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Shows how we can transition to a new civilisation that is sustainable, socially just, healthy and less militarised
Offers strategies and policies for avoiding the business-as-usual path to disaster
Communicates the recent science in a clear and accessible way
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation shows that we have unwittingly fallen into an existential crisis of our own making. We have allowed large corporations, the military and other vested interests to capture governments and influence public opinion excessively. We have created a god called ‘the market’ and allowed our most important decisions to be made by this imaginary entity, which is in fact a human system controlled by vested interests. The result has been the exploitation of our life support system, our planet, and most of its inhabitants, to the point of collapse.
This book argues that the way out of our black hole is to build social movements to apply overwhelming pressure on government and big business, weaken the power of vested interests and strengthen democratic decision-making. This must be done simultaneously with action on the specific issues of climate, energy, natural resources and social justice, in order to transition to a truly sustainable civilisation.Keywords
- sustainability
- environmental protection
- futures studies
- social justice
- renewable energy
- materials conservation
- ecological economics
- steady-state economy
- state capture
- strategies and policies
- sustainable development
- degrowth
- ecological economics
Reviews
“A challenging book offering a radical perspective on the way ahead … .” (Renew Extra Weekly, renewextraweekly.blogspot.com, July 8, 2023)
“Their book is one of hope. This is because they believe that the parts of the pathway to a sustainable future that are already broken can be repaired by implementing widespread technological change along with restructuring global economies and systems of governance.” (Nick Smith, E&T Engineering and Technology, eandt.theiet.org, July 6, 2023)
“In their hopeful book, The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation, the authors set out the challenges, dispel myths and provide a comprehensive set of policies and actions … . Diesendorf and Taylor do in their book goes a step further. They helpfully provide a holistic and comprehensive list of what community actions and government policies are actually required to achieve a Sustainable Civilisation beyond just climate action.” (Mike, Court of the Grandchildren, courtofthegrandchildren.com, May 21, 2023)
Authors and Affiliations
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School of Humanities & Languages, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Mark Diesendorf
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Canberra, Australia
Rod Taylor
About the authors
Dr Mark Diesendorf is Honorary Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney. Previously he was Professor of Environmental Science and Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at University of Technology Sydney. His books include Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change, Climate Action: A campaign manual for greenhouse solutions, and Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy.
Rod Taylor is a science writer and broadcaster. His science columns have been running in Fairfax and ACM papers for over 14 years. He is co-editor of the 2022 book Sustainability and the New Economics and author of Ten Journeys on a Fragile Planet.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation
Book Subtitle: Technological, Socioeconomic and Political Change
Authors: Mark Diesendorf, Rod Taylor
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0663-5
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Singapore
eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023
Softcover ISBN: 978-981-99-0662-8Published: 04 May 2023
eBook ISBN: 978-981-99-0663-5Published: 03 May 2023
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXI, 251
Number of Illustrations: 13 b/w illustrations
Topics: Sustainable Development, Environmental Policy, Sociology, general, Human Geography, Environment, general, Environmental and Sustainability Education