'In an important contribution to sustainability science, Fischer-Kowalski and Haberl extend the frontiers of contemporary socio-ecological research to articulate a theory of material, energy and land-use transitions across multiple scales based on detailed empirical studies in Europe and Asia. The insights it presents on agrarian-industrial transitions are crucial to understand the potential impact of emerging nations like India and China on global change.' - Aromar Revi, India China Institute, The New School University, US 'This volume represents the culmination of several years of empirical research and refinement of the social metabolism approach. That approach is one of the most exciting and illuminating innovations in the fields of human ecology, industrial ecology, and environmental history. Here the team from Vienna's Institute of Social Ecology shows masterfully how the insights of social metabolism shed light on transitions to high-energy society in Austria, in Britain, and in the world at large.' - J.R. McNeill, Georgetown University, US This significant new book analyses fundamental changes in society-nature interaction: the socioeconomic use of materials, energy and land. The volume presents a number of case studies addressing transitions from an agrarian to an industrial socioecological regime, analysed within the materials and energy flow accounting (MEFA) framework. It is argued that by concentrating on the biophysical dimensions of change in the course of industrialization, social development issues can be explicitly linked to changes in the natural environment. From the historical transition in Europe, to current transitions in developing countries, the book offers a broad and comprehensive analysis of transition processes across scales, from local to national. The comparison of historical and current assessments allows a theory of the underlying patterns of the agrarian-industrial transition to emerge. On this basis, future trends and possible pathways towards (or indeed further departures from) sustainability are discussed. Empirical in character and cautious in its assumptions, this insightful book provides rich and in-depth material for further studies in socioecological research. It will be essential reading for students and researchers of ecological economics, industrial ecology, human ecology, environmental sociology, environmental history, geography as well as land, energy and development studies.

Cities of Tomorrow is a critical history of planning in theory and practice in the twentieth century, as well as of the social and economic problems and opportunities that gave rise to it. Trenchant, perceptive, global in coverage, this book is an unrivalled account of its crucial subject. The third edition of Cities of Tomorrow is comprehensively revised to take account of abundant new literature published since its original appearance, and to view the 1990s in historical perspective. This is the definitive edition, reviewing the development of the modern planning movement over the entire span of the twentieth century.

The North American Mosaic has four overarching features. First, it is, to the extent feasible, based on comparable information on the status and trends of major indicators of the state of the environment in Canada,Mexico, and the United States. Second, the report confirms that these three countries together make up an incredibly complex, dynamic, and interconnected ecosystem in which humans play a dominant and decisive role. Third, the report raises important and sometimes disquieting questions concerning the sustainability of some current trends. Finally, the report is a reminder that our economic, social, and physical well-being are utterly dependent on the life-sustaining services provided by nature. This report emphasizes the importance of developing mutually compatible economic, social, and environmental goals and policies across the three-country region.

This book presents the research results of an interdisciplinary study on climate change policies by the Enforcing Environmental Policy (EEP) Network, a project supported by the Human Dimension Potential Programme. Contributions are from highly qualified economic and legal specialists based at research institutes across Europe. The book gives answers to several questions related to the implementation of the international rules on climate change, most notably the Kyoto Protocol. It analyses ways and means to facilitate and encourage compliance with the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol. It is addressed to policy-makers, academics, business-sector and stakeholders throughout and outside Europe. Due to its interdisciplinary approach, this work is a distinctive and unique product compared to the existing literature on the subject. The effective implementation of climate protection and clean air policy requires an understanding of the political, legal and economic structures and constraints facing policy makers - and this is exactly what this book offers.