Book description
Increasing evidence of the irreparable damage humans have inflicted
on the planet has caused many to adopt a defeatist attitude toward the
future of the global environment. Local Environmental Movements: A
Comparative Study of the United States and Japan analyzes how local
groups in both Japan and the United States refuse to surrender the
Earth to a depleted and polluted fate. Drawing on numerous case
studies, scholars from around the world discuss efforts by grassroots
organizations and movements to protect the environment and to preserve
the landscapes they love and depend upon. The authors examine citizen
campaigns protesting nuclear radiation and chemical weapons disposal.
Other groups have organized to protect farmlands and urban landscapes
to groups that organize to preserve steams, wildlife habitats, tidal
flats, coral reefs, National Parks, and biodiversity. These small
groups of determined citizens are occasionally successful,
demonstrating the power of democracy against seemingly insurmountable
odds. In other cases, the groups failed to bring about the desired
change. This book explores the distinctive leaders, the relevant laws
and regulations, local politics, and the historical and cultural
contexts that influenced the goals and successes of the various
groups. The contributors conclude that there is no one single
environmental movement but many, and the volume emphasizes grassroots
movements and advocacy groups that represent local constituencies. By
studying these groups and their respective challenges, Local
Environmental Movements highlights the common themes as well as the
distinctive features of environmental advocates in the United States
and Japan. Over decades, these groups' have nurtured environmental
awareness and promoted the concept of sustainable development that
respects the need for both environmental protection and cultural preservation.
""This book does a great job of illustrating how social
movements negotiate the local, regional, national, and international
forces that shape environmental conflicts."--Shawn Banasick, Kent
State University" --
Pradyumna P. Karan, professor of geography at the University of
Kentucky, is the author of Japan in the Twentyfirst Century:
Environment, Economy, and Society. Unryu Suganuma is associate
professor of geography at J. F. Oberlin University in Tokyo and the
author of Sovereign Rights and Territorial Space in Sino-Japanese Relations.
