Book Description

Burke challenges the current thesis that companies should act responsibly toward communities and societies. Instead, he shows that changes in society mandate that companies must develop strategies and programs that foster a reputation of trust in local communities in order that they preserve their license to operate. Burke describes strategies and programs of action that enable companies to develop trust and thus maintain their license to operate. He also describes ways to use philanthropy and volunteer programs to achieve a competitive advantage. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great tool for PR professionals
This is an excellent book that will help companies focus there business on strong relationship with the community they live in. The one weakness I see is an over emphasis on philanthropy. I am not so sure that throwing money at the community will really buy a good relationship. This book should be read by anyone who is involved in the management of a manufacturing facility. ... Read more

Book Description

Whether the stakeholders include public, nonprofit, or exclusively private participants, collaboration is increasingly favored over regulatory enforcement or litigation as a means to settle environmental conflicts. At the urging of citizens, nongovernmental organizations, industry, and individuals within their own institutions, government officials at all levels have been experimenting with collaboration in a wide variety of contexts. Yet questions remain about the best way to ensure that government involvement will be constructive—that is will support collaboration, rather than introduce barriers.

The goal of this thoughtful work is to analyze data from a variety of cases to explain how the different roles government plays in collaborative environmental management lead to different processes and outcomes. Looking at examples where government has acted to lead, encourage, or follow in the process of collaboration, they apply their new theoretical framework to cases involving the management of watersheds, rivers, and estuaries to farmland, animal habitats, and forests. Finding that there is no "best" role for government; the authors are nonetheless able make important observations about when and where collaborative environmental management is likely to be effective. . ... Read more

Book Description

"The question is no longer whether business must change to meet the challenges of the global environment, or even when. The issue forward-looking guidelines in print for harnessing the resources of the modern corporation to the task of environmentally sustainable development. This timely book is nothing less than a roadmap to the corporate future." -- James Gustave Speth, President, World Resources Institute

Gathering the expertise of more than 50 leaders of multinational corporations and backed by an array of case studies showing existing best practices, Changing Course provides an extensive guide to ways inwhich the business community can adapt and contribute to the crucial goal of sustainable development. Are industry and the environment incompatible? Changing Course shows how companies and governments can make ecological imperatives part of the market forces that govern production, investment, and trade. Gathering the expertise of more than 50 leaders of multinational corporations and backed by an array of case studies showing existing best practices, Changing Course illustrates the ways in which the business community can adapt and combines the objectives of environmental protection and economic growth. ... Read more

Book Description

Combining perspectives on the interplay of two areas of primary importance to our lives--business and society--this anthology brings together a wide range of readings on the subject. Topics covered include the historical evolution of the business enterprise, the emergence and development of the labor force, and the impact of the international marketplace.Barry Castro concentrates on the moral and social aspects of business, the way it affects national economy, the environment, careers, the disadvantaged, government, and public opinion. Considering the abundance of socioeconomic issues in everyday life, he shows that business ethics is particularly relevant to the business student of today, and that the historical, social and ethical dimensions of business are an inseparable and necessary component of business education. ... Read more

Book Description

Gaylord Nelson is known and respected throughout the world as a founding father of the modern environmental movement and creator of one of the most successful and influential public awareness campaigns ever undertaken on behalf of global stewardship: Earth Day.

Now in his eighties, Nelson delivers a timely and urgent message with the same eloquence with which he has articulated the nation's environmental ills through the decades. He details the planet's most critical concerns-from species and habitat losses to global climate changes and population growth. In outlining his strategy for planetary health, he inspires citizens to reassert the environment as a top priority.

A book for anyone who cares deeply about our environment and wants to know what we can and must do now to save it, Beyond Earth Day is a classic guide by one of the natural world's great defenders.

Foreword by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Any one who can read should read this book!!
This book covers what should be the most important Issue to all people in the human-rat race. It's an attempt to make people realize how fast we are using up our natural resourses.
I can only hope that this book makes it to the top 10 best sellers list, so that it gets read by a large segment of the population. It's a vary important message and it's easy to read in a short amount of time, and once you read it it would be wise to give it to a friend and have them read it and pass it on to someone else.
Why can't an American president stand up, and run on smaller population and less consumption? Humans will gain less and less with over-population.

Beyond Earth Day
"Beyond Earth Day" gives an amazingly thorough look at the state of our planet, then and now. Discussions of issues are well-referenced and Gaylord Nelson courageously presents honest solutions to problems that many people take pains to ignore. He offers history, wisdom, and guidance in an age when "environment" is an important issue to Americans, yet many are unaware of the seriousness of the issues our water, air, soils and biodiversity face. An America united by the knowledge offered by Senator Nelson has the capability to change the course of catastrophic events involving the very elements needed for life. Share the intelligence of this important book with everyone you know.

Earth Day Founder Recommends State of Environment Speech
Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson holds no punches in this book. He brings the question of the ability of the planet to sustain today's consumption-driven American lifestyle into clear focus in "Beyond Earth Day". His report card on the planet is dire but believable.

The book provides a strong case that more dire consequences are up ahead for all of us, unless the current political leadership in Washington abandons its "business as usual" mentality regarding the environment and begins to recognize the urgency and gravity of the situation we are getting into with regard to air, water, land and climate.

"It is time for the president and Congress to reach an agreement that sustainability is the challenge of our time and design a plan of action for the future... There is no room, nor time, for partisanship. The president and Congress should face this issue in a unified and cooperative way and should persist until we reach the goal", laments Nelson.

Nelson recommends that the president of the United States deliver a "State of the Environment" speech to the American public and the world which outlines environmental challenges meriting the nation and the world's immediate attention, and the challenges that lay on the horizon. Such an address, Nelson says, is what is needed "to start public dialogue on the serious environmental problems facing the country and world today". People everywhere need to realize that maintaining the environmental sustainability of the planet is the most important responsibility we all have, because all life on Earth is interrelated, and because our economy is inherently dependent on the environment's "underlying resource base of forests, water, air, soil, and minerals".

A sobering commentary on our planet's health
An excellent recap of some of the background leading to the creation of Earth Day. An articulate, well-organized and easy-to-read commentary about the state of our planet's health. A great book for those who have studied environmental issues as well as for those who have only wondered about them. ... Read more

Book Description

Perpetual economic growth is physically impossible on a planet with finite resources. Many concerned with humanity's future have focused on the concept of "sustainable development" as an alternative, as they seek means of achieving current economic and social goals without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own goals. Sustainable development brings together elements of economics, public policy, sociology, ecology, resource management, and other related areas, and while the term has become quite popular, it is rarely defined, and even less often is it understood.

A Survey of Sustainable Development addresses that problem by bringing together in a single volume the most important works on sustainable human and economic development. It offers a broad overview of the subject, and gives the reader a quick and thorough guide to this highly diffuse topic. The volume offers ten sections on topics including:

• economic and social dimensions of sustainable development
• the North/South balance
• population and the demographic transition
• agriculture and renewable resources
• energy and materials use
• globalization and corporate responsibility
• local and national strategies

Each section is introduced with an essay by one of the volume editors that provides an overview of the subject and a summary of the mainstream literature, followed by two- to three-page abstracts of the most important articles or book chapters on the topic.

A Survey of Sustainable Development is the sixth and final volume in the Frontier Issues of Economic Thought series produced by the Global Development And Environment Institute at Tufts University. Each book brings together the most important articles and book chapters in a "frontier" area of economics where important new work is being done but has not yet been incorporated into the mainstream of economic study. The book is an essential reference for students and scholars concerned with economics, environmental studies, public policy and administration, international development, and a broad range of related fields. ... Read more

Book Description

Ecological Footprinting is rapidly being adopted as the most effective and practical way to meaure our impact on the environment--in both large and small scale planning and development. Government agencies, NGO's, local authorities, planners, and managers are all turning to it since without a way of measuring consequences wecannot hope to live within the environmental resources available.

SHARING NATURE'S INTEREST provides a simple and straightforward introduction to ecological footprint analysis, showing how it can be done, and how to measure the "footprints" of activities, lifestyles, organizations, and regions.Case studies clearly illustrate its effectiveness at national. organizational, individual, and product levels.An invaluable resource for anyone attempting to understand or quantify human impacts on the environment. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Enhanced with figures, tables, summary "boxes", and more
In Sharing Nature's Interest: Ecological Footprints As An Indicator Of Sustainability, Nicky Chambers, Craig Simmons, and Mathis Wackernagel deftly collaborate to present the reader with a compendium of information on assessing ecology on a regional and a global basis through a process called 'ecological footprinting'. The informative text is enhanced with figures, tables, summary "boxes", a list of acronyms and abbreviations, a primer on thermodynamics, conversion tables, glossary, and an index. Sharing Nature's Interest is an important and highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and professional environmental studies reference collections and reading lists. ... Read more

Book Description

Environment and Statecraft develops a theory of how states can cooperate in protecting their shared environmental resources--resources such as the ozone layer, the blue fin tuna, the Aral Sea, the entirety of the earth's biodiversity, and the global climate. Scott Barrett explains why the international treaty is the primary device for doing this and why to succeed it must strategically manipulate the incentives states have to exploit the environment. This book will have interdisciplinary appeal to economists, political scientists and environmentalists. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Corporate governance and sustainability are moving from important peripheral problems to core business concerns, as winning companies discover stakeholders as new sources of value. Yet there are many obstacles to bringing these issues into the mainstream of business. Concepts like sustainable development can be confusing for operating managers, and even those who support the underlying issues find it difficult to frame them in ways that are useful for making business decisions. As a manager you have a responsibility to deliver financial returns to your shareholders: how can you balance this obligation with your responsibilities to society and the environment?

The Sustainable Company articulates an innovative approach to meeting this challenge in a language familiar to business.The key is to create value for investors as well as society and the environment in an integrated bottom line.The book provides detailed case studies of leading companies illustrating this new paradigm in practice.The “how-to” section with a tool-kit for managers elevates The Sustainable Company above other recent eco-friendly business books, by providing the Eight Disciplines necessary to create value for shareholders and stakeholders.Its engaging, straightforward text tells the reader how to compete and thrive in an increasingly complex world.The Sustainable Company is the solutions manual for the 21st century manager. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The business value of sustainability
This landmark work helps managers assess the business value of sustainability. Many companies are keen to show that they are responsible corporate citizens. They are taking lots of actions on the environmental and social front, but have no idea which ones are important for their businesses. This book offered me a structured management process for thinking about "stakeholder" value-at-risk and value-opportunities. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a set of practical guidelines to integrating stakeholders into their company's core activities. It helped me to make the business case for greater corporate responsibility in a language that other managers could understand ... Read more

Book Description

Much of the global economy depends upon large-scale government intervention in the form of subsidies, both direct and indirect, to support specific industries or economic sectors. Distressingly, many of these subsidies can be characterized as "perverse" - rather than helping society achieve a desired goal, they work in the opposite direction, causing damage to both our economies and our environments. Worldwide subsidies have long been thought to total $2 trillion per year, but until now, no attempt has been made to determine what proportion of that actually subverts the public interest.

In Perverse Subsidies, leading environmental analyst Norman Myers takes a detailed look at the subject, offering a comprehensive view of subsidies worldwide with a particular focus on the extent, causes, and consequences of perverse subsidies. He defines many different kinds of subsidies, from tax incentives to government handouts, and considers their wide-ranging impacts, as he:

• examines the role of subsidies in policymaking
• quantifies the direct costs of perverse subsidies
• examines the major subsidies in agriculture, energy, road transportation, water, fisheries, and forestry
• considers the environmental effects of those subsidies
• offers policy advice and specific recommendations for eliminating harmful subsidies

The book provides a valuable framework for evaluation of perverse subsidies, and offers a dramatic illustration of the scale and dimensions of the problem. It will be the standard reference on those subsidies for government reform advocates, policy analysts, and environmentalists, as well as for scholars and students interested in the interactions between policymaking and environmental issues.

... Read more

Reviews (3)

Subsidies Made Interesting then Boring Again
Early in this book, Norman Myers states that the study of subsidies can actually be interesting, and he's right because many (if not most) subsidies are "perverse." This means that taxpayer-funded assistance to politically well-connected constituencies usually ends up costing general society far more than the costs that were initially targeted. Good examples in America include subsidizing farmers to grow so much of a crop that the price of that crop crashes, which creates the need for another subsidy to destroy or store the surplus (American farmers were paid to destroy a billion oranges in the 1990s); subsidizing fishermen to catch so many fish that the populations are decimated, to be replenished by taxpayer-funded restocking schemes; or subsidizing the removal of forests in watershed areas, then having all of society pay for the resulting water pollution and soil erosion.

This book contains myriad examples of this economic perversity, but the problem is the quantitative (that is, all numbers) methodology. Myers admits early on that data is hard to come by in this discipline, and that's understandable, but the book is still an interminable list of thousands of numbers and figures, which are usually estimated so widely as to be unworkable. As just one example among hundreds, we learn that transportation-related health care costs in America are somewhere between $42 and $182 billion. There are a few higher-level insights about the true social and environmental effects of this madness, but they usually just appear briefly amidst a boring parade of statistical analysis. Watch for the numbers compiled here to be used as references in far more interesting books, that will take a useful qualitative and categorical approach to broad issues that appear occasionally here, but are not dwelled on in any engaging fashion. [~doomsdayer520~]

A Workable Introduction to a Gargantuan, Sisyphean Topic
In their book, Perverse Subsidies, Kent and Myers adequately demonstrate how global tax revenues can at times adversely affect the economy and the environment.The book is an expanded version of a 1998 report on the topic of perverse subsidies, focusing in particular on the OECD nations.Given the magnitude of these pervasive, deleterious subsidies, the authors were genuinely perplexed to find that the subject received scant attention from specialists in economics, public policy and the environment.As such, the book's subject matter would serve as an excellent springboard for hundreds if not thousands of graduate level research projects in the fields of economics, public policy, urban planning and development.

On the organizational front, the authors divided the book into three uneven parts, with the second of the book comprising the majority of the text.Part one of the book consists of two chapters that for the most part are readable and understandable.The first chapter covers basic concepts associated with subsidies in general such as:what subsidies are, the various types of subsidies given, the advantages and disadvantages of subsidies, social equity concerns, scale and externality issues associated with subsidies, and finally an extended discussion of how the authors derived their rough estimate for the size and extent of subsidies globally.The authors astutely note the difficulty of tracking down information regarding subsidies in general, and openly admit that their estimate for global subsidies may not accurately reflect the true value, given the hidden nature of subsidies and the active roles of governments to contain detailed information about payments and transfers.The second chapter tells the reader what constitutes a perverse subsidy (which the authors define as having deleterious and distorting effects on both the economy and the environment), delves heavily into economic and environmental values and costs associated with perverse subsidies, and tersely explains the role of (negative) externalities, focusing almost exclusive on the role perverse subsidies play in exacerbating global warming.

Part two contains individual chapters devoted to the agricultural, energy, transportation, water, fisheries and forestry sectors of the global economy and each chapter outlines the type and magnitude of the subsidies given to each sector, and offers specific policy recommendations for policy intervention, change, and/or overhaul.In each chapter, some countries are emphasized more than others, and this I believe reflects the availability of reliable data more than the political and economic importance, however great or small, of the countries emphasized.Part two also contains a final chapter that discusses the combined effects of perverse subsidies across all sectors presented, as well as their political, economic, and social implications.The last part of the book consists of one chapter, and

For the curious layperson, chapters one, two and nine of the book contain the most useful information, albeit of a general nature.Specialists with an interest in the various sectors emphasized in the book may find one or more of the chapters in Part Two of the book to be of some utility.In addition, researchers in the field may find the book's extensive notes section at the end of the text immensely helpful.

I found the book to be somewhat lacking in three key areas.First, the authors devoted much of their attention to explaining the flaws and holes in their research methodology, data and conclusions.Judicious readers will expect a considerable degree of uncertain in the numbers, data and results, given the magnitude of the challenge before the authors.Because of the breadth of the topic, rigorous statistical analysis may have been difficult to perform, and any attempts to perform such analyses, given the lack of hard data on the topic, may not have been of sufficient utility. However, I felt that too much space was devoted to justifying their numbers in every chapter, and such detailed justification could have been sufficiently presented in the first chapter.Second, graphs and charts would have done much to make the text more readable, and key points presented within the text-rich format would have been better understood in graphical or tabular form.Pie charts, bar graphs and other descriptive, graphical methods would have the reading much more brisk and enjoyable.Third, some key concepts, such as the subsidy, were explained in great detail with skill and precision, but other concepts and issues, such as externalities, costs, values and political dimensions of subsidies, were not very well delineated.Yet, in spite of these moderate criticisms, the authors have managed to write a good introduction to the Hydra-headed, shadowy and amorphous topic of subsidies in the global economy.

Frankly speaking, expositions on dry economic subjects such as subsidies tend to be more effective at eliciting yawns and putting people to sleep than sleeping pills. Nonetheless, not only did the authors convincingly argue that the problem of perverse subsidies is a gargantuan one indeed, they also made their case using an active writing style that engaged the reader, as opposed to making him or her yawn.One can not expect one small volume to do adequate justice to a topic of such magnitude, and for these reasons, the authors should be applauded for bringing some aspects of this gargantuan topic to the public.

Government Sponsored Perversity
Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent have written a comprehensive and engaging book about what turns out to be one of the biggest impediments to environmental quality and sustainablity - perverse subsidies.The book does a splendid job of documenting and quantifying perverse subsidies in six main sectors globally. One thing it lacks, however, is a really concise definition of what perverse subsidies are.Here is what is meant:A subsidy is a payment by a government to an individual or firm.In theory, the intent of this payment should be to decrease the divergence between private and social costs/benefits - to internalize externalities.A perverse subsidy is therefore a payment by a government to an individual or firm which, instead, increases the divergence between private and social costs/benefits.This can include both direct and indirect perverse subsidies. Direct subsidies are direct government payments to agriculture, fossil fuel and nuclear energy,road construction, water, fisheries, and forestry (the six major sectors documented in Myers' book). Some part of these subsidies are, of course, not perverse. They serve the intended purpose of reducing the divergence between private and social costs/benefits.But a large proportion of current direct subsidies are perverse.Myers and Kent estimate that globally 60% of conventional subsidies are perverse.This amounts to $860 Billion annually. Indirect subsidies are the failure of government to internalize externalities (especially environmental externalities) - leaving an unaddressed divergence between private and social costs/benefits. All of these indirect subsidies are (by definition) perverseand Myers and Kent estimate their total at $1,090 Billion annually.The total direct and indirect perverse subsidies worldwide are therefore estimated to be almost $2 trillion annually.As Myers and Kent point out, this is almost three times global military spending, larger than the annual sales of the twenty largest corporations, and four times the annual incomes of the 1.3 billion poorest people on earth.In other words, perverse subsidies are a huge problem, but an inherently "solvable" one whose solution would yield a "double dividend."Eliminating perverse subsidies would first help to reduce the divergence between private and social costs/benefits, thus making the economy function more efficiently.Second, it would free up funds to help solve other pressing problems. Critics will, of course, ague that these estimates are far too uncertain and "mushy" to have any meaning.Myers and Kent acknowledge the huge difficulties, but point out that "As long as the issue of perverse subsidies remains untackled, there tends to be an implicit presumption that their total must effectively be zero: there is the asymmetry of evaluation at distortional work.Of course, this is not what is intended.But as long as a problem is not accorded adequate attention, it is implicitly viewed as if it is not a problem at all." (pp. 21).Myers and Kent "resist the temptation to say we simply cannot appraise perverse subsidies in quantified fashion at all." (pp. 21) Instead they take on the challenge and ask the reader to accept the well documented qualifications that must always accompany any difficult analysis such as this. They also point out that their estimates are almost certainly conservative - further analysis and better data would reveal even larger numbers. Why do perverse subsidies persist?The answer is obvious, given the way our political systems work.One example is enough to demonstrate the magnitude and recalcitrance of the problem.Between 1993 and mid 1996, the American oil and gas industry gave $10.3 Million to political campaigns and received $4 Billion in tax breaks.This represents a benefit/cost ratio of about 400 to 1.Few investments in our economy are anywhere near as lucrative as this!Given these kinds of returns, it is little wonder that perverse subsidies exist and that they will be very difficult to eliminate.But they can be eliminated if they are exposed to the light of day and the substantial public benefits of their removal are brought into the political debate.Campaign finance reform is finally beginning to be seriously considered in the US and removal of perverse subsidies could be the next in line. ... Read more

Book Description

"Incisive."-Noam Chomsky

From Worldcom to Coke, from Enron to the White House, these columns offer trenchant revelations of corporate dirty deeds. Featuring the 10 worst corporations and 10 reasons to dismantle the World trade organization, Mokhiber and Weissman take on the single greatest threat to Democracy: corporate power.

The 10 most wanted corporations:
Arthur Andersen
British American Tobacco(BAT)
Caterpillar
Citigroup
DynCorp
M&M/Mars
Procter & Gamble
Schering Plough
Shell
Wyeth

Book Description

One of the most powerful nationalist ideas in modern Europe is the assertion that there is a link between people and their landscape. Focusing on the heart of German romanticism, the Rhineland, Thomas Lekan examines nature protection activities from Wilhelmine Germany through the end of the Nazi era to illuminate the relationship between environmental reform and the cultural construction of national identity.

In the late nineteenth century, anxieties about national character infused ecological concerns about industrialization, spurring landscape preservationists to protect the natural environment. In the Rhineland's scenic rivers, forests, and natural landmarks, they saw Germany as a timeless and organic nation rather than a recently patchworked political construct. Landscape preservation also served conservative social ends during a period of rapid modernization, as outdoor pursuits were promoted to redirect class-conscious factory workers and unruly youth from "crass materialism" to the German homeland. Lekan's examination of Nazi environmental policy challenges recent work on the "green" Nazis by showing that the Third Reich systematically subordinated environmental concerns to war mobilization and racial hygiene.

This book is an original contribution not only to studies of national identity in modern Germany but also to the growing field of European environmental history.

Book Description

Just over two decades ago, research findings that environmentally hazardous facilities were more likely to be sited near poor and minority communities gave rise to the environmental justice movement. Yet inequitable distribution of the burdens of industrial facilities and pollution is only half of the problem; poor and minority communities are often denied the benefits of natural resources and can suffer disproportionate harm from decisions about their management and use.

Justice and Natural Resources is the first book devoted to exploring the concept of environmental justice in the realm of natural resources. Contributors consider how decisions about the management and use of natural resources can exacerbate social injustice and the problems of disadvantaged communities. Looking at issues that are predominantly rural and western - many of them involving Indian reservations, public lands, and resource development activities - it offers a new and more expansive view of environmental justice.

The book begins by delineating the key conceptual dimensions of environmental justice in the natural resource arena. Following the conceptual chapters are contributions that examine the application of environmental justice in natural resource decision-making. Chapters examine:

• how natural resource management can affect a range of stakeholders quite differently, distributing benefits to some and burdens to others
• the potential for using civil rights laws to address damage to natural and cultural resources
• the unique status of Native American environmental justice claims
• parallels between domestic and international environmental justice
• how authority under existing environmental law can be used by Federal regulators and communities to address a broad spectrum of environmental justice concerns

Book Description

Book Description

The global economy and our way of life are based on the exploitation of fossil fuels, which not only threaten massive environmental and social disruption through global warming but, at present rates of consumption, will run out within decades, causing huge industrial dislocation and economic collapse. Even before then, the conflicts it causes in the Middle East and elsewhere will be frighteningly exacerbated.

The alternate exists: renewable energy from renewable sources – above all, solar. Substituting renewable for fossil resources will take a new industrial revolution to avert the worst of the damage and establish a new international order.

It can be done, and it can be done in time. The Solar Economy, by one of the world’s most effective analysts and advocates, lays out the blueprints, showing how the political, economic and technological challenges can be met using indigenous, renewable and universally available resources, and the enormous opportunities and benefits that will flow from doing so. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK OF THE 21st CENTURY
Hermann Scheer has written the most important book of the 21st Century. Yes, that's right -- either we follow this path to a sustainable future, or it is the path not taken as we head into a cycle of civilizational decline, chaos and devastation. The #1 priority in the U.S. right now is regime change -- the Bush/Cheney Regime is dead-set against renewable energy. But in the medium term, a rapid shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, centered on solar energy, is humanity's #1 priority. Scheer has masterfully critiqued the fossil fuel status quo and outlined what needs to be done in this powerful, technically-based, yet compelling manifesto for change. This is one book on energy that will not put you to sleep!

There is far too much here to summarize, but here are a few critical points:

1) The conventional wisdom that says solar and other renewables are too expensive are systematically biased by both the current massive subsidies for fossil fuels and what is left out in calculating the cost of fossil fuels. All it will take to drive down the cost of PV (photovoltaic solar) is ramping up production. Of course massive investment in R&D is also urgently needed to realize greater efficiency. (Scheer is well-equipped for this analysis -- his Ph.D. is in economics.)

2) Fossil fuels of necessity require long supply chains, as they do not occur everywhere, and this entails both inefficiency and higher cost. Solar, wind, biomass and other renewables can be developed locally just about anywhere -- solar energy in principle needs no supply chain at all. The development of a decentralized renewable energy system globally will, in addition to being environmentally sustainable, ultimately be much cheaper than the current centralized fossil fuel system.

3) The battle is already on -- Scheer (an SPD Member of Parliament in Germany) and others have successfully passed legislation in Germany and elsewhere mandating that the electricity grid buy power from locally generated renewable sources. This is a revolutionary reform that has yet to be realized in the U.S., but it is coming, with wind power leading the way. (Howard Geller's "Energy Revolution" is an excellent guide to policy change in the U.S. -- see my review.) Do not believe any sweeping claim about the costs and benefits of renewable energy -- increasing numbers of us can benefit starting now, but there will clearly be losers, and that will include the powerful fossil fuel corporations that don't join the process (BP and Shell are already starting to hedge their bets). It is going to be a fight, a revolution as sweeping as any yet in human existence, comparable only to the shift to agriculture and the shift to industrial manufacturing.

What is needed is a mass movement that works on all levels to bring about the change. Hermann Scheer's "The Solar Economy" is the manifesto and guide for this movement. For the moment, Europe is clearly in the lead. We in the U.S. need to catch up quickly and start to build a new front inside the U.S. Leviathan -- planetary change will not work if the U.S., the 3rd most populous country and the largest consumer of energy and everything else, does not join the process.

With the Hubbert Peak for oil coming no later than 2020 time is short -- if we want to demonstrate that having evolved such large brains is really an advantage, we have to start using them. The future is clear -- it's either barbarism or a solar economy! ... Read more

Book Description

Fully edited text arising from a major European Commission research project. The book sets current European transport policy in context and includes forces of change, transport trends, policy responses and impacts on sustainable development. ... Read more