Plastic Unlimited

Author: Alice Mah
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509549471
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 123

Book Description
Despite the global movement to tackle plastic pollution, demand for plastics continues to rise. As the world transitions away from fossil fuels, plastics are set to be the biggest driver of oil demand. Single-use plastics – deemed essential in the fight against COVID-19 – have been given a new lease of life. In a world beset with crisis fatigue, what can we do to curb the escalating plastics crisis? In this book, Alice Mah reveals how petrochemical and plastics corporations have fought relentlessly to protect and expand plastics markets in the face of existential threats to business. From denying the toxic health effects of plastics to co-opting circular economy solutions to plastic waste and exploiting the opportunities offered up by the global pandemic, industry has deflected attention from the key problem: plastics production. The consequences of unfettered plastics growth are pernicious and highly unequal. We all have a part to play in reducing plastics consumption but we must tackle the problem at its root: the capitalist imperative for limitless growth.

Crude Capitalism

Author: Adam Hanieh
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1839763426
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
A groundbreaking history of oil and it's importance to US politics, finance, militarism and consumerism from an award-winning author and scholar This expansive history traces the hidden connections between oil and capitalism from the late 1800s to the current climate crisis. Beyond simplistic narratives that frame oil as 'prize' or 'curse', Crude Capitalism uncovers the surprising ways that oil is woven into the fabric of our modern world: the rise of an American-centered global order; the breakdown of Empire and anti-colonial rebellion; contemporary finance and US dollar hegemony; debt and militarism; and the emergence of new forms of synthetic consumption. Much more than an energy source or transport fuel, oil has a foundational place in all aspects of contemporary life - no challenge to the fossil fuel industry can be effective without taking this fact seriously. Crude Capitalism maps the varied geographies of oil, including the rise of OPEC, the importance of revolutionary and Post-Soviet Russia, the crucial role of African upstream reserves, and the new petrochemical circuits that link the Middle East, China, and East Asia. The book provides an original and fine-grained empirical analysis of corporate ownership and control, including refining and petrochemicals. By exposing these structures of power and placing oil in capitalism, the book makes an essential contribution to debates around oil-dependency and the struggle for climate justice.

Consumer Society and Ecological Crisis

Author: Leslie M. Meier
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000841243
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Book Description
Consumer Society and Ecological Crisis advances a critique of consumer capitalism and its role in driving environmental degradation and climate crisis, placing a spotlight on how marketing and distribution activities help maintain unsustainable levels of consumption. Rather than focusing on the most visible sites of promotional communication, Meier examines less conspicuous facets of marketing and logistics in distinct chapters on plastic packaging, e-commerce, and sustainability pledges in the fossil fuel sector. These three main chapters each explore links between ecological crisis and consumer capitalism, drawing on critical theory and Marxist thought. The topics of consumer convenience, speed, and economic growth – and the role of fossil fuels as guarantor of these logics of consumer society – unite the critical analysis. Situated in the field of media and communication studies and adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this book will be of interest to academics, researchers, and students in the areas of media and communication studies, cultural studies, sociology, geography, philosophy, political science, and advertising.

Global Environmental Politics in a Turbulent Era

Author: Peter Dauvergne
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1802207147
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 253

Book Description
With the rapid destabilization, escalation and convergence of various environmental crises, global environmental politics is facing extreme turbulence. Tracing the causes, consequences and dangers of planetary turbulence, this essential book identifies the emerging opportunities to improve governance in environmental politics and transition the world order toward greater equity, justice and sustainability.

Sustainable Economic Development

Author: Giorgos Meramveliotakis
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040184138
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 283

Book Description
Drawing on political economy and economic pluralism, this book explores issues in sustainable economic development from a macro perspective. In contrast to the vast majority of studies on contemporary development problems, which are focused on micro-level theory, method, and policy, this volume brings together both heterodox and mainstream perspectives. The international cast of contributors thus brings a pluralistic approach to core contemporary topics including digital transformation, climate change, degrowth and the effects of the pandemic crisis. Methods range from frameworks used to analyse public policy and institutional change, to modes of analyses including historically grounded narratives and conceptualisations of grand theories. Each chapter surveys the origins, development, key features, applications, and frontiers of a particular viewpoint, framework, or mode of analysis. This book makes a vital contribution to the literature on economic development, sustainable development, capitalism, and sustainability more broadly.

Change Everything

Author: Natalie Bennett
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
ISBN: 1800183038
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
We are living in a social, political, economic and environmental emergency. The status quo is profoundly unstable; change is inevitable. Now is the time to get together to build a far healthier and more balanced world, it is time to Change Everything. Natalie Bennett is on a mission to transform the way we think about our world. She explains how universal basic income will decommodify time and free people up to choose how best to use their energy and talents; she emphasises the importance of free education for everyone, for life; she encourages the pooling of assets, from sharing tools with your neighbour to fairly enjoying the planet’s natural resources. From organising a litter pick or petitioning for a pedestrian crossing, from rethinking the financial markets and tax havens to re-evaluating the criminal justice system, Natalie has formulated a holistic, hopeful and practical vision for the future where people can really ‘do politics’. If we can bring together the imagination, talents and energy of everyone invested in change to rebuild and repair our societies, then a positive future is within our reach.

Research Handbook on Sustainability and Competition Law

Author: Julian Nowag
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1802204660
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 589

Book Description
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com. This Research Handbook explores the complex interplay between competition law and sustainability, and also provides key insights into the role and limitations that tax, environmental laws, consumer laws, and social laws have in promoting sustainability. A distinguished array of international experts examine core principles of environmental and social sustainability, delve into the economic dynamics that shape this multidimensional relationship, and critically analyse how competition law and policy can both positively and negatively shape sustainability outcomes.

Recycling Class

Author: Manisha Anantharaman
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262546973
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 293

Book Description
An ethnographic and community-engaged study of the class, caste, and gender politics of environmental mobilizations around Bengaluru, India’s discards. In Recycling Class, Manisha Anantharaman examines the ideas, flows, and relationships around unmanaged discards in Bengaluru, India, itself a massive environmental problem of planetary proportions, to help us understand what types of coalitions deliver social justice within sustainability initiatives. Recycling Class links middle-class, sustainable consumption with the environmental labor of the working poor to offer a relational analysis of urban sustainability politics and practice. Through ethnographic, community-based research, Anantharaman shows how diverse social groups adopt, contest, and modify neoliberal sustainability’s emphasis on market-based solutions, behavior change, and the aesthetic conflation of “clean” with “green.” Tracing garbage politics in Bengaluru for over a decade, Anantharaman argues that middle class “communal sustainability” efforts create new avenues for waste picker organizations to make claims for infrastructural inclusion. Coproduced “DIY infrastructures” serve as sites of citizenship and political negotiation, challenging the technocratic and growth-based logics of dominant sustainability policies. Yet, these configurations reproduce class, caste, and gender-based divisions of labor, demonstrating that inclusion without social reform can reproduce unjust distributions of risk and responsibility. Revealing the “win-win” fallacy of sustainability and foregrounding the agency of communities excluded from environmental policy, Recycling Class will appeal to scholars and activists alike who want to create a future with more transformative sustainability.

Global Impacts of Micro- and Nano-Plastic Pollution

Author: Gaur, Nisha
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 448

Book Description
The presence of micro- and nano-plastic pollution has emerged as a critical threat to environmental sustainability. As plastic materials degrade into smaller particles, less than 5 millimeters in size, they infiltrate terrestrial ecosystems, posing a danger to both the environment and human health. Despite the ongoing efforts of scientists worldwide, the scientific community still faces significant challenges in fully grasping the complexity and degradation of these microplastics and nanoplastics, let alone finding effective solutions to curb their further spread. As the urgency to address this issue grows, there is a pressing need for a comprehensive resource that delves into the intricacies of micro- and nano-plastic pollution and offers actionable insights for mitigation. Global Impacts of Micro- and Nano-Plastic Pollution meticulously tackles the multifaceted challenges posed by plastic pollution in our global ecosystems. Authored by esteemed experts in the field, this book offers a holistic analysis of micro-plastics and nano-plastics, providing readers with invaluable insights into their characterization, sources, and fate in the environment. Through comprehensive case studies and cutting-edge research, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the adverse effects of broken-down plastics pollution on soil health, plant biology, and overall ecological balance.

Historical Dictionary of Environmentalism

Author: Peter Dauvergne
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 153819144X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 377

Book Description
Historical Dictionary and Environmentalism, Third Edition provides a balanced and wide-ranging overview of the most important events, issues, organizations, ideas, and people shaping the direction of environmentalism worldwide. This book is global in scope, covering a large range of perspectives and countries with a focus on the period since 1960. This book contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 400 cross-referenced entries on organizations, people, issues, events, and countries shaping environmentalism. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about environmentalism.