This is Hope compares the outcomes of two human ecologies; one is tragic, the other is full of promise. As Will explains in his Introduction, ‘Our human ecology is the expression of everything we do and is represented by every interaction we have on earth…it consists of the multitude of relationships we have with other people, other species, and our physical environment’. He describes our current human ecology in depth to illustrate how we are living inappropriately, cruelly, and unsustainably. This is obsolete and has been for a long time; it is the cause of our overpopulation, our overconsumption of resources, the poverty of ecosystems and people, and our disregard for the rights of individuals from other species. This is Hope proposes a new human ecology to replace it.
Compares the outcomes of two human ecologies; one is tragic, the other is full of promise. This book describes human ecology to illustrate how we are living inappropriately, cruelly, and unsustainably. It proposes a new human ecology to replace it
With The Human Animal Earthling Identity Carrie P. Freeman asks us to reconsider the devastating division we have created between the human and animal conditions, leading to mass exploitation, injustice, and extinction. As a remedy, Freeman believes social movements should collectively foster a cultural shift in human identity away from an egoistic anthropocentrism (human-centered outlook) and toward a universal altruism (species-centered ethic), so people may begin to see themselves more broadly as “human animal earthlings.” To formulate the basis for this identity shift, Freeman examines overlapping values (supporting life, fairness, responsibility, and unity) that are common in global rights declarations and in the current campaign messages of sixteen global social movement organizations that work on human/civil rights, nonhuman animal protection, and/or environmental issues, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, CARE, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the World Wildlife Fund, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the Nature Conservancy, the Rainforest Action Network, and Greenpeace. She also interviews the leaders of these advocacy groups to gain their insights on how human and nonhuman protection causes can become allies by engaging common opponents and activating shared values and goals on issues such as the climate crisis, enslavement, extinction, pollution, inequality, destructive farming and fishing, and threats to democracy. Freeman’s analysis of activist discourse considers ethical ideologies on behalf of social justice, animal rights, and environmentalism, using animal rights’ respect for sentient individuals as a bridge connecting human rights to a more holistic valuing of species and ecological systems. Ultimately, Freeman uses her findings to recommend a set of universal values around which all social movements’ campaign messages can collectively cultivate respectful relations between “human animal earthlings,” fellow sentient beings, and the natural world we share.
This companion to the documentary Cowspiracy explores the devastating environmental impacts of animal agriculture—and new paths to sustainability. The 2014 documentary Cowspiracy presented alarming truths about the effects of animal agriculture on the planet. One of the leading causes of deforestation, greenhouse gas production, water use, species extinction, ocean dead-zones, and a host of other ills, animal agriculture is a major threat to the future of all species, and one of the environmental industry’s best-kept secrets. The Sustainability Secret expands upon Cowspiracy in every way. In this updated volume, the film’s co-creators reveal shocking new facts and interview the leaders of businesses, environmental organizations, and political groups about the disastrous effects of animal agriculture. Extended transcripts, updated statistics, tips on becoming vegan, and comprehensive reading lists provide an in-depth overview of this planetary crisis and demonstrate effective ways to offset the damage.
This inescapably controversial study envisions, defines, and theorizes an area that Laura Wright calls vegan studies. We have an abundance of texts on vegans and veganism including works of advocacy, literary and popular fiction, film and television, and cookbooks, yet until now, there has been no study that examines the social and cultural discourses shaping our perceptions of veganism as an identity category and social practice. Ranging widely across contemporary American society and culture, Wright unpacks the loaded category of vegan identity. She examines the mainstream discourse surrounding and connecting animal rights to (or omitting animal rights from) veganism. Her specific focus is on the construction and depiction of the vegan body--both male and female--as a contested site manifest in contemporary works of literature, popular cultural representations, advertising, and new media. At the same time, Wright looks at critical animal studies, human-animal studies, posthumanism, and ecofeminism as theoretical frameworks that inform vegan studies (even as they differ from it). The vegan body, says Wright, threatens the status quo in terms of what we eat, wear, and purchase--and also in how vegans choose not to participate in many aspects of the mechanisms undergirding mainstream culture. These threats are acutely felt in light of post-9/11 anxieties over American strength and virility. A discourse has emerged that seeks, among other things, to bully veganism out of existence as it is poised to alter the dominant cultural mindset or, conversely, to constitute the vegan body as an idealized paragon of health, beauty, and strength. What better serves veganism is exemplified by Wright's study: openness, debate, inquiry, and analysis.
Applying critical sociological theory, this book explores the shortcomings of popular tactics in animal liberation efforts. Building a case for a scientifically-grounded grassroots approach, it is argued that professionalized advocacy that works in the service of theistic, capitalist, patriarchal institutions will find difficulty achieving success.
At a time of great importance in the history of life on the planet, human beings find themselves with enormous economic and technological power, but also with a terrible inner weakness. This book takes a careful look at our vulnerability and proposes some radical new pathways towards a life more in harmony with the natural world.
'Mark Weston's book is a delight. From charming neighbourhood children to failing fish stocks, not forgetting the perfect recipe for banana beer, The Saviour Fish is a compelling account of life on a remote Tanzanian island, told by a writer who has his eyes wide open and his heart fully engaged.' James Copnall, Presenter, Newsday, BBC World Service, and author of A Poisonous Thorn in our Hearts: Sudan and South Sudan's Bitter and Incomplete Divorce Sent to live on a remote island in the Tanzanian half of Lake Victoria, Mark Weston finds a community grappling with one of the world's great unknown environmental crises. 'You used to be able to stand on the beach and fish. In my father's time, you could catch them with your bare hands.' Lake Victoria was once one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, but a predator released into its waters by East Africa's British colonisers has left a trail of destruction in its wake. The lives of millions of people have been upended, as a fateful confluence of overfishing, pollution and deforestation has triggered one of history's greatest mass extinctions. On remote Ukerewe Island, Mark Weston finds out how local communities are responding to the crisis. He lives for two years alongside the families and fishermen hardest hit by the upheaval and gets to know the aid workers, sorcerers and holy men whose businesses are booming. A captivating blend of travel writing and environmental reportage, The Saviour Fish paints an intimate picture of rural Tanzanian life, and of the human cost of biodiversity loss.
Leaving the City is a visionary book about health and happiness in the ‘other' America - the places outside of the intense urban centers like NYC and LA. The urban world is known for its harried pace, mutual alienation and distance from the rhythms of nature and of human nature. He focuses not merely on contagion, pollutants, violence and innumerable other sources - both natural and human - of illness, disability and premature death that one finds in urban America, but also addresses the inherent unhappiness and threats to mental health that life in the urban world typically brings.
In wildlife conservation, rewilding refers to restoring habitats and creating corridors between preserved lands to allow declining populations to rebound. Marc Bekoff, one of the world’s leading animal experts and activists, here applies rewilding to human attitudes. Rewilding Our Hearts invites readers to do the essential work of becoming reenchanted with the world, acting from the inside out, and dissolving false boundaries to truly connect with both nature and themselves.
