We live in a world confronted by mounting environmental problems. We read
of increasing global deforestation and desertification, loss of species diversity,
pollution and global warming. In everyday life people mourn the loss of valued
landscapes and urban spaces. Underlying these problems are conflicting
priorities and values. Yet dominant approaches to policy making seem illequipped
to capture the various ways in which the environment matters to us.
Environmental Values introduces readers to these issues by presenting, and then
challenging, two dominant approaches to environmental decision making, one
from environmental economics, the other from environmental philosophy. The
authors present a sustained case for questioning the underlying ethical theories
of both of these traditions. They defend a pluralistic alternative rooted in the
rich everyday relations of humans to the environments they inhabit, providing
a path for integrating human needs with environmental protection through an
understanding of the narrative and history of particular places. The book
examines the implications of this approach for policy issues such as biodiversity,
conservation and sustainability.
The book is written in a clear and accessible style for an interdisciplinary
audience. It will be ideal for student use in environmental courses in geography,
economics, philosophy, politics and sociology. It will also be of wider interest
to policy makers and the concerned general reader.