Citation:
Sustaining Earth: Response to the Environmental Threat, D. J. R. Angell, J. D. Comer, and M. L. N. Wilkinson, (eds), (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990), 220 pp.
Sustaining Earth: Response to the Environmental Threat will be of interest to those
who desire an understanding of the complexities involved in the pursuit of sustainable development. The work is a collection of essays from multiple authors arranged under six topical headings. Following a forward by Gro Harlem Brundtland, the first of these six parts offers background information on environmental degradation. The first essay, by Sir Shridath S. Ramphal examines what the author asserts to be an endangered planet. The second essay addresses the early professional science and the historical origins of global environmental concerns in a consideration of threatened islands.
The second section, comprised of five essays, addresses threats to the environment. Specifically considered are: the changing climate and problems of prediction, acid precipitation, and halocarbons and stratospheric ozone. Ghillean T. Prance offers the botanist's view of deforestation. The costs and causes to sustainable practices of agricultural pollution is the concern of Jules N. Pretty. The third section focuses on individuals, society, and sustainable development. Changes in perception and the relationship between religion and the environment begin the section. Christopher Hampson asserts that the relationship between industry and the environment is a matter of balance.
The fourth section considers the role of national governments in sustainable development. The first of two essays in this section addresses the move, since Brundtland, toward environmentally more sensitive governments. This is illustrated by the author with the seemingly increasing awareness of the need for sustainable development by the countries which constitute the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The other essay considers our common future which includes the common challenge to formulate aid policies which will recognize the vulnerability of our environment.
The penultimate section examines the relationship between the international community and sustainable development. Stanley Clinton Davis considers the increasing emphasis which has been placed on joint efforts to confront environmental problems by the European Community. Sir Crispin Tickell discusses diplomacy and sustainable development. Part six is a conclusion of the work in which Sir Arthur Norman asserts that the care of the natural world will require that we attune ourselves anew to the signals being constantly emitted by our environment in order that we may proceed on a more sustainable path. The final essay is a discussion of meeting the growth imperative of the 21st century and not abandoning sustainable development.
Sustaining Earth: Response to the Environmental Threat is a careful consideration of the constituency among whom sustainable development must be formulated and implemented. The work serves as a sound foundation from which to pursue the topic in greater depth.