The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability
 | Yale University Press, 2008, Hardcover Customer Rating: 12 reviews Recommend |
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How serious are the threats to our environment? Here is one measure of the problem: if we continue to do exactly what we are doing, with no growth in the human population or the world economy, the world in the latter part of this century will be unfit to live in. Of course human activities are not holding at current levels—they are accelerating, dramatically—and so, too, is the pace of climate disruption, biotic impoverishment, and toxification. In this book Gus Speth, author of Red Sky at Morning and a widely respected environmentalist, begins with the observation that the environmental community has grown in strength and sophistication, but the environment has continued to decline, to the point that we are now at the edge of catastrophe.
Speth contends that this situation is a severe indictment of the economic and political system we call modern capitalism. Our vital task is now to change the operating instructions for today’s destructive world economy before it is too late. The book is about how to do that.
(20080129)Title: The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability
Sales Rank: 10397 in Books
Author: James Gustave Speth
Publisher: Yale University Press, 2008-03-28, Hardcover, 320 pages, ISBN: 0300136110
Package Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches, 0.95 pounds
- Sobering facts on the state of the planet
- An Ivy League dean trained as a lawyer, James Gustave Speth lays out evidence to show that life on this planet is being pushed to an end. Marshalling sobering facts, he illustrates how humankind has taxed the Earth's resources beyond its capacity to regenerate. By creating a culture that worships consumption, capitalism has combined with political self-interest and misguided policies to hasten the… More reviews
- Speth is better than a mere "critic".
- Speth provides a critique of western social, economic and political models. While explaining the very real dangers of sustaining the present trend what is even more important is his ability to convey hope and a vision of what we might be able to achieve rather than mere doom-saying and. This is an important lesson critics of all political stripes need to learn - its not enough… More reviews
- The view on this bridge is inspiring.
- The view from the Bridge at the Edge of the World is inspiring. Dean Speth offers hope if you are willing to work hard to make the world a better place for humans and all other life. He challenges the cultural values that lead us to avarice and greed and insists that we can do better, we can do much better. We can rise up to become… More reviews
- excellent discussion of environmental crisis and role of capitalism
- The Bridge at the Edge of the World, by James Gustave Speth, is begins with an excellent review of the depth and immediacy of the environmental crisis that faces humanity. The initial graphs give a clear and sobering pictorial representation of the the growing calamity. Paper use, water consumption, species extinction, ozone depletion, CO2 concentration - all of these are on the… More reviews
- The Bridge at the Edge of the World
- The ideas presented are excellent, logical, and thought provoking!!!
The book was sometimes hard for me to follow due to less than complete information. It is dull at times. The author is no Thomas Friedman.… More reviews
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- Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America
- Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, Third Edition
- Earth: The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming
- Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet
