Though China's economy is projected to become the world's largest within the next twenty years, industrial pollution threatens both the health of the country's citizens and the natural resources on which their economy depends. Capturing the consequences of this reality, Bryan Tilt conducts an in-depth, ethnographic study of Futian Township, a rural community reeling from pollution. The industrial township is located in the populous southwestern province of Sichuan. Three local factories-a zinc smelter, a coking plant, and a coal-washing plant-produce air and water pollution that far exceeds the standards set by the World Health Organization and China's Ministry of Environmental Protection. Interviewing state and company officials, factory workers, farmers, and scientists, Tilt shows how residents cope with this pollution and how they view its effects on health and economic growth. Striking at the heart of the community's environmental values, he explores the intersection between civil society and environmental policy, weighing the tradeoffs between protection and economic growth. Tilt ultimately finds that the residents are quite concerned about pollution, and he investigates the various strategies they use to fight it. His study unravels the complexity of sustainable development within a rapidly changing nation.

First published in 1998, this book provides a broad but in-depth description of the issues, concepts, methods of analysis, and empirical results related to the sustainable development of agriculture and rural communities. Specifically, it examines the relationships between sustainability and individual topics such as technology, information, population, gender, land use, community, and public policy. A unique aspect of this book is that the topics addressed have not previously been explored together in one publication. With sustainability as the common link, data and evidence are presented and then interpreted in light of individual perspective and experience, in the process advancing our knowledge of this important field. The book comprises of 12 chapters written by prominent authors who come from government and non-government organizations as well as from various academic institutions and disciplines. This book is ideal for a seminar course. It is particularly intended for students in production agriculture, rural sociology, economics and public policy, environmental sciences, geography and land use planning, and other social sciences. Its rich insights make it a useful source of information for policy makers. It can also be used as a reference by professional economists and other researchers interested in issues relating to sustainable agricultural and rural development. While the coverage of some topics is, by necessity, more technical, the book is compiled with a general audience in mind. Thus, it should be of interest to anyone concerned with agriculture, natural resources and rural issues, particularly as they relate to the future of agriculture and of rural communities.

In a neo-liberal era where society in the Developed World is reliant on mass-produced cheap foods, and living standards are based on high consumption of non-renewable energy and materials, this book investigates the growing significance of sustainable systems in rural areas. Drawing on a wide range of topical case studies, primarily in the UK, it provides an in-depth analysis of the progress made towards sustainability within rural systems, focusing specifically upon sustainable agriculture and sustainable rural communities. The authors provide an overview of the various systems of sustainability currently being applied in the Developed World. They highlight key environmental, economic and social issues, including post-productivism, 'alternative' food networks, organic farming, GM foods, conservation, rural development programmes, sustainable tourism, local training schemes and community participation. The various studies provide important lessons in the ongoing search for greater sustainability and suggest positive directions for future policy practice.

Environmental activism in rural places frequently pits residents whose livelihood depends on resource extraction against those who seek to protect natural spaces and species. While many studies have focused on women who seek to protect the natural environment, few have explored the perspectives of women who seek to maintain resource use. This book goes beyond the dichotomies of "pro" and "anti" environmentalism to tell the stories of these women. Maureen Reed uses participatory action research to explain the experiences of women who seek to protect forestry as an industry, a livelihood, a community, and a culture. She links their experiences to policy making by considering the effects of environmental policy changes on the social dynamics of workplaces, households, and communities in forestry towns of British Columbia's temperate rainforest. The result is a critical commentary about the social dimensions of sustainability in rural communities. A powerful and challenging book, Taking Stands provides a crucial understanding of community change in resource-dependent regions, and helps us to better tackle the complexities of gender and activism as they relate to rural sustainability. Social and environmental geographers, feminist scholars, and those engaged in rural studies, environmental sustainability, and community planning will find it invaluable.

This book examines the interaction of the dimensions of economy, society, and environment in the context of rural systems. It embraces a wide range of topics, including globalization and reregulation in sustainable food production, conservation and sustainability, the development of sustainable rural communities, and sustainable rural-urban interaction. It is relevant to advanced-level students, teachers, researchers, policymakers and agency workers.

In a neo-liberal era where society in the Developed World is reliant on mass-produced cheap foods, and living standards are based on high consumption of non-renewable energy and materials, this book investigates the growing significance of sustainable systems in rural areas. Drawing on a wide range of topical case studies, primarily in the UK, it provides an in-depth analysis of the progress made towards sustainability within rural systems, focusing specifically upon sustainable agriculture and sustainable rural communities. The authors provide an overview of the various systems of sustainability currently being applied in the Developed World. They highlight key environmental, economic and social issues, including post-productivism, 'alternative' food networks, organic farming, GM foods, conservation, rural development programmes, sustainable tourism, local training schemes and community participation. The various studies provide important lessons in the ongoing search for greater sustainability and suggest positive directions for future policy practice.

1. Rural change and sustainability: key themes - Andrew Gilg, Stephen Essex and Richard Yarwood. 2. Fordism rampant: the model and reality, as applied to production, processing and distribution in the North American agro-food system - Michael Troughton. 3. Feedlot growth in Southern Alberta: a neo-fordist interpretation - Ian MacLachlan. 4. People and hogs: agricultural restructuring and the contested countryside in agro-Manitoba - Douglas Ramsey, John Everitt and Lyndenn Behm. 5. Global markets, local foods: the paradoxes of aquaculture - Joan Marshall. 6. Alternative or conventional? An examination of specialist livestock production systems in the Scottish-English borders - Brian Ilbery and Damian Maye. 7. Agritourism: selling traditions of local food production, family, and rural Americana to maintain family farming heritage - Deborah Che, Gregory Veeck, and Ann Veeck. 8. Re-imaging agriculture: making the case for farming at the agricultural show - Lewis Holloway. 9. Stewardship, 'proper' farming and environmental gain: contrasting experiences of agri-environmental schemes in Canada and the EU - Guy M. Robinson. 10. Stemming the urban tide: policy and attitudinal changes for saving the Canadian countryside - Hugh J Gayler. 11. Vulnerability and sustainability concerns for the U.S. High Plains - Lisa M. Butler Harrington, Kansas State University. 12. Environmental ghost towns - Chris Mayla. 13. Interpreting family farm change and the agricultural importance of rural communities: evidence from Ontario, Canada - John Smithers. 14. Engagement with the land: redemption of the rural residence Ffantasy? - Kirsten Valentine Cadieux. 15. Mammoth Cave National Park and rural economic development - Katie Algeo. 16. Assessing variation in rural America's housing stock: case studies from growing and declining areas - Holly R. Barcus. 17. The geography of housing needs of low income persons in rural Canada - David Bruce. 18. Social change in rural North Carolina - Owen J. Furuseth. 19. Finding the 'region' in rural regional governance - Ann K. Deakin. 20. Corporate-community relations in the tourism sector: a stakeholder perspective - Alison M Gill and Peter W Williams. 21. Resource town transition: debates after closure - Greg Halseth. 22. Narratives of community-based resource management in the American West - Randall K. Wilson. 23. Youth, partnerships and participation - Christine Corcoran. 24. Conclusion - John Smithers and Randall Wilson.