Our country, the planet : forging a partnership for survival
"Global warming. Acid rain. Expanding deserts. Dwindling forests. Depletion of the ozone layer. Freshwater scarcity. The problems are all too familiar, and the lengthening list adds up to a crisis that threatens to overwhelm us unless an unprecedented level of international cooperation can be reached." "But all countries have not contributed equally to these problems, and all are not in equal positions to solve them. Shridath Ramphal, former secretary-general of the British Commonwealth and president of the World Conservation Union, warns in this timely book that the global effort needed to solve the environmental crisis has been undermined by fundamental differences between the developed and developing worlds." "Ramphal presents a course of action that accounts for the needs and limitations of both rich and poor countries. He argues that industrial countries must consume less energy so that poorer countries may consume more, allowing for increased development without a corresponding increase in the overall level of greenhouse gases. He presses for more equitable trade policies that would allow developing nations to work their way out of poverty rather than rely on hand-outs, which would only lead to continued dependence."
xxi, 291 pages ; 24 cm
9781559631655, 9781559631648, 1559631651, 1559631643
24906389
Foreword / Seymour Topping
Pt. 1. Overview. 1. A Fragile World
Pt. 2. Ravages. 2. Air and Water. 3. Earth and Fire
Pt. 3. Causes. 4. The Profligate Rich. 5. The Powerless Poor. 6. Population Pressures. 7. A Feudal world
Pt. 4. Responses. 8. Ethics of Survival. 9. Muddling Through or Worse. 10. Enlightened Change