Download or read book Inconspicuous Consumption written by Tatiana Schlossberg and published by Balance. This book was released on 2019-08-27 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *First Place Winner of the Society of Environmental Journalists' Rachel Carson Environment Book Award* "If you're looking for something to cling to in what often feels like a hopeless conversation, Schlossberg's darkly humorous, knowledge-is-power, eyes-wide-open approach may be just the thing."--Vogue From a former New York Times science writer, this urgent call to action will empower you to stand up to climate change and environmental pollution by making simple but impactful everyday choices. With urgency and wit, Tatiana Schlossberg explains that far from being only a distant problem of the natural world created by the fossil fuel industry, climate change is all around us, all the time, lurking everywhere in our convenience-driven society, all without our realizing it. By examining the unseen and unconscious environmental impacts in four areas-the Internet and technology, food, fashion, and fuel - Schlossberg helps readers better understand why climate change is such a complicated issue, and how it connects all of us: How streaming a movie on Netflix in New York burns coal in Virginia; how eating a hamburger in California might contribute to pollution in the Gulf of Mexico; how buying an inexpensive cashmere sweater in Chicago expands the Mongolian desert; how destroying forests from North Carolina is necessary to generate electricity in England. Cataloging the complexities and frustrations of our carbon-intensive society with a dry sense of humor, Schlossberg makes the climate crisis and its solutions interesting and relevant to everyone who cares, even a little, about the planet. She empowers readers to think about their stuff and the environment in a new way, helping them make more informed choices when it comes to the future of our world. Most importantly, this is a book about the power we have as voters and consumers to make sure that the fight against climate change includes all of us and all of our stuff, not just industry groups and politicians. If we have any hope of solving the problem, we all have to do it together. "A compelling-and illuminating-look at how our daily habits impact the environment."--Vanity Fair "Shows how even the smallest decisions can have profound environmental consequences."--The New York Times

Download or read book Impact of Meat Consumption on Health and Environmental Sustainability written by Raphaely, Talia and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2015-10-19 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meat consumption impacts all aspects of human life and humanity?s long-term survival prospects. Despite this knowledge, society continues to ignore the negative impact of consuming meat, which include excessively high contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions, land and water pollution and depletion, antimicrobial resistance, and negative impacts on human health. Impact of Meat Consumption on Health and Environmental Sustainability addresses the difficulties, challenges, and opportunities in reducing excessive meat consumption in order to mitigate human and environmental damage. Policymakers, academicians, researchers, advanced-level students, technology developers, and government officials will find this text useful in furthering their research exposure to pertinent topics such as dietary recommendations for limiting meat consumption, trade and the meat industry, ethics of meat production and consumption, and the environmental impacts of meat consumption.

Download or read book The Day the World Stops Shopping written by J.B. MacKinnon and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-05-25 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consuming less is our best strategy for saving the planet—but can we do it? In this thoughtful and surprisingly optimistic book, journalist J. B. MacKinnon investigates how we may achieve a world without shopping. We can’t stop shopping. And yet we must. This is the consumer dilemma. The economy says we must always consume more: even the slightest drop in spending leads to widespread unemployment, bankruptcy, and home foreclosure. The planet says we consume too much: in America, we burn the earth’s resources at a rate five times faster than it can regenerate. And despite efforts to “green” our consumption—by recycling, increasing energy efficiency, or using solar power—we have yet to see a decline in global carbon emissions. Addressing this paradox head-on, acclaimed journalist J. B. MacKinnon asks, What would really happen if we simply stopped shopping? Is there a way to reduce our consumption to earth-saving levels without triggering economic collapse? At first this question took him around the world, seeking answers from America’s big-box stores to the hunter-gatherer cultures of Namibia to communities in Ecuador that consume at an exactly sustainable rate. Then the thought experiment came shockingly true: the coronavirus brought shopping to a halt, and MacKinnon’s ideas were tested in real time. Drawing from experts in fields ranging from climate change to economics, MacKinnon investigates how living with less would change our planet, our society, and ourselves. Along the way, he reveals just how much we stand to gain: An investment in our physical and emotional wellness. The pleasure of caring for our possessions. Closer relationships with our natural world and one another. Imaginative and inspiring, The Day the World Stops Shopping will embolden you to envision another way.

Download or read book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster written by Bill Gates and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical—and accessible—plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market, he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively, where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete, practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions—suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers, and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but if we follow the plan he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.

Download or read book Consuming the Environment written by Myra J. Hird and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-11-29 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consuming the Environment explores the environmental impacts of consuming everyday products and explains how we can consume more sustainably. Written in an accessible style, this book begins with our everyday mundane experiences of consuming products – online, in the grocery store, at the mall – and shows how these practices are connected to a global system dependent upon ever increasing consumption. Drawing on the expertise of researchers in topics such as energy, food, water, land, fashion, electronics, eco-tourism, green products, and (micro)plastics, this volume unpacks the complex and largely invisible relationships that consumerism has with resource extraction and manufacturing. By focusing on a diverse range of everyday consumer products, as well as more subtle things that have been transformed into products, such as knowledge, waste, and pets, the chapters are structured around the central argument that we must re-orient ourselves as citizens rather than consumers. It is as citizens that we may help to organize our communities and hold our governments and industry accountable to planetary sustainability boundaries. With the inclusion of summary boxes, directed discussion, assignment questions, and further reading in each chapter, this book will be an essential resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying courses on consumerism, sustainable consumption, and environmental sociology.

Download or read book The Shadows of Consumption written by Peter Dauvergne and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2010-09-24 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An environmentalist maps the hidden costs of overconsumption in a globalized world by tracing the environmental consequences of five commodities. The Shadows of Consumption gives a hard-hitting diagnosis: many of the earth's ecosystems and billions of its people are at risk from the consequences of rising consumption. Products ranging from cars to hamburgers offer conveniences and pleasures; but, as Peter Dauvergne makes clear, global political and economic processes displace the real costs of consumer goods into distant ecosystems, communities, and timelines, tipping into crisis people and places without the power to resist. In The Shadows of Consumption, Peter Dauvergne maps the costs of consumption that remain hidden in the shadows cast by globalized corporations, trade, and finance. Dauvergne traces the environmental consequences of five commodities: automobiles, gasoline, refrigerators, beef, and harp seals. In these fascinating histories we learn, for example, that American officials ignored warnings about the dangers of lead in gasoline in the 1920s; why China is now a leading producer of CFC-free refrigerators; and how activists were able to stop Canada's commercial seal hunt in the 1980s (but are unable to do so now). Dauvergne's innovative analysis allows us to see why so many efforts to manage the global environment are failing even as environmentalism is slowly strengthening. He proposes a guiding principle of “balanced consumption” for both consumers and corporations. We know that we can make things better by driving a high-mileage car, eating locally grown food, and buying energy-efficient appliances; but these improvements are incremental, local, and insufficient. More crucial than our individual efforts to reuse and recycle will be reforms in the global political economy to reduce the inequalities of consumption and correct the imbalance between growing economies and environmental sustainability.

Download or read book Blessed Unrest written by Paul Hawken and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the world’s most influential environmentalists reveals a worldwide grassroots movement of hope and humanity Blessed Unresttells the story of a worldwide movement that is largely unseen by politicians or the media. Hawken, an environmentalist and author, has spent more than a decade researching organizations dedicated to restoring the environment and fostering social justice. From billion-dollar nonprofits to single-person causes, these organizations collectively comprise the largest movement on earth. This is a movement that has no name, leader, or location, but is in every city, town, and culture. It is organizing from the bottom up and is emerging as an extraordinary and creative expression of people’s needs worldwide. Blessed Unrestexplores the diversity of this movement, its brilliant ideas, innovative strategies, and centuries-old history. The culmination of Hawken’s many years of leadership in these fields, it will inspire, surprise, and delight anyone who is worried about the direction the modern world is headed. Blessed Unrestis a description of humanity’s collective genius and the unstoppable movement to re-imagine our relationship to the environment and one another. Like Hawken’s previous books, Blessed Unrestwill become a classic in its field— a touchstone for anyone concerned about our future.

Download or read book The Population Bomb written by Paul R. Ehrlich and published by . This book was released on 1971 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Hedonic Eating written by Dr Nicole Avena and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-05-18 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Overeating and obesity are on the rise. Despite public health warnings, availability of diet books and programs, and the stigma associated with obesity, many people find it difficult to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. While there are many books on the topic of caloric or need-based eating, obesity and overeating can also result from eating that is not driven by hunger. Recent research found that excess food intake is largely driven by the palatability of food and the pleasure derived from eating. Hedonic Eating: How the Pleasure of Food Affects Our Brains and Behavior discusses the pleasurable aspects of food intake that may cause and perpetuate overconsumption. Broad in its scope, this book examines the various behavioral, biological, and social rewards of food. The comprehensive chapters cover topics ranging from the neurochemistry of food reward to the hotly debated concept of 'food addiction,' while providing relevant and up-to-date information from the current body of scientific literature regarding food reward.

Download or read book Sustainable healthy diets written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Considering the detrimental environmental impact of current food systems, and the concerns raised about their sustainability, there is an urgent need to promote diets that are healthy and have low environmental impacts. These diets also need to be socio-culturally acceptable and economically accessible for all. Acknowledging the existence of diverging views on the concepts of sustainable diets and healthy diets, countries have requested guidance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on what constitutes sustainable healthy diets. These guiding principles take a holistic approach to diets; they consider international nutrition recommendations; the environmental cost of food production and consumption; and the adaptability to local social, cultural and economic contexts. This publication aims to support the efforts of countries as they work to transform food systems to deliver on sustainable healthy diets, contributing to the achievement of the SDGs at country level, especially Goals 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality) and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Action).

Download or read book The New Economics of Sustainable Consumption written by G. Seyfang and published by Springer. This book was released on 2008-12-11 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a fresh look at sustainable consumption, exploring how grassroots community action can spread ideas in society. It presents a 'New Economics' approach based on alternative measures of wealth and value, examining how these are put into practice through local organic food systems, low-impact eco-housing, and complementary currencies.

Download or read book Designing for Zero Waste written by Steffen Lehmann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-03 with total page 615 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designing for Zero Waste is a timely, topical and necessary publication. Materials and resources are being depleted at an accelerating speed and rising consumption trends across the globe have placed material efficiency, waste reduction and recycling at the centre of many government policy agendas, giving them an unprecedented urgency. While there has been a considerable literature addressing consumption and waste reduction from different disciplinary perspectives, the complex nature of the problem requires an increasing degree of interdisciplinarity. Resource recovery and the optimisation of material flow can only be achieved alongside and through behaviour change to reduce the creation of material waste and wasteful consumption. This book aims to develop a more robust understanding of the links between lifestyle, consumption, technologies and urban development.

Download or read book Waste Management and Sustainable Consumption written by Karin M. Ekström and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-17 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The accelerated pace of global consumption over the past decades has meant that governments across the world are now faced with significant challenges in dealing with the dramatically increased volume of waste. While research on waste management has previously focused on finding technological solutions to the problem, this book uniquely examines the social and cultural views of waste, shedding new light on the topic by emphasising the consumer perspective throughout. Drawing on a wide variety of disciplines including environmental, economic, social and cultural theories, the book presents philosophical reflections, practical examples and potential solutions to the problem of increasing waste. It analyses and compares case studies from countries such as Sweden, Japan, the USA, India, Nigeria and Qatar, bringing out valuable insights for the international community and generating a critical discussion on how we can move towards a more sustainable society. This book will be of great interest to post-graduate students and researchers in environmental policy, waste management, social marketing and consumer behaviour, as well as policymakers and practitioners in consumer issues and business.

Download or read book Our Common Future written by and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book OECD Insights Sustainable Development Linking Economy Society Environment written by Strange Tracey and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2008-12-02 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A succinct examination of the concept of sustainable development: what it means; how it is impacted by globalisation, production and consumption; how it can be measured; and what can be done to promote it.

Download or read book How Much is Enough written by Alan Thein Durning and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1992 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It discusses the use of resources, pollution, and the distortions created in the economies of both wealthy industrialized nations and Third World countries.

Download or read book World Wide Waste How Digital Is Killing Our Planet and What We Can Do About It written by Gerry McGovern and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2020-03-13 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Speaking out when it's unpopular. Back in the day, Henry David Thoreau raged at the robber barons-the big shots of their age, despoiling the environment in the name of progress. Deep in the throes of the seemingly unstoppable growth of tech, a modern-day Thoreau has emerged in the guise of Gerry McGovern-decrying the massive, hidden negative impacts of tech on the environment. McGovern has thoroughly documented in World Wide Waste how tech damages the Earth-and what we should be doing about it. It is not just the acres of discarded computer hardware conveniently dumped in Third World countries. Every time an email is downloaded it contributes to global warming. Every tweet, search, check of a webpage creates pollution. Digital is physical. Those data centers are not in the Cloud. They're on land in massive physical buildings packed full of computers hungry for energy. It seems invisible. It seems cheap and free. It's not. Digital costs the Earth.