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A Human Ecological Assessment of Economic and Population Health

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Implementing Ecological Integrity

Part of the book series: Nato Science Series ((NAIV,volume 1))

Abstract

This paper starts from the premise that the current sustainability dilemma is at least partly rooted in gross popular ignorance of basic human ecology. Indeed, it is a deep irony of the human-induced environmental crisis that people have a dismally ill-developed understanding of themselves as ecological beings. The Cartesian dualism that underpins western scientific culture has created a wide psychological barrier between humans and the rest of nature, a barrier that prevents people from fully understanding their biophysical selves. The problem for both ecological integrity and economic sustainability is, that “no amount of ethical axiology, or legal, policy, and technological engineering, is going to solve problems that are misunderstood” (Drengson, 1989).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of British Columbia School of Community and Regional Planning, Canada

    William E. Rees PhD

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  1. William E. Rees PhD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research on the Integration of Environment and Economy, Institute of the Environment, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

    P. Crabbé

  2. Philosophy Department, Furness College, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK

    A. Holland

  3. Research Centre for Agricultural and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, Poland

    L. Ryszkowski

  4. Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, USA

    L. Westra (Barbara B. and Bertram J. Cohn Professor of Environmental Studies) (Barbara B. and Bertram J. Cohn Professor of Environmental Studies)

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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Rees, W.E. (2000). A Human Ecological Assessment of Economic and Population Health. In: Crabbé, P., Holland, A., Ryszkowski, L., Westra, L. (eds) Implementing Ecological Integrity. Nato Science Series, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5876-3_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5876-3_27

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-6352-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-5876-3

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