Ecology and Environmental Ethics

Examining the successes and failures of three decades of environmental law, this absorbing book reconsiders some of the policies devised to remedy centuries of abuse of the planet. It acknowledges the advances made using technological standards to effect pollution control as well as rudimentary systems that regulate use of land at the local level. However, as the author observes, these systems have limitations in solving vexing problems such as sprawl and non-point source pollution, as the cost of their use can easily outweigh the benefits. He suggests a system, termed 'Green Wood in the Bundle of Sticks', that provides the necessary theoretical and historical bases to bridge the gap between the potentials of each system. Using objective criteria based on science, this system is tied to a land ownership system that also takes into account societal concerns at a broader level.