An Introduction to Sustainable Development

by Peter P. Rogers, Kazi F. Jalal, John A. Boyd

An Introduction to Sustainable Development presents the concept and practice of sustainable development as a process that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This textbook examines the environ-mental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainable development by focusing on changing patterns of consumption, production, and distribution of resources. This book of topical interest can help us learn better, more sustainable ways of producing, consuming, investing, and otherwise participating in projects and programs in both the developing and the developed worlds. The Conceptual breadth is impressive. The examples and many graphics are appealing. The authors made a hand-waving topic tangible and nearly hard-core. The book looks downright useful. Table of Contents Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgments. Authors and Contributors. Abbreviations and Acronyms. 1. From Malthus to Sustainable Development. 2. Challenges of Sustainable Development. 3. Global Environmental Issues. 4. Sustainable Development Indicators. 5. Environmental Assessment. 6. Environmental Management: Trends and Policies. 7. Legislation, International Law, and Multilateral Environmental Agreements. 8. Social Dimensions and Policies. 9. The Economics of Sustainability. 10. Sustainability: Externalities, Valuation, and Time Externalities. 11. Natural Resource Accounting. 12. The Role of International Financial Institutions. 13. International Cooperation. 14. Sustainable Development: Crisis, Conflict, and Compromise. Epilogue. References.

Genres: Sustainability, Nonfiction

404 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok. The best thing about the book in my opinion was that it had a lot of information on a variety of topics; that is, it was both broad and relatively deep. As a result I feel I did learn a bit more about sustainable development than I have from some of the other recent books I've read. The bad part is that the material is presented rather poorly. The writing is dry and boring (like a poor textbook), and though the organization is straightforward in terms of chapter topics, there is little introduction or conclusion with each chapter, which I found made the information difficult to retain. As a result, I only read about 3/4 of the book (now it's due back at the library, and I don't feel it's worth renewing because reading it feels like a chore).

[Devon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book was okay. There was a good introduction to material but a lot of it was very basic and boring. The book didn't really get into the issues of sustainable development, it just touched the surface.