice, voles, otters, beavers, wild boar, foxes, lynx, deer, moose?even brown bears and wolves. Yet the animals in the Zone are not quite what you'd expect. Every single one of them is radioactive. In Chernobyl's Wild Kingdom, you'll meet the international scientists investigating the Zone's wildlife and trying to answer difficult questions: Have some animals adapted to living with radiation? Or is the radioactive environment harming them in ways we can't see or that will only show up in future generations? Learn more about the fascinating ongoing research?and the debates that surround the findings?in one of the most dangerous places on Earth.
This is an account of an 18 year journey of discovery on the road that took the author through 135 countries and over 250,000 miles. After a slow start of seven years travelling and working in Europe, two years national service spent mainly in the Congo and three years working in Canada earning enough money to strike out on his own, Brugiroux then spent the next six years constantly on the move. As a hitchhiker, using every conceivable type of transportation, he lived from his savings on only one dollar a day. Living with and like the local people, he travelled the length of the Americas, through the Pacific Islands, the Far East, the USSR, the Middle East and the whole of Africa. Jailed seven times, caught up in wars and very nearly drowned in administrative red tape, Brugiroux never contemplated giving up on his quest to experience mankind in all its despair and glory.
The One Planet Life demonstrates a path for everyone towards a way of life in which we don’t act as if we had more than one planet Earth. The difference between this approach and others is that it uses ecological footprint analysis to help to determine how effective our efforts are. Much of the book is a manual – with examples – on how to live the 'good life' and supply over 65% of your livelihood from your land with mostly positive impacts upon the environment. It examines the pioneering Welsh policy, One Planet Development, then considers efforts towards one planet living in urban areas. After a foreword by BioRegional/One Planet Living co-founder Pooran Desai and an introduction by former Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson, the book contains: An essay arguing that our attitude to planning, land and development needs to change to enable truly sustainable development. Guidelines on finding land, finance, and creating a personal plan for one planet living. Detailed guides on: sustainable building, supplying your own food, generating renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions from travel, land management, water supply and waste treatment. 20 exemplary examples at all scales – from micro-businesses to suburbs – followed by Jane Davidson’s Afterword. The book will interest anyone seeking to find out how a sustainable lifestyle can be achieved. It is also key reading for rural and built environment practitioners and policy makers keen to support low impact initiatives, and for students studying aspects of planning, geography, governance, sustainability and renewable energy.
Only One Earth remains a classic study of the environment on a global scale....The organization and subject matter of Down to Earth reflect the metamorphosis of the environmental issue in ten years. Walt Patterson, New Statesman"
From the authors of the bestselling The Big Shift, a provocative argument that the global population will soon begin to decline, dramatically reshaping the social, political, and economic landscape. For half a century, statisticians, pundits, and politicians have warned that a burgeoning planetary population will soon overwhelm the earth's resources. But a growing number of experts are sounding a different kind of alarm. Rather than growing exponentially, they argue, the global population is headed for a steep decline. Throughout history, depopulation was the product of catastrophe: ice ages, plagues, the collapse of civilizations. This time, however, we're thinning ourselves deliberately, by choosing to have fewer babies than we need to replace ourselves. In much of the developed and developing world, that decline is already underway, as urbanization, women's empowerment, and waning religiosity lead to smaller and smaller families. In Empty Planet, Ibbitson and Bricker travel from South Florida to Sao Paulo, Seoul to Nairobi, Brussels to Delhi to Beijing, drawing on a wealth of research and firsthand reporting to illustrate the dramatic consequences of this population decline--and to show us why the rest of the developing world will soon join in. They find that a smaller global population will bring with it a number of benefits: fewer workers will command higher wages; good jobs will prompt innovation; the environment will improve; the risk of famine will wane; and falling birthrates in the developing world will bring greater affluence and autonomy for women. But enormous disruption lies ahead, too. We can already see the effects in Europe and parts of Asia, as aging populations and worker shortages weaken the economy and impose crippling demands on healthcare and social security. The United States is well-positioned to successfully navigate these coming demographic shifts--that is, unless growing isolationism and anti-immigrant backlash lead us to close ourselves off just as openness becomes more critical to our survival than ever before. Rigorously researched and deeply compelling, Empty Planet offers a vision of a future that we can no longer prevent--but one that we can shape, if we choose.
