Environmentalism for a New Millennium: The Challenge of Coevolution - Hardcover

Leslie Paul Thiele is Professor of Political Science at the University of Fliorida.

"Thiele's book provides a comprehensive review of the national environmental movement. His analysis of the political, economic, social, and cultural factors underlying today's environmental problems also identifies changes needed in the next century. The opening chapter summarizes the history of the conservation movement in the US. Four waves of national environmental activity are presented, beginning with a period of conservation and responsible resource use from the mid-1800s to 1960. A second wave, identified as containment of environmental degradation by an industrial society, spans 1960s to 1980s. A period of co-optation, or mainstreaming environmentalism, is placed into the 1980s and the present decade. . . . Overall, a valuable blueprint for future environmental action. It should be widely read and is especially recommended for social, economic, and political scientists, ecologists, and those who consider themselves environmentalists. All levels."--Choice

"The author's perspective is that of a political theorist. This perspective is quite different from that of a research-oriented ecological scientist. Thus the book provides an interesting and enlightening view of the environmental movement--which I think many ecologists would find refreshing ... The book is intended for activists and scholars interested in the environmental movement and its accomplishments and prospects. ... I found the book to be stimulating and informative both as a scientist and as a concerned citizen. ... [T]his book presents a balanced view of the environmental movement and it methods and accomplishments, without ever losing sight of the real need for environmental protection. I can easily imagine this book being used as a text for an upper-division course in environmental policy, or as a supplemental source of lecture material for instructors of many types of courses in environmental science, environmental policy, and natural resource management."--Ecology

"This volume is about the environmental movement. . .This book will still be of value to anyone interested in the largely complementary agendas of different environmental organizations. This volume explains the importance of writing checks to more of the organizations whose pleas for funds find their way into your mailbox."--The Quarterly Review of Biology

"Evolution by natural selection stands at the center of many key moral and political debates. Leslie Paul Thiele's singular contribution to contemporary political debate is an overview of environmental politics that places evolution at the center not merely of environmental politics but of a progressive democratic agenda. Thiele's understanding of coevolution and the ethic it encourages could paradoxically open up a fruitful dialogue not only among environmentalists but with a range of political forces that often consider themselves the archenemies of the environmental movement. ... It is to Thiele's great credit that his coevolutionary framework invites such forms of continuing conversation. I suspect that an environmental movement informed by his perspective would bring more of our citizens into a conversation about and the practice of sustainable economics."--Political Theory