Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy

The field of environmental ethics is a new but now well-established sub-discipline of philosophy. Emerging in the mid-1970s, the field coalesced with the inaugural volume of the journal Environmental Ethics in 1979 and developed rapidly. By the turn of the century, most colleges and universities offered courses, if not major programs of study, in this important discipline. The Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy addresses the needs of upper high school students, undergraduate researchers, teachers and professors, as well as general readers by examining the philosophical and ethical issues underlying contemporary and historical environmental issues, policies, and debates. More than 300 peer-reviewed articles cover concepts, institutions, topics, events and people, including global warming, animal rights, environmental movements, alternative energy, green chemistry, industrial ecology, and eco-sabotage. Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy joins the suite of other MacMillan applied ethics titles: Encyclopedia of Bioethics and the Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Additional features include 200 photographs and illustrations, thematic outline, annotated bibliography, and a comprehensive index.

Although Routledge had already publish Environmental Philosophy: Critical Concepts in the Environment, a five-volume reference on some 100 classic and important papers in environmental philosophy, they felt that an encyclopedia covering the field more broadly and in a more summary way would be of complementary value and this two-volume reference is the result, albeit now with a new publisher do to later business decisions at Routledge. The editors (current and former professors of philosophy and religion studies at the U. of North Texas) present some 300 articles, alphabetically arranged from "Abbey, Edward" to "Wright, Frank Lloyd." The essays cover a broad range of topics within environmental philosophy and ethics, including, to name a few. agrarianism, alternative technologies, animal ethics, Wendell Berry, Buddhism, coral bleaching, deserts and desertification, environmental citizenship, economic discounting, the Gaia hypothesis, green chemistry, Hurricane Katrina, mining and mountaintop removal, natural law theory , nuclear power, postcolonial environmental ethics, speciesism, teleology, urban environments, utilitarianism, vegetarianism, waste management, and the World Trade Organization. Each entry includes a bibliography for further reading. The text is augmented by some 200 photographs, illustrations, and sidebars. Appendices include an annotated bibliography, a glossary, and a collection of classic articles and documents. The volume also includes an index and a guide to entries by thematic subject. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)