Venice in Environmental Peril Myth and Reality [Paperback]

Venice is a glory of human achievement, and this book is the human-centered defense that the city deserves.&A groundbreaking book for understanding the politicization of the environment.&In Venice its impossible to ignore the cases where the science has been affected by politics.Standish has succeeded in locating the transforming history of Venice as metaphor for Western preoccupations and self-understanding - from the highest realization of mercantile politics and republican statehood through romance and degenerate decadence, to its contemporary invocation as a symbol of unease and discomfort with the achievements of modernity and the attempt to master nature. This is an important contribution to the critique of the diminished political and historical imagination that underpins the construction of climate change as an insurmountable social problem.Standishs project is to re-conceptualize Venices historic relationship to human endeavor and to remind us that it was the energy and innovation of Venetians themselves that made Venice great. He succeeds admirably. His book is a valuable contribution not only to Venices future but to the wider debate on the efficacy of human intervention.Venice in Environmental Peril? Myth and Reality offers compelling evidence to disprove the arguments that Venice is in peril. . . . Recommend for the excellent critique Venice in Environmental Peril provides the contemporary concerns and preoccupations of environmentalism. . . . Dominic Standish represents a powerful response to the perception of Venice in peril, with a message that is loud and clear.Venice is perceived to be in peril due to rising sea levels, tourism, and modern development. This book is based on interviews with Venetian environmentalists about Venices environmental risks, especially regarding the citys anticipated mobile dams. It offers a ten-point proposal to modernize Venice while preserving its ancient heritageVenice and its environment are perceived to be in plS.