The Shadows of Consumption by Peter Dauvergne

The Shadows of Consumption by Peter Dauvergne

An environmentalist maps the hidden costs of overconsumption in a globalized world by tracing the environmental consequences of five commodities.The Shadows of Consumption gives a hard-hitting diagnosis: many of the earth's ecosystems and billions of its people are at risk from the consequences of rising consumption. Products ranging from cars to hamburgers offer conveniences and pleasures; but, as Peter Dauvergne makes clear, global political and economic processes displace the real costs of consumer goods into distant ecosystems, communities, and timelines, tipping into crisis people and places without the power to resist. In The Shadows of Consumption, Peter Dauvergne maps the costs of consumption that remain hidden in the shadows cast by globalized corporations, trade, and finance. Dauvergne traces the environmental consequences of five commodities: automobiles, gasoline, refrigerators, beef, and harp seals. In these fascinating histories we learn, for example, that American officials ignored warnings about the dangers of lead in gasoline in the 1920s; why China is now a leading producer of CFC-free refrigerators; and how activists were able to stop Canada's commercial seal hunt in the 1980s (but are unable to do so now). Dauvergne's innovative analysis allows us to see why so many efforts to manage the global environment are failing even as environmentalism is slowly strengthening. He proposes a guiding principle of balanced consumption for both consumers and corporations. We know that we can make things better by driving a high-mileage car, eating locally grown food, and buying energy-efficient appliances; but these improvements are incremental, local, and insufficient. More crucial than our individual efforts to reuse and recycle will be reforms in the global political economy to reduce the inequalities of consumption and correct the imbalance between growing economies and environmental sustainability.

Professor of international relations at the University of British Columbia, Peter Dauvergne His recent writings include Eco-Business and Environmentalism of the Wealthy, which focus on the politics of global environmental change.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780262514927
ISBN 10	0262514923
Title	The Shadows of Consumption
Author	Peter Dauvergne
Series	The Mit Press
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	MIT Press Ltd
Year published	2010-09-24
Number of pages	336
Prizes	Winner of Winner of the 2009 Gerald L. Young Book Award in Human Ecology given by the Society for Human Ecology 2009
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.