Human-nature Interactions in the Anthropocene

Human-nature Interactions in the Anthropocene PDF

Author: Marion Glaser

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 0415510007

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This book deals with the potentials of social-ecological systems analysis for resolving sustainability problems. Contributors relate inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives to systemic dynamics, human behavior and the different dimensions and scales. With a problem-focused, sustainability-oriented approach to the analysis of human-nature relations, this text will be a useful resource for scholars of human and social ecology, geography, sociology, development studies, social anthropology and natural resources management.

Ontology and Closeness in Human-Nature Relationships

Ontology and Closeness in Human-Nature Relationships PDF

Author: Neil H. Kessler

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-10-10

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 3319992740

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In Ontology and Closeness in Human-Nature Relationships, Neil H. Kessler identifies the preconceptions which can keep the modern human mind in the dark about what is happening relationally between humans and the more-than-human world. He has written an accessible work of environmental philosophy, with a focus on the ontology of human-nature relationships. In it, he contends that large-scale environmental problems are intimate and relational in origin. He also challenges the deeply embedded, modernist assumptions about the relational limitations of more-than-human beings, ones which place erroneous limitations on the possibilities for human/more-than-human closeness. Diverging from the posthumanist literature and its frequent reliance on new materialist ontology, the arguments in the book attempt to sweep away what ecofeminists call “human/nature dualisms. In doing so, conceptual avenues open up that have the power to radically alter how we engage in our daily interactions with the more-than-human world all around us. Given the diversity of fields and disciplines focused on the human-nature relationship, the topics of this book vary quite broadly, but always converge at the nexus of what is possible between humans and more-than-human beings. The discussion interweaves the influence of human/nature dualisms with the limitations of Deleuzian becoming and posthumanism’s new materialism and agential realism. It leverages interhuman interdependence theory, Charles Peirce’s synechism of feeling and various treatments of Theory of Mind while exploring the influence of human/nature dualisms on sustainability, place attachment, common worlds pedagogy, emergence, and critical animal studies. It also explores the implications of plant electrical activity, plant intelligence, and plant “neurobiology” for possibilities of relational capacities in plants while even grappling with theories of animism to challenge the animate/inanimate divide. The result is an engaging, novel treatment of human-nature relational ontology that will encourage the reader to look at the world in a whole new way.

Psychology of Sustainable Development

Psychology of Sustainable Development PDF

Author: Peter Schmuck

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1461509955

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Human activity overuses the resources of the planet at a rate that will severely compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Changes toward sustainability need to begin within the next few years or environmental deterioration will become irreversible. Thus the need to develop a mindset of sustainable development - the ability of society to meet its needs without permanently compromising the earth's resources - is pressing. The Psychology of Sustainable Development clarifies the meaning of the term and describes the conditions necessary for it to occur. With contributions from an international team of policy shapers and makers, the book will be an important reference for environmental, developmental, social, and organizational psychologists, in addition to other social scientists concerned with the impact current human activity will have on the prospects of future generations.

Green Nature/human Nature

Green Nature/human Nature PDF

Author: Charles A. Lewis

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9780252065101

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"Why do gardeners delight in the germination and growth of a seed? Why are our spirits lifted by flowers, our feelings of tension allayed by a walk in a forest or park? What other positive influences can green nature bring to humanity?

Human-Environment Interactions

Human-Environment Interactions PDF

Author: Eduardo S. Brondízio

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-11-15

Total Pages: 427

ISBN-13: 9400747802

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Drawing on research from eleven countries across four continents, the 16 chapters in the volume bring perspectives from various specialties in anthropology and human ecology, institutional analysis, historical and political ecology, geography, archaeology, and land change sciences. The four sections of the volume reflect complementary approaches to HEI: health and adaptation approaches, land change and landscape management approaches, institutional and political-ecology approaches, and historical and archaeological approaches.

Human-Environment Interactions

Human-Environment Interactions PDF

Author: Mark R. Welford

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-10-06

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 3030560325

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This textbook explores the growing area of human-environment interaction. We live in the Anthropocene, an era dominated by humans, but also by the positive yet destructive environmental feedbacks that are poised to completely reset the relationships between nature and society. Modern and historic political, social, and cultural processes and physical landscape responses determine the intensity of these impacts. Yet different cultural groups, political and economic entities view, react to, and impact these human-environmental processes in spatially distinct and divergent ways. Providing an accessible, up-to-date, approach to human-environment interactions with balanced coverage of both social and natural science approaches to core environmental issues, this textbook is an integrative, multi-disciplinary offering that discusses environmental issues and processes within the context of human societies. The book begins by addressing the three most pressing issues of our time: climate change, threshold exceedance, and the 6th mass extinction. From there the authors identify within chapters on resources, population, agriculture and urbanization what precipitated and continues to sustain these three issues. They end with a chapter outlining some practical solutions to our human-environment crises. The book will be a valuable resource for interdisciplinary environment related courses bridging the gap between the social and natural sciences, human geographies and physical geographies.

Human, Nature

Human, Nature PDF

Author: Ian Carter

Publisher: Pelagic Publishing Ltd

Published: 2021-06-08

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1784272582

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What does it mean to be a part of—rather than apart from—nature? This book is about how we interact with wildlife and the ways in which this can make our lives richer and more fulfilling. But it also explores the conflicts and contradictions inevitable in a world that is now so completely dominated by our own species. Interest in wildlife and wild places, and their profound effects on human wellbeing, have increased sharply as we face up to the ongoing biodiversity extinction crisis and reassess our priorities following a global pandemic. Ian Carter, lifelong naturalist and a former bird specialist at Natural England, sets out to uncover the intricacies of the relationship between humans and nature. In a direct, down-to-earth style he explains some of the key practical, ethical and philosophical problems we must navigate as we seek to reconnect with nature. This wide-ranging and infectiously personal account does not shy away from controversial subjects—such as how we handle invasive species, reintroductions, culling or dog ownership—and reveals in stark terms that properly addressing our connection to the natural world is an imperative, not a luxury. Short, pithy chapters make this book ideal for dipping into. Meanwhile, it builds into a compelling whole as the story moves from considering the wildlife close to home through to conflicts and, finally, the joy and sense of escape that can be had in the wildest corners of our landscapes, where there is still so much to discover.

One Health: The Well-being Impacts of Human-nature Relationships

One Health: The Well-being Impacts of Human-nature Relationships PDF

Author: Eric Brymer

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2019-11-07

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 2889632261

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In recent years there has been a growing body of evidence from fields such as public health, architecture, ecology, landscape, forestry, psychology, sport science, psychiatry, geography suggesting that nature enhances psychological health and wellbeing. Physical activity in the presence of nature, feelings of connection to nature, engagement with nature, specific environmental features (e.g. therapeutic, water and trees) and images of real and virtual nature have all been posited as important wellbeing facilitators. Thus, the association between natural environments and health outcomes might be more complex than initially understood (Pritchard, Richardson, Sheffield, & Mcewan, 2019). Despite the number of studies showing improvements in psychological health and wellbeing through nature-based physical activities or feelings of connection to nature the exact role and influence of the natural environment in this process is still rather unclear (Brymer, Davids, & Mallabon, 2014; Karmanov & Hamel, 2008). Research is also beginning to consider the importance of individual differences, meaning and the person-environment relationship (Freeman, Akhurst, Bannigan & James, 2016; Freeman & Akhurst, 2015) in the development of wellbeing and health outcomes. Furthermore traditional theoretical notions, such as Biophilia, topophilia, restoration theories and stress reduction theories typically used to interpret findings are also being critiqued. Often one of the main barriers for practitioners is the vast array of theories that claim to effectively explain research findings but that tend to be only partially relevant (e.g. for Physical activity or restoration), focus on the characteristics of the person (e.g. nature relatedness) and only some features of the landscape (e.g. therapeutic landscapes). This special edition therefore brings together cutting edge ideas and research from a wide set of disciplines with the purpose of exploring interdisciplinary or trans-disciplinary approaches to understanding the psychological health and wellbeing benefits of human-nature interactions.

Environmental Social Science

Environmental Social Science PDF

Author: Emilio F. Moran

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-09-09

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 1444358278

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Environmental Social Science offers a new synthesis of environmental studies, defining the nature of human-environment interactions and providing the foundation for a new cross-disciplinary enterprise that will make critical theories and research methods accessible across the natural and social sciences. Makes key theories and methods of the social sciences available to biologists and other environmental scientists Explains biological theories and concepts for the social sciences community working on the environment Helps bridge one of the difficult divides in collaborative work in human-environment research Includes much-needed descriptions of how to carry out research that is multinational, multiscale, multitemporal, and multidisciplinary within a complex systems theory context

Natural Processes and Human Impacts

Natural Processes and Human Impacts PDF

Author: Sergey M. Govorushko

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-10-13

Total Pages: 672

ISBN-13: 9400714246

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This highly topical book comes at a time when the two-way relationship between humankind and the environment is moving inexorably to the top of the agenda. It covers both sides of this delicate balancing act, explaining how various natural processes influence humanity, including its economic activities and engineering structures, while also illuminating the ways in which human activity puts pressure on the natural environment. Chapters analyze a varied selection of phenomena that directly affect people’s lives, from geological processes such as earthquakes and tsunamis to cosmic events such as magnetic storms. The author moves on to consider the effect we have on nature, ranging from the impact of heavy industry to the environmental consequences of sport and recreational pastimes. Complete with maps, photographs and detailed case studies, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the biggest issue we face as a species—the way we relate to the natural world around us. This book includes more than 100 maps showing the global distribution of different natural processes/human activities and more that 450 photographs from many countries and all oceans. It will provide a valuable resource for both graduate students and researchers in many fields of knowledge. Sergey Govorushko is a chief research scholar at the Pacific Geographical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences. He is also Professor at the Far Eastern Federal University (Vladivostok). Sergey Govorushko received his PhD from the Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences. His research activities focus on the interaction between humanity and the environment, including the impact of nature on humanity; the impact of humanity on the environment; and assessment of the interaction (environmental impact assessment, environmental audit, etc.). He has authored eight and co-authored seven monographs.