The idea for Eco-Pioneers came to Steve Lerner while he was attending the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Although he was moved by the vision of sustainable development evoked by citizens and officials at the summit, as a reporter he felt a need to put a human face on the rhetoric and find out what sustainable development actually looks like in the United States. He spent the next four years searching out what he came to call "eco-pioneers"—the modern pathfinders who are working in the American pragmatic tradition to reduce the pace of environmental degradation. These practical visionaries are people who are willing to push the limits of whatever tools they can find for dealing with ecological problems. Lerner provides case studies of eco-pioneers who are exploring sustainable ways to log forests, grow food, save plant species, run cattle, build houses, clean up cities, redesign rural communities, generate power, conserve water, protect rivers and wildlife, treat hazardous waste, reuse materials, and reduce both waste and consumption. Some of those profiled run businesses, some address environmental practices within their immediate community, and some combine their environmental concerns with social goals such as the creation of inner-city jobs. Together they are creating ways of living and working that many analysts believe to be essential to an ecologically sustainable future.

Whenever the history of ecological thought has been written the contributions of Australian thinkers have been omitted. Yet Australia as a continent of extreme, rare and complex environments has produced a startling group of ecological pioneers. Across a wide range of human endeavour, Australian thinkers and innovators - whether they have thought of themselves as environmentalists or not - have made some truly original contributions to ecological thought. Ecological Pioneers traces the emergence of ecological understandings in Australia. By constructing a social history with chapters focusing on different fields in the arts, sciences, politics and public life, the authors bring to life the work of significant individuals. Some of the ecological pioneers featured include Joseph Banks, Russell Drysdale, Judith Wright, Myles Dunphy, Philip Crosbie Morrison, Vincent Serventy, Francis Ratcliffe, the Gurindji and Yolngu peoples, Bill Mollison, Jack Mundey, Val Plumwood, Michael Leunig, and many more.

By moving beyond traditional aesthetic categories (beauty, the sublime, the religious), Eco-Aesthetics takes an inter-disciplinary approach bridging the arts, humanities and social sciences and explores what aesthetics might mean in the 21st century. It is one in a series of new, radical aesthetics promoting debate, confronting convention and formulating alternative ways of thinking about art practice. There is no doubt that the social and environmental spheres are interconnected but can art and artists really make a difference to the global environmental crisis? Can art practice meaningfully contribute to the development of sustainable lifestyles? Malcolm Miles explores the strands of eco-art, eco-aesthetics and contemporary aesthetic theories, offering timely critiques of consumerism and globalisation and, ultimately, offers a possible formulation of an engaged eco-aesthetic for the early 21st century.

This book presents important new research on applied eco-efficiency concepts throughout Europe. The aim of eco-efficiency is to achieve market-based measures of environmental protection, in order to enhance the prospects for sustainable development and achieve positive economic and ecological benefits. The distinguished authors discuss a number of themes surrounding eco-efficiency including the necessary conditions for technological dissemination and ecological modernization, and the role of government in enabling businesses and society to participate actively in this process. In particular, they highlight the application of existing European-based policies concerning material flows and energy. The authors also investigate some new concepts of sustainable development and provide a useful introduction to material flows analysis. In further chapters they study the emerging regulatory policies for eco-efficiency, and examine the issues of sustainable business and consumption strategies. Environmental and ecological economists, policymakers and political scientists will welcome this original and insightful book which aims to translate the theory of sustainable development into practical policy and business-related solutions.

The peaceful coexistence between humans and nature is vital to the survival of every living thing on Earth. Naturalists, conservationists, and environmental activists are dedicated to curbing a number of ecological threats. Readers take a thoughtful look at the work of those individuals who have helped shape and advance the green movement, which aims to provide a sustainable future for all concerned.

Mary Joy Breton provides absorbing sketches of over forty women activists in the Americas, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, and Asia, recounting the special ways in which each stepped out of her traditional role and dedicated her life to saving the planet.

This book is designed to meet the urgent need for a comprehensive and definitive introduction and teaching text on corporate environmental management. It aims to become the standard textbook for courses examining how business can take the environment into account while also providing an accessible and thorough overview of this increasingly multidisciplinary subject for practitioners. Written by the internationally acknowledged experts Stefan Schaltegger and Roger Burritt (authors of the highly influential Contemporary Environmental Accounting) along with Holger Petersen, the book invites the reader to join in an exploration of the ways in which companies can engage in environmental management and why such engagement can be profitable for business. The reader is invited to: examine whether the contents reflect their own experience, takes their experience further, or opposes their own views; note which of the ideas presented are especially important, add to those ideas, or encourage a reaction (positive or negative); answer questions creatively (based on their own perspective of the issues); encourage themselves to be inspired by questions, which can be investigated further through other written sources of information, such as books you will be guided to through the bibliography, the Internet or the general media; and think about and plan the ways in which the knowledge provided can be implemented in your own situation. The book is organised into four main sections. First, the fundamental ideas and linkages behind business management, the environment and sustainable development are briefly but clearly sketched. The second part of the book outlines the criteria against which environmentally oriented business management can be assessed and the fields of action in which success can be achieved. The third part presents a discussion and examples of strategies for environmental management, which are linked, in the fourth part, to the essential tools of environmental management, especially green marketing, environmental accounting and eco-control. The book is full of case studies and examples related to the main contents of each chapter and each chapter provides a number of questions for the student or reader to address. An Introduction to Corporate Environmental Management is both a textbook and a sourcebook. The reader can either work through the material in a structured way or dip into the content and follow up on specific areas of interest. The materials are designed to be used for understanding and reference, rather than to be learned by heart. The primary aim is for the reader to obtain a practical understanding of the relationship between management and environmental issues which can be applied in day-to-day situations-whether as part of a student's wider view of management or within the practitioner's real-world situation. It will be essential reading for many years to come.