Tuesday, July 14, 2015

A Great (Free) Book on Sustainable Development Touching All Fronts of the Topic

The free pdf book linked below is the proceedings of the joint workshop between the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences that happened in Vatican City last year. The workshop's theme was “Sustainable Humanity, Sustainable Nature: Our Responsibility.”
Throughout 704 pages, you can find quality papers written by prominent authors that are organized by a well-balanced editing. I think this latest publication from the Vatican Press could save you some money from buying some mediocre textbooks on sustainable development.

Bibliographic information:

Dasgupta, P. S., Ramanathan, V., & Sorondo, M. S. (Eds.). (2015). Sustainable Humanity, Sustainable Nature: Our Responsibility. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. [Full-text at http://j.mp/Sustainability_Vatican_Press]

Selected Table of Contents:

Introduction........................................... 14

Sustainable Humanity, Sustainable Nature: Our
 Responsibility
Oscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, SDB......... 22

Programme.............................................. 37

List of Participants................................... 42

I. THE BROADER CONTEXT

Human-Nature Co-Evolution
Werner Arber........................................... 49
The Emergence of Humans: Brains (Bodies and Hands), Mind
 and Soul
Yves Coppens........................................... 55

THE NEW ERA OF HUMAN-NATURE INTERACTIONS

II. FUNDAMENTAL DRIVERS OF FOOD, HEALTH, AND ENERGY
 NEEDS

Impediments to Sustainable Development: Externalities in
 Human-Nature Exchanges
Partha Dasgupta........................................ 63
Population et Nature: Antagonisme ou Concordance? People
 and Nature: Antagonism or Concordance?
Gérard-François Dumont................................. 79
Food Demand, Natural Resources, and Nature
Joachim von Braun..................................... 115
Sustainable Development Goals for a New Era
Jeffrey D. Sachs...................................... 134

III. ANTHROPOCENE: GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate-System Tipping Points and Extreme Weather Events
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber and Maria A. Martin......... 151
An Oceanographic Perspective
Walter Munk........................................... 171

IV. COMPETING DEMANDS ON NATURE AS A SOURCE

Can We “Save” the Ocean?
Nancy Knowlton........................................ 181
Tropical Forests, for Richer and for Poorer
Jeffrey R. Vincent.................................... 192
The Promise of Mega-Cities: Moving from Despair to Hope.
 Urban Informality and the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro
Janice Perlman........................................ 206

V. COMPETING DEMANDS ON THE CRYOSPHERE

Glaciers as Source of Water: The Himalaya
Anil V. Kulkarni...................................... 219
The Polar Regions
Peter Wadhams......................................... 225

VI. COMPETING DEMANDS ON THE BIOSPHERE

Green Fields: Feeding the Hungry, Raising the Poor and
 Protecting Nature in Africa
Robert (Bob) Scholes.................................. 239
Stability of Coastal Zones
Marcia McNutt......................................... 248

VII. SOCIETY’S RESPONSE TO CURRENT UNSUSTAINABLE
 GROWTH

Why Have Climate Negotiations Proved So Disappointing?
Scott Barrett......................................... 261
Towards an Inclusive “Green Economy”: Rethinking Ethics
 and Economy in the Age of the Anthropocene
Achim Steiner......................................... 277
The Two Worlds Approach for Mitigating Air Pollution and
 Climate Change
Veerabhadran Ramanathan............................... 285
Mainstreaming the Values of Nature for People into
 Decision-Making
Gretchen C. Daily..................................... 301
Energy for Sustainable and Equitable Development
Daniel M. Kammen, Peter Alstone, Dimitry Gershenson... 316
Global Knowledge Action Network
Charles F. Kennel..................................... 347
Sustainable Transformation of Human Society in Asia
Yuan Tseh Lee......................................... 370

VIII. SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society
 Endangers our Future
Joseph E. Stiglitz.................................... 379
Humanity’s Responsibility Toward Creation – An Ethical and
 Anthropological Challenge
Archbishop Roland Minnerath........................... 400
Nature and the Law: The Global Commons and the Common
 Concern of Humankind
Edith Brown Weiss..................................... 407

IX. SOCIAL INCLUSION

Towards a Social Balance of the Current Globalization
Juan J. Llach......................................... 425
Sustainable Education: Uruguay’s Plan Ceibal
Antonio M. Battro and Cecilia de la Paz............... 448
Being Trafficked to Work: How Can Human Trafficking Be
 Made Unsustainable?
Margaret S. Archer.................................... 460
Precariedad laboral, exclusión social y economía popular
Juan Grabois.......................................... 483
The Influence of Virtuous Human Life in Sustaining Nature
Stefano Zamagni....................................... 539
Social Inclusion in Governance and Peace-Building in Asia
Wilfrido V. Villacorta................................ 567

X. CLOSING SESSION: MOTIVATING SOCIETIES

What Role for Scientists?
Naomi Oreskes, Dale Jamieson, Michael Oppenheimer..... 617
Existential Risks
Martin Rees........................................... 650
Humanity’s Responsibility Toward Nature
Enrico Berti.......................................... 661

XI. CELEBRATIONS FOR THE TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF
 PASS

The History of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
Herbert Schambeck..................................... 669

Summary
Werner Arber.......................................... 677

Statement of the Joint PAS/PASS Workshop on
 “Sustainable Humanity, Sustainable Nature: Our
 Responsibility”
...................................................... 685

Signatories to the Statement.......................... 704