Rockström et al, 2009 ) that humans, along with all other species, have depended upon for their wellbeing and survival. A proposed term to identify this new era, the Anthropocene, emphasizes how humans have impacted these developments as they transitioned from being ‘insignificant animals’ to being a significant ‘geological force’ ( Holley and Shearing, 2018 ) over the past couple of centuries. Ontological and epistemological developments that recognize the human/non-human entanglements that the Anthropocene foregrounds, have challenged conceptions that posit the
Should humanity prepare for life on a less habitable planet? Under the influence of human intervention, transformations of the terrestrial environments have been profound and, for the societies that have produced them, it has become increasingly difficult to act as if they were negligible. Pressures on the natural milieu have increased, but have also weighed in return on social functionings. As a consequence, the ability for humans to continue to dispose of ‘liveable’ environments is becoming more uncertain. As suggested by the term ‘Anthropocene’, intended to
the Modest Story need not be in conflict with each other. We need every bit of technological insight and innovation that we can muster to understand and measure climate change, design renewable energy sources, phase out carbon fuels, stop the loss of biodiversity and the erosion of our soil, and deal with the fallout of global warming. But we should be guided by holistic and relational ways of knowing. The concept of the Anthropocene signifies that human activity is entangled with the rest of the Earth in a multitude of ways: through geological, meteorological
111 SEVEN Social work, climate change and the Anthropocene The six-month period from January to June [2016] was the warmest half-year on NASA’s [North American Space Agency’s] global temperature record, with an average temperature that was 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the late nineteenth century. This follows 2015, which was the warmest year on record and among the warmest decade on record. The ongoing warming trend – as well as the increasing frequency and severity of high-humidity heat waves – is ultimately driven by rising
As the biodiversity crisis deepens, Anna Wienhues sets out radical environmental thinking and action to respond to the threat of mass species extinction.
The book conceptualises large-scale injustice endangering non-humans, and signposts new approaches to the conservation of a shared planet. Developing principles of distributive ecological justice, it builds towards a bold vision of just conservation that can inform the work of policy makers and activists.
This is a timely, original and compelling investigation into ethics in the natural world during the Anthropocene, and a call for biocentric ecological justice before it is too late.
Human population growth is a serious biospheric problem yet is largely overlooked. Because of the neglect of demography, environmental policies — while well-intentioned – are unlikely to succeed.
This book gives a concise review of world fertility rates and population growth, and offers a valuable summary of studies of the impact of over-population on the biosphere. In addition, the book explains key demographic variables to consider when formulating law and government policy relevant to childbearing, and it summarizes findings of social science research – findings that contradict popular assumptions about the impact of government interventions addressing the frequency of childbearing and immigration.
What are the theoretical and conceptual framings of rural criminology across the world? Thinking creatively about the challenges of rural crime and policing, in this stimulating collection of essays experts in this emerging field draw from theories of modernity, feminism, climate change, left realism and globalisation.
This first book in the Research in Rural Crime series offers state-of-the-art scholarship from across the globe, and considers the future agenda for the discipline.
How can we create a thriving life for us all that doesn’t come at the price of ecological destruction?
This book calls to explore our collective and personal convictions about success and good life. It challenges the mainstream worldview, rooted in economics, that equates happiness with pleasure, and encourages greed, materialism, egoism and disconnection.
Drawing on science and ancient Greek philosophers the author details how we can cultivate our skills for enjoying life without harming ourselves or others, and can live an autonomous, creative and connected life. Complementary to our intellectual understanding, the experiential method of role play and theatre can powerfully facilitate the exploration of the inner drivers and hindrances of a thriving life.
Thinking about climate change can create a paralyzing sense of hopelessness. But what about the idea of a planetary exodus? Are high tech solutions like colonizing other planets just another distraction from taking real action?
This radical book unsettles how we think about taking responsibility for environmental catastrophe.
Going beyond both hopelessness and false hope in his development of a ‘sociology of the very worst’, Hill debunks the idea of a society that centres human beings and calls for us to take responsibility for sustaining a coexistence of animals, plants and minerals bound by one planet.
We would then find the centre of our moral gravity here together on earth.
