Description: The vast majority of the world's scientists agree: we have reached a point in history where we are in grave danger of destroying Earth's life-sustaining capacity. But our attempts to protect natural ecosystems are increasingly ineffective because our very conception of the problem is limited; we treat "the environment" as its own separate realm, taking for granted prevailing but outmoded conceptions of economics, national sovereignty, and international law. Green Governance is a direct response to the mounting calls for a paradigm shift in the way humans relate to the natural environment. It opens the door to a new set of solutions by proposing a compelling new synthesis of environmental protection based on broader notions of economics and human rights and on commons-based governance. Going beyond speculative abstractions, the book proposes a new architecture of environmental law and public policy that is as practical as it is theoretically sound.
Brief description: David Bollier is an author, activist and independent scholar of the commons. He is co-founder of the Commons Strategies Group; co-founder of Public Knowledge, a Washington DC advocacy group for the public's stake in copyright and Internet policies; and Senior Fellow at the Norman Lear Center. Bollier won the Bosch Prize for Public Policy at the American Academy in Berlin in 2012.
Review Quotes: "This book will stimulate wide interest, far larger than the average law work. Academics in the legal profession, particularly those focusing on human rights, the environment, or governance, will find this a welcome addition. Similarly, scholars in other fields, such as political science, environmental studies, or geography will find this book useful ... An absence of jargon makes this book accessible to a wide audience, by clearly explaining complex concepts such as commons governance. [Green Governance] is not only a new tactic for legal and political scholars. [It] is an engaging work that suggests a broader way of thinking about and governing the natural environment. The author's combination of human rights, vernacular law, and commons governance are a stark contrast to the traditional state and market-based approaches that dominate traditional discussions ... these suggestions ... represent new ideas at a time when there is a desperate need for change."
Scott McKenzie, Global Policy