Environmental Philosophy From Theory to Practice [Paperback]

The first comprehensive treatment of environmental philosophy, going beyond ethics to address the philosophical concepts that underlie environmental thinking and policy-making today

• Encompasses all of environmental philosophy, including conservation biology, restoration ecology, sustainability, environmental justice, and more
• Offers the first treatment of decision theory in an environmental philosophy text
• Explores the conceptions of nature and ethical presuppositions that underlie contemporary environmental debates, and, moving from theory to practice, shows how decision theory translates to public policy
• Addresses both hot-button issues, including population and immigration reform, and such ongoing issues as historical legacies and nations' responsibility and obligation for environmental problems
• Anchors philosophical concepts to their practical applications, establishing the priority of the discipline's real-world importance

Acknowledgments ix

List of Acronyms xi

1 Introduction 1

2 What Is the Environment? 13

3 Ethics for the Environment 38

4 From Ethics to Policy 65

5 Biodiversity and Conservation 98

6 Environmental Restoration 130

7 Sustainability 157

8 Justice and Equity 174

9 Where Does This Leave Us? 196

Glossary 202

References 204

Index 219

Sahotra Sarkar specializes in the history and philosophy of science and conservation biology; he helped develop the framework for systematic conservation planning for the protection of biodiversity (as co-author, with Chris Margules, of Systematic Conservation Planning). He also co-edited lÃ'