机读格式显示(MARC)
- 000 03486cam a2200445 i 4500
- 008 221008t20232023mau b 001 0 eng d
- 020 __ |a 9781684581528 |q hardcover
- 020 __ |a 1684581524 |q hardcover
- 040 __ |a MUST |b eng |c MUST |e rda
- 050 _4 |a QH541 |b .W42 2023
- 082 04 |a 577 |2 23/eng/20230530
- 099 __ |a CAL 022024018034
- 100 1_ |a Wessels, Tom, |d 1951- |e author.
- 245 14 |a The myth of progress : |b toward a sustainable future / |c Tom Wessels.
- 250 __ |a Updated edition.
- 264 _1 |a Waltham, Massachusetts : |b Brandeis University Press, |c 2023
- 300 __ |a xxi, 153 pages ; |c 21 cm
- 336 __ |a text |b txt |2 rdacontent
- 337 __ |a unmediated |b n |2 rdamedia
- 338 __ |a volume |b nc |2 rdacarrier
- 500 __ |a "Originally published by University Press of New England in 2006"--Title page verso.
- 504 __ |a Includes bibliographical references and index.
- 505 0_ |a Introduction -- 1. The myth of control: complex versus linear systems -- 2. The myth of growth: limits and sustainability -- 3. The myth of energy: the second law of thermodynamics -- 4. The myth of the free market: the loss of diversity, democracy, and economic resiliency -- 5. The myth of progress: a need for cultural change -- Epilogue: from consumption to connection.
- 520 __ |a "In this compelling and cogently argued book, Tom Wessels demonstrates how our current path toward progress, based on continual economic expansion and inefficient use of resources, runs absolutely contrary to three foundational scientific laws that govern all complex natural systems. It is a myth, he contends, that progress depends on a growing economy. Wessels explains his theory with his three laws of sustainability: (1) the law of limits to growth, (2) the second law of thermodynamics, which exposes the dangers of increased energy consumption, and (3) the law of self-organization, which results in the marvelous diversity of such highly evolved systems as the human body and complex ecosystems. These laws, scientifically proven to sustain life in its myriad forms, have been cast aside since the eighteenth century, first by Western economists, political pragmatists, and governments attracted by the idea of unlimited growth, and more recently by a global economy dominated by large corporations, in which consolidation and oversimplification create large-scale inefficiencies in both material and energy usage. Wessels makes scientific theory readily accessible by offering examples of how the laws of sustainability function in the complex systems we can observe in the natural world around us. He shows how systems such as forests can be templates for developing sustainable economic practices that will allow true progress. Demonstrating that all environmental problems have their source in a disregard for the laws of sustainability that is based on the myth of progress, he concludes with an impassioned argument for cultural change."--Publisher's website.
- 650 _0 |a Environmental policy.
- 650 _0 |a Sustainable development.
- 650 _7 |a environmental policy. |2 aat
- 650 _7 |a sustainable development. |2 aat
- 650 _7 |a Ecology |2 fast
- 650 _7 |a Environmental policy |2 fast
- 650 _7 |a Sustainable development |2 fast
- 921 __ |a CASHL |b CEPIEC |c CEPC 022024005478 |c 9781684581528
- 950 __ |a SCNU |f X22/W515