Synopses & Reviews
A critical look at the discourse surrounding a widely promoted means of environmentally sensitive economic development
"An important contribution by widening the area of 'applied communication' research-to include the linguistic forces that would define sustainable development in technocratic or humanistic rhetorics". -- J. Robert Cox, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"A provocative use of rhetorical methodology, topical ecological subject, and discourse analysis. In this sense, (Sharing the Earth) is a pioneering scholarly effort". -- Thomas Farrell, Northwestern University
In Sharing the Earth, Tarla Rai Peterson explains how "sustainable development" -- a highly provocative concept that promises to unite environmental and economic concerns in achieving ecological integrity -- is understood, discussed, and implemented within specific communities. By analyzing the rhetoric of those who define sustainable development and advocate its implementation, she identifies points of tension among the term's various interpretations and explores how the concept may be brought to bear in resolving conflicts, furthering research, and establishing ecologically sound public policy.
In the first of three case studies, Peterson explores the construction of sustainable development at the Earth Summit Meeting of 1992. She contends that while the summit model captures a global perspective on the subject, it fails to explain what sustainable development means to the local communities where it will be implemented. In the second case study, which highlights the struggle entailed in deciding who sets the agenda for sustainable development, she contrasts the Canadian government'srecommendations for wildlife disease management in Wood Buffalo National Park with the development model preferred by local residents. In the final case study, Peterson relies primarily on interviews with residents of the U.S.-Mexico border embroiled in a bitter controversy over the impact of industrial development on human health. She uses the case study to clarify the communication dynamics involved when community members choose which elements of their world are most essential to sustain, which are most essential to develop, and how these elements interrelate.
Synopsis
During the past decade, "sustainable development" has been widely promoted as a means of implementing environmentally sensitive development policies and achieving ecological integrity. In Sharing the Earth, Tarla Rai Peterson explains how this provocative concept - the meaning of which remains contested - is understood, discussed, and implemented within specific communities. By analyzing the rhetoric of those who define sustainable development and advocate its implementation, she identifies points of tension among the term's various interpretations and how the concept may be brought to bear in resolving conflicts, promoting research, and establishing ecologically sound public policy.
Table of Contents
Sustainable development comes of age -- The power of ambiguity : rhetorical critique as a means of highlighting and maintaining internal contradictions -- Sustainable development goes to Rio : implications for global environmental governance -- Subverting the culture of expertise : community participation in development decisions -- Voices from the bottom of the Rio Grande : negotiating sustainable development in Cameron County, Texas -- Envisioning sustainable development in Cameron.