Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor

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Tom Athanasiou, a journalist and businessman, has produced an important, 385-page essay on the state of global environmentalism that is both hopeful and dire. He points to the 1992 Earth Summit Rio de Janeiro as "a doorway opening to ... more humane economics ... and greater concern for the vulnerability of Mother Earth." However, he also warns of the consequences of the economic inequalities of the southern and northern hemispheres and the potential ecological disasters of encouraging poorer countries to pursue the purely market-based path of richer countries.

Customer Reviews:

Makes the connection concrete.......2005-04-15

I've often heard vague assertions or individual examples concerning the relationship between environmental issues and social equity issues. But I never really gave it much thought; it seemed to me as if liberals were simply making a connection between two left wing issues out of convenience.

Now I know better.

Athanasiou has made a persuasive and detailed argument that poverty and pollution are one and the same problem; anyone who cares about the have-nots must care about the earth, and anyone who cares about the environment must see the huge role that social inequity plays in destroying the earth.

With access to better food, better water, better air, and better health care, the rich can avoid to be cavalier about the environmental woes that threaten those who are less fortunate. I've always derived a bit of comfort from the idea that environmental devastation is an equalizer that is insensitive to wealth and race; unfortunately, that's not quite true.

If the ravaging of the earth results in truly catastrophic events, everyone will be affected severely. But for the very long, intermediate stage between that scenario and the world in which we currently live, this is a divided planet, and the division is ugly.

Personally, I'm much more interested in the environment than social issues, and I wasn't completely convinced that the correct remedies to the earth's ills would be the sweeping global economic reform that the book seems to recommend.

Despite this, I think this book is an invaluable addition to the canon of environmental books; if nothing else, it demonstrates the very real connection between the plight of the world's poor, and the plight of Mother Earth, giving us all twice as many reasons to help either.

A new outlook..........2001-07-26

Highly recommended for anyone looking to get beyond the tired, short-sighted rhetoric of those in the environmental movement avoiding the debate of economics and the current rich/poor gap in the world. An insightful critique of the environmental movement, focusing on right-wing environmentalists, politicians, ngo's, and population obsessors. Also included is an even more detailed critique of the new global order firmly established after the cold war and the challenges it presents a quickly destabalizing world. A much needed read for environmental activists, anti-corporate globalization activists, human rights advocates, and especially those opposed to their actions as the book is an intelligent, well-sighted, in-depth critique of the new economic world order.

A far-ranging, essential work.......2001-02-04

Divided Planet accomplishes what hundreds of other books about environmental politics don't: it digs into the big questions of the complicated web of relationships between economy and ecology, and so gets to the heart of most of the troubles facing the planet. Athanasiou writes clearly and coherently about various approaches to environmental problems, and he measures them against a wide view of the world's resources which has more in common with Oxfam than the Sierra Club.

The book offers a cogent analysis of our troubles and an almost unique vision of where we need to go from here, but also serves as a reliable history of the environmental movement and various environmental philosophies, from moderate pragmatism to Deep Ecology. Athanasiou is honest and fair about the strengths and limits of past approaches, while at the same time offering his own radical point of view. (And I don't mean radical as a demeaning term -- one of the benefits of this book is that Athanasiou recognizes the need for big, systemic changes.)

Unlike many books on similar subjects, this is not a manifesto of doom and gloom or two hundred pages of blame, blame, blame. Yes, Athanasiou admits the situation doesn't look good, but he's interested in figuring out what to do, not in sitting around and whining. Divided Planet offers an excellent and humane critique, but it also offers some paths forward. We could all stand to listen to the critique, and take a step onto one of the paths.

Sober analysis of current environmental realities.......2000-06-14

Divided Planet is the product of a veteran environmental advocate. Tom Athanasiou presents a sober analysis of current environmental realities in this well-written and thoughtful book. As our environment deteriorates, the author documents and analyzes the dialogue between those who plunder natural resources and those who are working to protect our planet. Importantly, the root cause of environmental destruction -- the divide between rich and poor -- is mostly overlooked, the author writes. Mr. Athanasiou's book explains why overcoming North/South economic disparity may be a daunting task, yet he also provides inspiration for those individuals who may ultimately work for environmental justice on a global scale. Highly recommended.

Brilliant! A gold-mine of truth and detail........1998-06-13

Divided Planet is one of the finest books in its genre. Tom Athanasiou drills deep into the details of trans-national-corporate "neo-colonialism" (my term) to discover the root causes of environmental destruction and poverty. Any thinking person will not be able to put this book down, and it should be required reading for anybody involved in public policy work.

Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor.(In review) (book reviews): An article from: Dollars & Sense

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Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor.(In review) (book reviews): An article from: Dollars & Sense
Michael Lane
Manufacturer: Economic Affairs Bureau
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Dollars & Sense, published by Economic Affairs Bureau on November 1, 1997. The length of the article is 956 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor.(In review) (book reviews)
Author: Michael Lane
Publication: Dollars & Sense (Newsletter)
Date: November 1, 1997
Publisher: Economic Affairs Bureau
Issue: n214 Page: p40(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor

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Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor
Tom Athanasiou
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MU4KZE

Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor {SIGNED BY AUTHOR)

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Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor {SIGNED BY AUTHOR)
Tom Athanasiou
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTR88E

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Index of the mycological notes of C. G. Lloyd: Volume VII, 1922-1925
Curtis Gates Lloyd
Manufacturer: [s.n.]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008D4KS2

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A ton of horseflesh .......2007-04-04

A little long in the tooth at this point, especially with the rise of the mega-stables of folks like Todd Pletcher and Steve Asmussen, but, dammit, they are the children of D. Wayne Lukas. Racing the way it is played today, for better or worse, is unthinkable without the old lion's revolutionary way of operating. Of course, you have to have big money behind you, and Lukas had as much as anyone at one time, and this book, in great detail and with great fascination, follows Lukas at the major auctions and shows what was bought and for how much and how the animal fared. It is a window into a closing world, with bloodlines that still resonate. There are lessons still to be learned here, for those idiosyncratic enough to care to learn them. Fetishistic and rewarding scholarship.

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Dermatology of the Lips
Crispian Scully , Roy S Rogers III , Stephen Porter , Drore Eisen , and Jose-Vicente Bagan
Manufacturer: Informa Healthcare
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1901865746

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A comprehensive atlas of lip disorders edited by an international team of clinicians with experience in dermatology, oral medicine, dentistry and medicine. Each condition of the lips is described in detail, together with a concise summary of the aetiology. Clinical features, diagnosis and management, and whether the condition is itself the prime disorder or simply a minor component of another ailment.

Great Library Promotion Ideas III: Jcd Library and Public Relations Award Winners and Notables, 1986

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Great Library Promotion Ideas III: Jcd Library and Public Relations Award Winners and Notables, 1986
John W. Berry
Manufacturer: Amer Library Assn
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0838933378

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Race With A Dinosaur
Dan Bagan
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1420843893

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Cole Stubbins and his little brother, Ricky, have the perfect life. They had friends, hockey, a caring mother, and a brilliant paleontologist professor for a father who let his boys help construct 'real live' dinosaur skeletons in their very own dining room! One evening, Cole and Ricky were home alone, waiting for the professor to bring home something for dinner. They decide to surprise him by piecing together as many bones as they could from a newly discovered type of Albertasaurus. Unbeknown to them, one of the bones held a deadly secret, kept hidden for millions of years. When young Ricky accidentally cracks open this bone he cuts his hand and absorbs some prehistoric radioactive fluid into his blood stream. He begins to gradually change, gaining some very unusual, superhuman skills only a young dinosaur could have, as well as an illness that starts him on a deadly countdown for his life! There is only one way to save young Ricky. In a race against time, Cole must help the professor finish his 'Rediscover Time' machine by finding a flawless diamond worth over one hundred million dollars. Then he must travel back to the age of the dinosaur to get the cure for Ricky's disease! But miracles happen and the machine is completed but there are technical problems and Cole is the only one small enough and intelligent enough to make the journey! While back in time everything goes horribly wrong and Cole accidentally brings back a dinosaur named 'Albert' to modern day Drumheller, along with the cure for Ricky's illness. The trouble is, the cure is inside the belly of Albert. Chaos breaks loose in the tiny town of Drumheller in this first of many adventures in the lives of the Stubbins family as they 'Rediscover Time!'

The Syntax of the Letters of Pope Gelasius I

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The Syntax of the Letters of Pope Gelasius I
PHILIP V BAGAN
Manufacturer: Washington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ITH9CA

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The Bagan Name in History
Ancestry.com
Manufacturer: Ancestry.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

My Family | Genealogy | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000WD23GO
Release Date: 2007-06-15

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The Bagan Name in History is a customized book offering a unique blend of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary about the Bagan name. The book is just one of an entire series of family name books in the Our Name in History collection. Each book in the collection is printed on demand and is compiled from hundreds of millions of records from the world's largest online resource of family history, Ancestry.com. This particular book follows the Bagan family name through history and makes the perfect gift for your family members and anyone interested in the Bagan name. In the book you'll find out about where people with the Bagan last name originated. You may discover the countries and ports they left behind, the ships they sailed and more. You'll get a better idea of where people sharing the Bagan name settled and where they may reside today in the United States, Canada, England and other countries. You'll get all this information and much more in your Bagan family name book. If your last name is not Bagan, then check out our collection of nearly 300,000 family name books to find other available names in the series.

Burnout and absenteeism among nurses in health care management.: An article from: Journal of Academy of Business and Economics

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Burnout and absenteeism among nurses in health care management.: An article from: Journal of Academy of Business and Economics
Yacov Kedem , and Yehudit Bagan
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Journal of Academy of Business and Economics, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2005. The length of the article is 10621 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Burnout and absenteeism among nurses in health care management.
Author: Yacov Kedem
Publication: Journal of Academy of Business and Economics (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Page: 93(19)

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Food for thought (and if you're lucky, for eating).(vefgetable gardening on Culebra, Puerto Rico)(Brief Article): An article from: Countryside & Small Stock Journal

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Food for thought (and if you're lucky, for eating).(vefgetable gardening on Culebra, Puerto Rico)(Brief Article): An article from: Countryside & Small Stock Journal
Beverly Bagans
Manufacturer: Countryside Publications Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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General | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008GU3GM
Release Date: 2005-07-28

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This digital document is an article from Countryside & Small Stock Journal, published by Countryside Publications Ltd. on January 1, 2000. The length of the article is 968 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Food for thought (and if you're lucky, for eating).(vefgetable gardening on Culebra, Puerto Rico)(Brief Article)
Author: Beverly Bagans
Publication: Countryside & Small Stock Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2000
Publisher: Countryside Publications Ltd.
Volume: 84 Issue: 1 Page: 100

Article Type: Brief Article

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Homesteading on the tropical island of Culebra, Puerto Rico.(Brief Article): An article from: Countryside & Small Stock Journal

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Homesteading on the tropical island of Culebra, Puerto Rico.(Brief Article): An article from: Countryside & Small Stock Journal
Beverly Bagans
Manufacturer: Countryside Publications Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008GU3GC
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Countryside & Small Stock Journal, published by Countryside Publications Ltd. on January 1, 2000. The length of the article is 817 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Homesteading on the tropical island of Culebra, Puerto Rico.(Brief Article)
Author: Beverly Bagans
Publication: Countryside & Small Stock Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2000
Publisher: Countryside Publications Ltd.
Volume: 84 Issue: 1 Page: 99

Article Type: Brief Article

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Land-use classification using ASTER data and self-organized neutral networks [An article from: International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation]

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Land-use classification using ASTER data and self-organized neutral networks [An article from: International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation]
M. Jianwen , and H. Bagan
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR7MHK

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This digital document is a journal article from International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Operationally AVHRR and TM/TM+ data were used and a supervised maximum likelihood classification (MLH) was applied to depict land use changes in Beijing, providing basic maps for planning and development. With rapid growth of the city these are helpful to deal with higher resolution data, whereas new classification algorithms produce land use maps more accurate. In the paper, new sensor ASTER data and the Kohonen self-organized neural network feature map (KSOM) were tested. The TSOM classified 7% more accurately than the maximum likelihood algorithm in general, and 50% more accurately for the classes 'residential area' and 'roads'. The results suggest that ASTER data and the Kohonen self-organized neural network classification can be used as an alternative data and method in a land use update operational system.

Book Description

In June 1942, seven months after attacking Pearl Harbor, the Japanese navy invaded Alaska's Aleutian Islands. For nine thousand years the Aleut people had lived and thrived on these treeless, windswept lands. Within days of the first attack, the entire native population living west of Unimak Island was gathered up and evacuated to relocation centers in the dense forests of Alaska's Southeast.

With resilience, compassion, and humor, the Aleuts responded to the sorrows of upheaval and dislocation. This is the story of Vera, a young Aleut caught up in the turmoil of war. It chronicles her struggles to survive and to keep community and heritage intact despite harsh conditions in an alien environment.

Customer Reviews:

a utter waste of time.......2007-01-04

After all the wonderful reviews of this book, I could not wait to start reading. After reading the book, the only conclusion that can be made, is that the Aluets would rather stayed on their islands, and been killed by the Japanese. Yes, the conditions were not horrid, they were given substandard treatment in every regard. But, even bad conditions are better than being in the middle of a war, or from what this book, says, no.

Vera means "True".......2006-12-30

The truth being told, we suspect is that the forced relocation of Aleuts later became the basis for hijacking their oil, and laying waste to their delicate sea environment, another culture trampled and destroyed in the name of conquering democracy.

a must read.......2006-11-03

Karen Hesse captures the brilliant light of the Aleutians in this sensitively written poetic story of the islanders' displacement during WW II, told through the eyes of one of the island children.
Although Hesse is a children's writer, she has something to say to adults as well. This is a book you ponder long after you have finished reading it.

A moving story about the impact of WW2 on the Aleut people.......2006-03-25

"Aleutian Sparrow," by Karen Hesse, tells the story of how the Aleut people of Alaska's Aleutian Islands were removed from their homes during World War II and sent to evacuation camps on the Alaskan mainland. The story is told in the first person by Vera, the daughter of an Aleut woman and a white man. The front cover describes this book as a novel. However, the text is presented in the form of a series of short free verse poems which stylistically reminded me somewhat of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass." Inside the back cover is some information about author Hesse; it is noted, "A school visit to Ketchikan, Alaska, was the genesis for this book." Also mentioned is that she lives in Vermont. In an "Author's Note" Hesse states that the book "is a work of fiction based on true events." The story covers the time period from May 1942 to April 1945.

Hesse's poetic language is beautiful; she creates phrases and images that are bold and refreshing. Her narrative is rich in details that illuminate her Aleut characters' lives both on the islands and at the mainland evacuation camps. The poems cover recreation, transportation, work, food, and other aspects of life. Particularly interesting is Hesse's portrait of the Aleut people's pre-evacuation relationship to the land on which they live, the sea that surrounds them, and the plants and animals that share these spaces. The significant themes of the book include relationships among three generations of Aleuts, relations between Aleuts and whites, the tension between Americanization and the preservation of traditional Aleut culture, Aleut folklore, and the struggle of the Aleuts to deal with life in a very alien environment while evacuated to the mainland.

"Aleutian Sparrow" is a tragic, ironic, and haunting narrative. It's a valuable addition to the canon of literary works inspired by WW2. For a powerful companion text I recommend "Farewell to Manzanar," by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, which tells a story about Japanese-American internment during WW2.

"For Their Own Protection".......2006-01-20

I did not set out this morning to read or to review Karen Hesse's ALEUTIAN SPARROW, but one of my wife's faculty colleagues at the university had lent it to her, and, when she told me that the setting focused on the Aleutian Islands and Ketchikan, I knew I had to look at it, too. Once I began, I found myself unable to pause until I had passed the last page, the author's end note, and the dust jacket notes.

Fiction this little book may be. A cheechako from the eastern shores of the Lower-48 the author may be. But neither of these facts lessens the emotional impact of ALEUTIAN SPARROW upon the reader. Narrated in the first person by an Aleut girl, each page offers what might have been a brief diary entry, and through her eyes we experience the ineffable sadness, the degradation, the physical suffering, and the emotional distress of a people forced from their homes, uprooted from their lands, severed from their possessions, and transported to rude camps by their own government "for their own protection" during the first three years of World War II.

Through the eyes of our young narrator, we see the racial, cultural and economic bigotry, as well as some kindnesses, of the local Alaskan caucasian population against the Aleuts (who had never wanted to be in their backyards in the first place). We view the lack of understanding and, therefore, the lack of compassion, between cultures. We witness the lack of adequate medical care for the displaced villagers, and, helpless, we watch many of them sicken and die, their bodies sometimes to be floated from their graves to become food for bears. We read of the painful irony that German prisoners of war are lodged in clean, modern, comfortable camps while the Aleuts--American citizens all--struggle to survive without clean water, sanitary facilities, or adequate clothing.

Beyond the injustices occasioned by the war and exacerbated by a government either incapable or unwilling to care adequately for the evacuees, the reader also glimpses just a few of the painful adjustments that await the minority Aleuts as their culture begins to interact with that of caucasian America. There are marriages between Aleut women and cheechako men, but the husbands are no longer around. There are the decisions by some of the evacuees to remain on the Alaskan mainland and in its towns even though those decisions doom them to second-class citizenship. There is the encroachment of alcoholism upon those whose courage and ability to endure have at last failed, and there is the suggestion that some turn to prostitution in a jobless economy.

Is there a good ending to this story? The war, as do all wars, finally ends. The Aleuts are allowed to return to their island chain. Love will blossom among the youth, and people will find the will to begin again. Yet, the war's damage to individuals, to their culture, to their homes and belongings and memories is irremediable. The people will indeed continue, but the continuum has been shattered, and the future will be quite different from what it might have been. The ending is hopeful but realistic.

My sole quibble, if you will, with this book is its categorization as "juvenile fiction." The characters and the specific narrator may indeed be creations of the author's imagination, but the picture that they paint in the reader's mind is all too authentic and historically accurate. As to "juvenile," I recommend this book not only to teenage readers but to their parents and grandparents as well, not to mention those who, by virtue of holding political office, directly affect national policies that affect the existence and the future of a people. And I offer one other recommendation: In addition to ALEUTIAN SPARROW, by all means read FAREWELL TO MANZANAR by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston (1973). Both of these books offer the reader a look at cultural sensitivity and at the sorrow and pain that its absence can cause.

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Aleutian Sparrow
Karen Hesse
Manufacturer: Margaret Mcelderry
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K1U662

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