Fatal Consumption
Fatal Consumption
Rethinking Sustainable Development
Why do we claim to value sustainability while acting in anunsustainable fashion? How can we reduce our consumption drasticallyand move toward a sustainable social system when our society isspecifically based on consumption? These two linked questions are atthe heart of this important book, the result of a four-yearinterdisciplinary study of British Columbia's Lower FraserBasin.
Taking the slogan "think globally, act locally" to heart,the contributors to Fatal Consumption are theoretical as wellas practical. They conceptualize the policy analysis they provide,while also proposing useful tools for those charged with makingdecisions. Though specific in focus, the analysis in FatalConsumption can be generalized to most North American urban areas.It offers both an understanding of the present and hope for asustainable future, counterbalancing a discussion of the opportunitiesfor change with a frank examination of the barriers to such change.
Fatal Consumption will appeal to urban planners, to policymakers, and to scholars and others interested in the relationshipbetween health and a sustainable society.
The subject of the book is critically important. What is really innovative here is the focus on health and sustainability and the attempt to find some common ground between the two. To my knowledge there have been few attempts to bridge this chasm.
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Fatal Consumption (When Too Much Is Not Enough) /Robert F. Woollard
Part 1: The Global Reality of Sustainability
1. Ecological Footprints and the Pathology of Consumption /William E. Rees
2. Global Consumption from the Perspective of Population Health /Clyde Hertzman and Shona Kelly
3. Social Capital, Civil Society, and Social Transformation /Michael Carr
Part 2: The Box We Are In and Some Ways Out
4. What Is Stopping Sustainability? Examining the Barriers toImplementation of Clouds of Change / Jennie L. Moore
5. Integrating Economy, Society, and Environment Through PolicyAssessment / Peter Boothroyd
6. Local versus Central Influences in Planning for Community Health/ Lawrence W. Green and Jean A. Shoveller
Part 3: Case Examples and the Reason for Hope
7. The City of Richmond: Reflections on Sustainability in Action /Janette McIntosh and Robert F. Woollard
8. The BC Sawmill Industry: A Case Study of Community and EcologicalSustainability / Aleck Ostry
Conclusion: Working Together and the Prospect for Hope / RobertF. Woollard
Contributors
Index
