Environment and Society - (Critical Introductions to Geography) 3rd Edition by Paul Robbins & John G Hintz & Sarah A Moore (Paperback)

About the Book

"This book is designed to explain these varied interpretive tools and perspectives and show them in operation. Our strategy is first to present the dominant modes of thinking about environment-society relations and then to apply them to a few familiar objects of the world around us. By environment, we mean the whole of the aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric non-human world, including specific objects in their varying forms, like trees, carbon dioxide, or water, as well as the organic and inorganic systems and processes that link and transform them, like photosynthesis, predator-prey relationships, or soil erosion. Society, conversely, includes the humans of the Earth and the larger systems of culture, politics, and economic exchange that govern their interrelationships. From the outset we must insist that these two categories are interlaced and impossible to separate. Humans are obviously environmental beings subject to organic processes. Equally problematically, environmental processes are also fundamentally social, in the sense that they link people and influence human relationships. Photosynthesis is the basis of agriculture, for example, and so is perhaps the most critical environmental process in the history of civilization. More complex: human transformation of carbon levels in the atmosphere may further alter global photosynthesis in a dramatic way, with implications for human food and social organization. Obviously, it is difficult to tell where the environment leaves off and society begins. On the other hand, there is not universal agreement on these relationships and linkages. The perspectives summarized in this text present very different views about which parts of society and environment are connected to which, under what conditions these change or can be altered, and what the best courses of action tend to be, with enormous implications for both thinking about our place in the ecosystem and solving very immediate problems like global warming, deforestation, or the decline in the world's fisheries"--

Book Synopsis

A comprehensive yet accessible introduction to the conceptual tools used to explore real-world environmental problems

Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, Third Edition demonstrates how theoretical approaches such as environmental ethics, political economy, and social construction work as conceptual tools to identify and clarify contemporary environmental issues. Assuming no background knowledge in the subject, this reader-friendly textbook uses clear language and engaging examples to first describe nine key conceptual tools, and then apply them to a variety of familiar objects--from bottled water and French fries to trees, wolves, and carbon dioxide. Throughout the text, highly accessible chapters provide insight into the relationship between the environment and present-day society.

Divided into two parts, the text begins by explaining major theoretical approaches for interpreting the environment-society relationship and discussing different perspectives about environmental problems. Part II examines a series of objects, each viewed through a sample of the theoretical tools from Part I, helping readers think critically about critical environmental topics such as deforestation, climate change, the global water supply, and hazardous e-waste. This fully revised third edition stresses a wider range of competing ways of thinking about environmental issues and features additional cases studies, up-to-date conceptual understandings, and new chapters in Part I on racializd environments and feminist approaches. Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, Third Edition:

• Covers theoretical lenses such as commodities, environmental ethics, and risks and hazards, and applies them to touchstone environment-society objects like wolves, tuna, trees, and carbon dioxide
• Uses a conversational narrative to explain key historical events, topical issues and policies, and scientific concepts
• Features substantial revisions and updates, including new chapters on feminism and race, and improved maps and illustrations
• Includes a wealth of in-book and online resources, including exercises and boxed discussions, chapter summaries, review questions, references, suggested readings, an online test bank, and internet links
• Provides additional instructor support such as suggested teaching models, full-color PowerPoint slides, and supplementary teaching material

Retaining the innovative approach of its predecessors, Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, Third Edition remains the ideal textbook for courses in environmental issues, environmental science, and nature and society theory.

From the Back Cover

Praise for the prior edition

"This masterful synthesis of environment-society scholarship brings together cutting-edge ways of thinking about nature/society entanglements with highly grounded objects of exploration -- from lawns to bottled water to uranium. The dynamic and accessible writing style belies the book's empirical and theoretical sophistication. For upper-level undergrads and lower-level graduate students of environment-society relations, this new edition remains the 'go-to' text in the field."
Kendra McSweeny, Ohio State University Columbus

"As an introductory text reflecting contemporary scholarship via plural perspectives and hybrid objects, Environment and Society continues to innovate."
Jim Proctor, Lewis & Clark College

Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, Third Edition demonstrates how theoretical approaches such as environmental ethics, political economy, and social construction can be used to identify and clarify contemporary environmental issues, hence providing insight into the relationship between the environment and present-day society. Assuming no background knowledge in the subject, this reader-friendly textbook uses clear language and engaging examples to first describe nine key conceptual tools, and then apply them to a variety of familiar objects--from bottled water and French fries to trees, wolves, and carbon dioxide.

This fully revised third edition stresses a wider range of competing ways of thinking about environmental issues and features additional cases studies, up-to-date conceptual understandings, and new chapters on racialized environments and feminist approaches. Featuring a wealth of in-book and online resources such as exercises and boxed discussions, chapter summaries, review questions, suggested readings, an online test bank, and internet links, Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction remains the most comprehensive and accessible introduction to the conceptual tools used to explore real-world environmental problems.

Retaining the innovative approach of the prior editions, Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, Third Edition is the ideal textbook for courses in environmental issues, environmental science, and nature and society theory.

About the Author

Paul Robbins is Professor and Dean of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. His research interests focus on understanding human-environment systems, the influence non-humans have on human behavior and organization, and the implications these interactions hold for ecosystem health, local communities, and social justice. He is also author of Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction, now in its third edition (Wiley Blackwell, 2019).

John G. Hintz is Professor of Environmental, Geographical, and Geological Sciences at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, USA. His research interests include the politics of public lands management, mapping protected areas, and sustainable agriculture. He has published in several journals, including Capitalism Nature Socialism and Ethics, Place & Environment.

Sarah A. Moore is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. Her research investigates the political, economic, and social dimensions of waste management at several scales. Her publications include articles in numerous journals including Progress in Human Geography, The Professional Geographer, and Society and Natural Resources.