Defending Illusions: Federal Protection of Ecosystems

Author:   Allan K. Fitzsimmons
Publisher:   Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN:  

9780847694211


Pages:   348
Publication Date:   12 August 1999
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained


Our Price $287.76 Quantity:  
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Defending Illusions: Federal Protection of Ecosystems


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Overview

An examination of the science, philosophy and law of ecosystems management. It shows how efforts to make federal protection of ecosystems the centrepiece of national environmental policy are driven by religious veneration of Mother Earth wrapped in a veil of weak science. It reveals that placing the well-being of nature ahead of the well-being of people erodes the American dream and goes on to suggest how we can improve our stewardship of the land.

Full Product Details

Author:   Allan K. Fitzsimmons
Publisher:   Rowman & Littlefield
Imprint:   Rowman & Littlefield
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.581kg
ISBN:  

9780847694211


ISBN 10:   0847694216
Pages:   348
Publication Date:   12 August 1999
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: Government and the New Relationship with Nature Chapter 2 Everyone Knows What an Ecosystem Is...Or Do They? Chapter 3 Mapping Ecosystems Chapter 4 Visions of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Chapter 5 Claims of Environmental Calamity Chapter 6 Nature Worship and the New Paradigm Chapter 7 Science, Ecosystems, and the Emperor's New Clothes Chapter 8 The Law and Ecosystem Protection Chapter 9 Ecosystem Protection Proposals Chapter 10 Human Consequences of the New Paradigm Chapter 11 Improving Environmental Stewardship Chapter 12 Conclusion: Knowledge and Responsibility

Reviews

This book should be required reading for all ecologists as an example of how they have failed to send any coherent message to politicians, economists, and the general public relative to ecosystem concept. -- R. L. Smith CHOICE Fitzsimmons argues persuasively that nature in this sense, above the level of the organism, possesses neither organizing principles nor emergent qualities that biologists can study. Fitzsimmons makes a compelling case that this emperor has no clothes; that the popular notion of ecosystem management merely encloses a puzzle within an enigma within a mystery. This well-argued and meticulously footnoted critique makes the case against ecosystem management without proposing a different science as a basis for policy. Fitzsimmons persuasively reveals the intellectual dishonesty that uses fictions about nature to lend scientific credibility to what are essentially cultural, religious, or moral norms. -- Mark Sagoff Journal Of The National Academy Of Sciences The author examines the science, philosophy, and law of ecosystems management. Defending Illusions is an eye-opener about the basis for many commonly held views regarding ecosystems. It is thoroughly footnoted ... even for those with a different viewpoint, it is a book worth reading on this topic. Natural Resources and Environment


This book should be required reading for all ecologists as an example of how they have failed to send any coherent message to politicians, economists, and the general public relative to ecosystem concept.--Smith, R. L. Choice


Author Information

Allan K. Fitzsimmons is currently the president of Balanced Resource Solutions, as well as adjunct scholar, Political Economy Research Center (PERC)

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