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摘要
摘要
"The single most accessible presentation of what is known as 'social ecology' that has yet been written". -- The Nation
评论 (3)
出版社周刊评论
From NAFTA to America's consumer culture and from the ecological imperialism practiced by the developed world over the developing world to the disappointing environmental record of the Clinton administration, Athanasiou rails against environmental abuse and injustice worldwide. He presents much thought-provoking material. For example, foreign aid for environmental projects is not only often environmentally destructive but makes recipient countries more-rather than less-dependent. "[I]n 1993, the world's forty poorest countries paid $19 billion more in debt and interest than they received in aid." And America's consumerism, in addition to its environmental impact, has dramatic effects on everyday life: "Americans... spend, on average, about six hours shopping each week. This is more time than Russians spent in the late 1980s, when Soviet shopping queues were world famous." Overall, the book's breadth becomes distracting with topics shifting rapidly. The prose itself is often academic and thus difficult to follow. Author tour. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus评论
A shrill indictment of all that is wrong with the current environmental movement. ""Environmentalism,"" political activist Athanasiou writes, ""is only now reaching its political maturity. Its childhood heroes are, if not broken, at least diminished by a sense of high stakes and ramifying agendas."" Athanasiou is not the first writer to suggest that many environmental groups have sold out to the politics of compromise--Christopher Manes did it much more convincingly in Green Rage--but he is quicker than most to resort to ad hominem attacks to make his points. Athanasiou accuses one ""childhood hero,"" Al Gore, of cowardice in the face of the antienvironment Republican Congress: ""As U.S. vice president, he quickly showed himself to be cut of altogether thinner cloth than the liberal idealist who, as a senator, wrote Earth in the Balance."" Elsewhere he glibly invokes the examples of Auschwitz and Chernobyl to argue that technology is a bad thing, and he anticipates nothing but evil in the opening of the former Communist states to free trade. To these uninteresting arguments, Athanasiou adds the requisite dose of catastrophism, ignoring a friend's altogether apt remark that seers of gloom and doom ""had a professional relationship to their predictions of apocalypse."" In even-tempered moments he does, however, score a few points, as when he argues that a deep inequity colors our view of world ecology: When considering the planet's exploding human birth rate, we think not of Holland and Japan, countries with the highest population densities in the world, but rather of Bangladesh and China."" 'Population,' ""Athanasiou writes, ""is a code word that reveals certain matters but obscures others."" So it does, and Athanasiou might have spent more time exploring this issue seriously rather than attacking straw men. Few people hold that the world's environment is not in trouble, and Athanasiou does not help his cause with this querulous, obvious book. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
Environmental writer and activist Athanasiou has written a grim account of the world's environmental condition. Declaring that not one negative environmental trend has been reversed in the past 20 years, Athanasiou pins the blame on timid politicians, obstinate business owners and managers, and wrong-headed environmentalists. In six long chapters, he makes his case that population is not the cause of the ongoing ecological crisis, that corporations "greenwash" their records to make themselves seem more friendly to the environment than they actually are, and that environmentalists made a critical mistake by embracing deep ecology. Athanasiou is candid about his use of apocalyptic language and imagery, claiming that unless concerted action is undertaken immediately, there is no way to avoid worldwide ecological collapse. This book breaks little new ground; most of the issues he raises will be familiar to readers. While he paints a bleak picture, Athanasiou offers few solutions. For comprehensive collections.-Randy Dykhuis, Michigan Lib. Consortium, Lansing (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.