Just Environments: Intergenerational, International and Inter-Species Issues

by David E. Cooper

Can we do what we want with other species? What happens when conflicting international interests get involved in global issues? What do we owe the next generation? The notion of justice is at the heart of questions like these; Just Environments is the first book to look at these most urgent issues in environmental studies, focusing on ethics and justice.
Just Environments is a multi-disciplinary examination of the international, intergenerational, inter-species issues arising from our treatment of the environment. This is the first book to consider such a range of issues approached from a variety of perspectives, including philosophical, political and ecological.
The layout of the book is exceptionally clear: in its opening section, three "framework" chapters discuss the ethical, the political and social, and ecological and geographical principles and contexts relevant to the issues addressed in the three remaining sections. These three sections are devoted to examining our obligations to future generations, to the developing world, and to the non human species respectively. In each of these sections, there are three chapters: one from the perspective of moral philosophy, one discussing the social and political factors bearing on the translation of these obligations into practice, and one on the geographical, ecological, and other scientific considerations crucial to any informed debate in these areas.
The chapters are written by acknowledged authorities in their respective fields, and at a level accessible to students of various backgrounds.

212 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 1995