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<i>Green Planet Blues</i> Covers Four Decades of Global Environmental Politics

The new edition of the book co-edited by University of Maryland Professor Ken Conca and ECSP Director Geoff Dabelko covers key debates about climate, water, forests, toxics, energy, food, biodiversity, and other environmental challenges of the twenty-first century. It is available now from Westview Press.

The "only indispensable global environmental politics reader"—Green Planet Blues: Four Decades of Global Environmental Politics—has been newly revised and updated. Co-edited by University of Maryland Professor Ken Conca and ECSP Director Geoff Dabelko, the book was made available January 10 from Westview Press.

"It is essential reading to understanding the dynamics shaping international environmental law and institutions now and in the foreseeable future," says Carl Bruch of the Environmental Law Institute.

The 4th edition covers key debates about climate, water, forests, toxics, energy, food, biodiversity, and other environmental challenges of the twenty-first century.

"This edition builds gracefully from the must-read classics of the 1970s to today's need-to-know issues," says Robin Broad of American University.

What's New

Fourteen new readings discuss:

  • globalization and environmental change;
  • transnational activist networks;
  • the UN Environment Programme;
  • environment-conflict linkages, including the case of Darfur;
  • environmental peacebuilding;
  • the debate on greening foreign aid; and
  • the linkages between climate change and human rights.

    About the Editors

    Ken Conca is a professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland, where he directs the Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda. He is the author or editor of several books on environmental politics, peacebuilding, and global governance.

    Geoffrey D. Dabelko is director of the Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, and an adjunct professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

    Praise for Green Planet Blues

    "In this updated edition of their classic textbook, Conca and Dabelko have produced a volume that stimulates and challenges. The diverse views represented in the volume challenge orthodox thinking, making for stimulating reading and class discussion. The fourth edition reflects recent trends and new knowledge. It is essential reading to understanding the dynamics shaping international environmental law and institutions now and in the foreseeable future."
    —Carl Bruch, Environmental Law Institute

    "Green Planet Blues remains the only indispensable global environmental politics reader.
    This is a book that has stood the test of time, and it remains an invaluable guide to past and present debates in global environmental politics. It is notable for its clear introduction, concise chapters, and strong representation of voices from the South, and this makes it a book for globally minded students everywhere."
    —Jon Barnett, University of Melbourne

    "As a professor of environment and development, I would be lost without Conca and Dabelko's Green Planet Blues. This edition builds gracefully from the must-read classics of the 1970s to today's need-to-know issues—such as globalization, the WTO, and the role of local and global civil society. Using a political economy lens to bring together a multiplicity of voices, Conca and Dabelko have assembled a spectacular volume." —Dr. Robin Broad, American University

    "This is the best and most lively introduction to the study of global environmental politics. The editors have assembled a rich and diverse array of voices that capture all of the key ideas, actors, conflicts and themes in this burgeoning field. The fourth edition of Green Planet Blues also confirms, yet again, the editors' finely honed skills in talent spotting."
    —Robyn Eckersley, Head of Political Science, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne

    "The fourth edition of Green Planet Blues provides a thorough overview of global environmental policy and politics since the 1972 Stockholm summit. This up-to-date revised version is one of the few essential books for anyone interested in environmental issues, and particularly an excellent resource for students and teachers in this field. Highly recommended."
    —Ashok Swain, Director, Center for Sustainable Development, Uppsala University, Sweden

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