The rapid industrialization of societies has resulted in radical changes to the Earth’s biosphere and its local ecosystems. Climate scientists have recorded and forecasted worrying global temperature rises going back to the early twentieth century, while biologists and palaeontologists have suggested that the next mass extinction is on its way if the current rate of species loss continues. To avert further ecological damage, excessive natural resource use and environmental deterioration are challenges that humanity must deal with now. The human species has had such a significant impact on the natural environment that the present geological epoch can be referred to as the ‘Anthropocene’, the age of humans. The blame and responsibility for the prevailing unsustainability, however, cannot be assigned equally to all humans. To analyse the root problems and consequences of unsustainable development, as well as to outline rigorous solutions for the contemporary age, this transdisciplinary book brings together natural and social sciences under the rubric of the Anthropocene. The book identifies the central preconditions for social organization and governance to enable the peaceful coexistence of humans and the non-human world. The contributors investigate the burning questions of sustainability from a number of different perspectives including geosciences, economics, law, organizational studies, political theory and philosophy. The book is a state-of-the-art review of the Anthropocene debate and provides crucial signposts for how human activities can, and should, be changed.

This book provides insight into Anthropocene-related studies by IPRA’s Ecology and Peace Commission. The first three chapters discuss the linkage between disasters and conflict risk reduction, responses to socio-environmental disasters in high-intensity conflict scenarios and the fragile state of disaster response with a special focus on aid-state-society relations in post-conflict settings. The two following chapters analyse climate-smart agriculture and a sustainable food system for a sustainable-engendered peace and the ethnology of select indigenous cultural resources for climate change adaptation focusing on the responses of the Abagusii in Kenya. A specific case study focuses on social representations and the family as a social institution in transition in Mexico, while the last chapter deals with sustainable peace through sustainability transition as transformative science concluding with a peace ecology perspective for the Anthropocene.

A proposal to reframe the Anthropocene as an age of actual and emerging coexistence with earth system variability, encompassing both human dignity and environmental sustainability. Is this the Anthropocene, the age in which humans have become a geological force, leaving indelible signs of their activities on the earth? The narrative of the Anthropocene so far is characterized by extremes, emergencies, and exceptions—a tale of apocalypse by our own hands. The sense of ongoing crisis emboldens policy and governance responses that challenge established systems of sovereignty and law. The once unacceptable—geoengineering technology, for example, or authoritarian decision making—are now anticipated and even demanded by some. To counter this, Amanda Lynch and Siri Veland propose a reframing of the Anthropocene—seeing it not as a race against catastrophe but as an age of emerging coexistence with earth system variability. Lynch and Veland examine the interplay between our new state of ostensible urgency and the means by which this urgency is identified and addressed. They examine how societies, including Indigenous societies, have understood such interplays; explore how extreme weather and climate weave into the Anthropocene narrative; consider the tension between the short time scale of disasters and the longer time scale of sustainability; and discuss both international and national approaches to Anthropocene governance. Finally, they argue for an Anthropocene of coexistence that embraces both human dignity and sustainability.

In the Anthropocene sustainable development responds to socio-economic, environmental and political crises provoked by humankind due to global warming and the great acceleration of human intervention in ecosystems. This book introduces readers to current debates on sustainable development and to a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. Regional integration and supranational institutions are fundamental for sustainable development. The democratisation of the international system requires a new multilateralism. Global problems of demography, economic ideology of unlimited growth, the prevailing technocratic paradigm, consumerism, problems of waste, fossil fuels, industrial food production, use of fertilisers, water management and climate change are discussed, and the importance of multilateral agreements for security, sustainable peace and development is explored. This planetary crisis may be solved by international cooperation based on the UN sustainable development goals. This book - provides a concise synthesis of the main subjects of sustainable development studies- links development studies to multilateral diplomacy as practised by UN bodies and organisations- gives a new holistic and multidisciplinary approach to environmental and social sciences in the Anthropocene epoch.

Clearly lays out the issues related to plastics' effects on the environment, while also serving as a practical, non-academic guide for making sustainability decisions about plastics recycling and the newest bio-based plastics Company managers, product developers, policy makers, environmental researchers, and plastics industry engineers are under increasing pressure to find ways of minimizing the environmental footprint of plastic products. This accessible book is designed to help readers understand the life-cycle impacts of various plastics, clarifying the technical research and practical arguments to show when bio-based and recycled plastics might be useful options for reducing the overall energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste associated with traditional plastics. Plastics and Sustainability compares traditional fossil fuel-based plastics with bio-based plastics in terms of properties, environmental impacts, and costs -- indicating what the most effective approaches could be for using recycled, biodegradable, or various bio-based materials. The book makes objective comparisons between bioplastics and all commonly used plastics, focusing on how they affect production economics, product requirements, and retailer and consumer needs. It incorporates research concerning life-cycle assessment, production techniques, and commercial applications, and presents "green" guidelines about product design, recycling, processing efficiency, and material selection. The book also reports on recent industry developments and commercial trends in an effort to synthesize conclusions that are necessary for finding the right balance between bio-based and fossil-fuel based plastic products. Check out the author's blog at http://www.plastech.biz/blog.

Through various international case studies presented by both practitioners and scholars, Environmental Justice in the Anthropocene explores how an environmental justice approach is necessary for reflections on inequality in the Anthropocene and for forging societal transitions toward a more just and sustainable future. Environmental justice is a central component of sustainability politics during the Anthropocene – the current geological age in which human activity is the dominant influence on climate and the environment. Every aspect of sustainability politics requires a close analysis of equity implications, including problematizing the notion that humans as a collective are equally responsible for ushering in this new epoch. Environmental justice provides us with the tools to critically investigate the drivers and characteristics of this era and the debates over the inequitable outcomes of the Anthropocene for historically marginalized peoples. The contributors to this volume focus on a critical approach to power and issues of environmental injustice across time, space, and context, drawing from twelve national contexts: Austria, Bangladesh, Chile, China, India, Nicaragua, Hungary, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Tanzania, and the United States. Beyond highlighting injustices, the volume highlights forward-facing efforts at building just transitions, with a goal of identifying practical steps to connect theory and movement and envision an environmentally and ecologically just future. This interdisciplinary work will be of great interest to students, scholars, and practitioners focused on conservation, environmental politics and governance, environmental and earth sciences, environmental sociology, environment and planning, environmental justice, and global sustainability and governance. It will also be of interest to social and environmental justice advocates and activists.

"Current debates on sustainability are largely building on a problematic assumption that increasing technology use and advancement are a desired phenomenon, creating positive change in human organizations. This kind of techno-optimism prevails particularly in the discourses of ecological modernization and green growth, as well as in the attempts to design sustainable modes of production and consumption within growth-driven capitalism. This transdisciplinary book investigates the philosophical underpinnings of technology, presents a culturally sensitive critique of technology, and outlines feasible alternatives for sustainability beyond technology. By examining the conflicts and contradictions between technology and sustainability in human organizations, the book develops a novel way to conceptualize, confront and change technology in modern society. The book draws on a variety of scholarly disciplines, including humanities (philosophy and environmental history), social sciences (ecological economics, political economy, and ecology) and natural sciences (geology and thermodynamics) to contribute to sustainability theory and policy"--Publisher's description.