Shocks, states, and sustainability : the origins of radical environmental reforms / Thomas K. Rudel.

Shocks, states, and sustainability : the origins of radical environmental reforms / Thomas K. Rudel.

9780190924454 (electronic book)

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2019.

English

1 online resource : illustrations.

HC79.E5 R813 2019

333.7

For the past three decades scientists have urged us to abandon fossil fuels as rapidly as possible. Despite these pleas, the global energy sector has retained a familiar profile, dominated by the use of oil and natural gas. Only states have powers that are commensurate with rapidly reshaping societies in sustainable ways, but how do their politics enable these surges in sustainability? 'Shocks, States, and Sustainability' answers this question through a comparative historical study of four radical environmental reforms: in the Dust Bowl during the New Deal, in Britain after World War II, in Cuba after the Soviet collapse, and in the Gulf of Maine after the Depression. This analysis suggests that states reform environmental practices in the aftermath of focusing events that draw popular attention to environmental degradation and suggest sharp limits in the availability of natural resources.

For the past three decades scientists have urged us to abandon fossil fuels as rapidly as possible. Despite these pleas, the global energy sector has retained a familiar profile, dominated by the use of oil and natural gas. Only states have powers that are commensurate with rapidly reshaping societies in sustainable ways, but how do their politics enable these surges in sustainability? 'Shocks, States, and Sustainability' answers this question through a comparative historical study of four radical environmental reforms: in the Dust Bowl during the New Deal, in Britain after World War II, in Cuba after the Soviet collapse, and in the Gulf of Maine after the Depression. This analysis suggests that states reform environmental practices in the aftermath of focusing events that draw popular attention to environmental degradation and suggest sharp limits in the availability of natural resources.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Access limited to authorized users.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on January 23, 2019).

Oxford scholarship online.

Print version: 9780190921019

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