* Global Biodiversity Outlook 3.  United Nations Environment Programme.  NY: United Nations Publications, Feb 2011, 94p, $40.  “The diversity of living things on the planet continues to be eroded as a result of human activities” and the “pressures driving the loss of biodiversity…are much worse than previously thought.”  The third edition of this report produced by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) presents some stark choices for human societies and offers options to address the crisis.  “Determined action to conserve biodiversity and use it sustainably will reap rich rewards,” benefiting people through better health, greater food security, and less poverty.  

* The Plundered Planet: Why We Must – and How We Can – Manage Nature for Global Prosperity.  Paul Collier (Prof of Economics, Oxford U).  NY: Oxford UP, Nov 2011, 224p, $16.95pb.  Proper stewardship of natural assets and liabilities is a matter of planetary urgency.  The author of The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing builds on his work in developing countries to confront the global mismanagement of natural resources, and charts a course between unchecked profiteering and environmental romanticism to offer realistic and sustainable solutions to complex issues.  Collier proposes 1) a series of international standards that would help poor countries rich in natural assets better manage those resources, 2) policy changes that would raise world food supply, and 3) an approach to climate change that acknowledges the benefits of industrialization while addressing the need for alternatives to carbon trading.  

* Environmental Economics: A Very Short Introduction.  Stephen Smith (Prof of Economics, University College London).  NY: Oxford UP, Nov 2011, 144p, $11.95pb.  Discusses pollution control, reducing environmental damage, global climate change policies, balancing environmental and economic considerations, and the form governmental policies should take. 

* Global Corruption Report: Climate Change.  Transparency International.  London & Sterling VA: Earthscan (dist by Stylus), May 2011, 176p, $34.95pb.  The first publication to explore corruption risks related to implementing climate policies and developing carbon markets.  These risks include undue influence on policies and regulations, misallocation of funds, and manipulation of markets , reporting, and verification mechanisms.  Covers four key areas: governance, mitigating climate change, adapting to climate change, and forestry governance. 

* The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in National and International Policy Making.  Edited by Patrick ten Brink (Senior Fellow, Inst for European Environmental Policy, Brussels).  London & Sterling VA: Earthscan (dist by Stylus), April 2011, 352p (8x10p), $99.95.  Demonstrates the value of ecosystems and biodiversity to the economy, society, and individuals; highlights the urgency for strategic policy making and action at national and international levels; and presents examples of policies in action from around the world.  Also explores the range of instruments to reward those offering ecosystem service benefits, to reduce the incentives of those running down our natural capital, and to offer subsidies that respond to future priorities.  Two major areas of investment in natural capital are also considered:  protected areas and investment in restoration.  An output of TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project led by UNEP.   

* Handbook on Strategic Environmental Assessment.  Edited by Barry Sadler and six others.  London & Sterling VA: Earthscan (dist by Stylus), Feb 2011, 650p, $125.  Reviews SEA frameworks in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the EU, and developing regions (Africa, Asia, Latin America, Newly Independent States).   Considers SEA practice in several major sectors (energy, minerals, transport, water, development assistance, and coastal zone management),  linkages between SEA and other comparable tools (special planning and environmental management), key cross-cutting issues in SEA, ways and means of SEA process and capacity development, and the shift from conventional SEA towards more integrative approaches.                                (ENVIRONMENT/RESOURCES *

* Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean.  National Research Council.  Washington: National Academies Press, Sept 2010, 176p, $32pb.  “The ocean has absorbed a significant portion of all human-made carbon dioxide emissions.  This benefits human society by moderating the rate of climate change, but also causes unprecedented changes to ocean chemistry.”  Carbon dioxide taken up by the ocean decreases the pH of the water and leads to a suite of chemical changes collectively known as ocean acidification, the long term consequences of which are expected to result in changes to many ecosystems and services they provide to society.  The NRC Committee on the Development of an Integrated Science Strategy for Ocean Acidification Monitoring, Research, and Impacts Assessment offers several recommendations, including six key elements of a successful acidification program. 

** America’s Environmental Report Card: Are We Making the Grade? (Second Edition).  Harvey Blatt (Prof of Geology, Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew U of Jerusalem).  Cambridge: MIT Press, April 2011, 376p, $19.95pb.  Looks at water supplies, new concerns about water purity, the dangers of floods, infrastructure problems, the leaching of garbage buried in landfills, soil, contaminated crops, organic food, fossil fuels, alternative energy sources, controversies over nuclear energy, the increasing pace of climate change, and air pollution.  Outlines workable and reasonable solutions that map the course to a sustainable future, and argues that American can lead the way to a better environment: we can afford it, and can’t afford not to.   [Also see America’s Food: What You Don’t Know About What You Eat by Harvey Blatt (MIT, 2008).]     

* Paying for Biodiversity: Enhancing the Cost-Effectiveness of Payments for Ecosystem Services.   Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development.  Paris: OECD Publishing, Oct 2010, 196p, $40 (free pdf).  Biodiversity and ecosystem services provide tangible benefits for society: food provisioning, water purification, genetic resources and, climate regulation.  Yet biodiversity is declining worldwide and, in some areas, the loss is accelerating.  Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is a flexible incentive-based mechanism under which the user or beneficiary of an ecosystem makes a direct payment to an individual or community whose land decisions have an impact on the ecosystem service provision.  Over the past decade PES have been proliferating worldwide: there are already more than 300 programs in place today at national, regional, and local levels.  Draws on more than 30 case studies to identify good practices in the design and implementation of PES programmes, and to examine their environmental effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and financing. 

* Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean.  National Research Council.  Washington: National Academies Press, 2010/175p/$32pb (www.nap.edu).  Like climate change, ocean acidification is a growing global problem that will intensify with continued CO2 emissions.  The ocean absorbs a significant portion of all CO2 emissions, which moderates the rate of climate change but also causes changes in ocean chemistry, which is “changing at an unprecedented rate and magnitude,” with a demonstrated impact on many marine organisms.  Long-term consequences are not known, but are expected to result in changes to many ecosystems.  Initial steps have been taken to develop a US ocean acidification program.  A global observation network of chemical and biological sensors is needed to monitor changes. 

** Cents and Sustainability: Securing Our Common Future by Decoupling Economic Growth from Environmental Pressures.  Michael H. Smith (Australian National U; Co-Founder, The Natural Edge Project), Karlson ‘Charlie’ Hargroves (Director, TNEP), and Cheryl Desha (Deputy Directory, TNRP).  Intro by Jim MacNeill.  Forewords by Gro Harlem Brundtland, Rajendra Pachauri, and Jeffrey Sachs.  London & Sterling VA: Earthscan, Sept 2010/405p/$39.95.  In the 1987 Bruntland Commission report, Our Common Future, a new era of sustainable economic growth was advocated. New research allows a deeper understanding of how, and under what conditions, this “forceful sustainable growth” is possible.  Chapter topics: securing “Our Common Future,” decoupling explained, factors that undermine or block decoupling, national strategies for decoupling, facing the unprecedented challenges of climate change, and decoupling economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, freshwater extraction, waste production, and air pollution. [NOTE:  Sophisticated and leading edge.  Smith, Hargroves and Desha are co-authors of Factor Five (Earthscan, 2009), and Whole System Design (Earthscan, 2008).]                                                                (THE NATURAL EDGE PROJECT

* Hope Is an Imperative: The Essential David Orr.  David W. Orr (Distinguished Prof of Environmental Studies and Politics, Oberlin College). Foreword by Fritjof Capra.  Washington DC: Island Press, Dec 2010/375p/$30pb.  Collects the works of a leading champion of the environmental movement and author of six previous books, who advocates ecological literacy in higher education, ecological design, and awareness of threats to future genererations.  The 33 essays include “What is Education For?”, “The Campus and The Biosphere”, and “Loving Children: A Design Problem.”  An introduction describes the evolution of environmentalism. (ENVIRONMENTALISM EVOLVING * ECOLOGICAL LITERACY *  DESIGN, ECOLOGICAL * FUTURE GENERATIONS * HIGHER EDUCATION: ECO-LITERACY)

* The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference.  Jonathan M. Hoekstra (U of Washington; Director, Nature Conservancy Climate Change Program), Jennifer L. Molnar (Nature Conservancy), and seven others.  Berkeley, CA: U of California Press, April 2010, 248p (8x11”), $49.95.  Offers a guide to the state of the planet and our resource and environmental issues, featuring 79 maps and 220 color illustrations.  Draws on the best of data available to provide graphics paired with informative discussion of trends across world’s terrestrial, marine, and freshwater environments. Essays by international authorities outline solutions for pressing challenges.                                                    (ENVIRONMENT: GLOBAL OVERVIEW * ATLAS OF

* Global Environmental Politics (Fifth Edition).  Pamela S. Chasek (Assoc Prof of Pol Sci, Manhattan College), David L. Downie (Assoc Prof of Pol Sci, Fairfield U), and Janet Welsh Brown (exec dir, Environmental Defense Fund; chair of the board of directors, Friends of the Earth).  Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Jan 2010, 384p, $38pb.  An introduction to the world’s most pressing environmental issues, covering 1) global environmental politics and its actors, 2) environmental regimes on: toxic pollutants, chemicals, and wastes, atmosphere, ozone, and climate change, natural resources, species and habitats, 3) the effectiveness of environmental regimes (obstacles and opportunities), 4) linkages between environmental politics, economics, and development. This edition includes new material on the latest environmental regimes, growing problems of water quality and scarcity, and the growing role of environment in global security.

* Green Planet Blues: Four Decades of Global Environmental Politics (Fourth Edition).  Edited by Ken Conca (Prof of  Politics, U of Maryland; Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda) and Geoffrey D. Dabelko (director, Environmental Change and Security Program, Woodrow Wilson Intl Center for Scholars).  Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Jan 2010, 384p, $43pb.  Collected essays capture diverse viewpoints on global environmental politics: contemporary and classic, activist and scholarly, powerless and powerful. This edition features 14 new readings on transnational activist networks, the UN Environment Programme, environment and conflict/peace-building, green foreign aid, and linkages between climate change and human rights. Section titles: 1) the structure of the international system, 2) global environmental governance institutions, 3) the sustainability debate, 4) environmental conflict and sustainability, and 5) ecological justice.                                                            (ENVIRONMENT:

* The Ecological Rift: Capitalism’s War on the Earth.  John Bellamy Foster (editor, Monthly Review; Prof of Sociology, U of Oregon), Brett Clark (Asst Prof of Sociology, North Caroline U), and Richard York (Assoc Prof of Sociology, U of Oregon).  NY: Monthly Review Press (dist. NYU Press), Aug 2010, 352p, $17.95pb.  All ecosystems worldwide are now in decline, and humanity in the 21C is facing its ultimate environmental catastrophe.  The source of our ecological crisis lies in the capitalist paradox of wealth, which expands individual riches at the expense of public wealth, including the wealth of nature.  A huge ecological rift is thus driven between humanity and nature.  Fundamental changes in social relations must occur before transcending the current ecological and social problems facing us.  Reasons for revolutionary hope are offered.                                         (CAPITALISM AND SUSTAINABILITY

* The Plundered Planet: Why We Must—and How We Can—Manage Nature for Global Prosperity.  Paul Collier (Prof of Economics, Oxford U).  NY: Oxford U Press, May 2010/224p/$24.95.  Author of The Bottom Billion (Oxford, 2007; FS *29:12/472) and former director of World Bank development research addresses the global mismanagement of nature as a matter of planetary emergency.  Proposes a series of international standards that would help poor countries rich in natural assets better manage these resources, policy changes that would raise world food supply, and the need for alternatives to carbon trading.                                           (DEVELOPMENT * ENVIRONMENT) 

* Gaia in Turmoil: Climate Change, Biodepletion, and Earth Ethics in an Age of Crisis.    Edited by Eileen Crist (Associate Prof of Sci/Tech, Virginia Tech) and H. Bruce Rinker. Cambridge: MIT Press, Nov 2009/352p/$27pb.  Gaian theory, first articulated by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the 1970s, holds that the Earth’s processes form a self-regulating system; contributors (including Lovelock and Margulis) discuss the planet’s water supply, global environmental change, biodiversity destruction, global warming, and the influence of Gaia on technology, ethics, and environmental policy.

* The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning. James Lovelock (Lounceston UK). Basic Books, April 2009/288p/$25. Co-author of the Gaia hypothesis in the 1970s, arguing that organisms interact with and regulate Earth’s surface and atmosphere, speculates that humankind will survive the coming Long Emergency, but it won’t be pretty and strong actions are needed. Also see The Revenge of Gaia: Earth’s Climate in Crisis and the Fate of Humanity (Basic Books, 2006/177p/$25), warning that we have driven the Earth to a crisis state, and that humanity faces its greatest trial.

* Human Footprints on the Global Environment: Threats to Sustainability. Edited by Eugene A. Rosa (Distinguished Prof of Resources Policy, Washington State U) and three others. Cambridge: MIT Press, Dec 2009/328p/$27pb. A state-of-the-art assessment of the huge human ecological footprint that threatens the sustainability of the planet; discusses the new Structural Human Ecology approach to analyzing anthropogenic drivers, recent progress in understanding land use change, international environmental regimes, comparative vulnerability of societies worldwide, and promising paths for future advances in our knowledge.                                           (ENVIRONMENT * FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS)

* Critical Transitions in Nature and Society. Marten Scheffer (Prof of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen U, Netherlands). Princeton UP, July 2009/520p/$45pb. An introduction to critical transitions in complex systems—the radical changes that happen at tipping points when thresholds are passed; covers dynamical systems theory, catastrophe theory, bifurcations, chaos, critical transitions in lakes and oceans, terrestrial ecosystems, how to predict tipping points, how to prevent bad transitions, and how to trigger “good” transitions that work for us.

* Too Smart for Our Own Good: The Ecological Predicament of Humankind. Craig Dilworth (Dept of Philosophy, Uppsala U, Sweden). Cambridge U Press, Jan 2010/555p/$29.99pb. We are destroying our natural environment at an increasing pace, and undermining preconditions of our existence; drawing on evolution theory, biology, anthropology, economics, environmental science, and history, Dilworth argues that our ecologically disruptive behavior is rooted in our very nature as a species, and points to the very core of the paradigm to which our species must shift if it is to survive.

* The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive? Peter Ward (Prof of Biology and Earth Sciences, U of Washington). Princeton UP, May 2009/232p/$24.95. An astrobiologist with NASA uses new geological discoveries to show that nearly all mass extinctions on Earth were caused by life itself; in contrast to Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis that life sustains habitable conditions, Ward invokes Medea, the mythical mother who killed her own children, which explains today’s alarming decline of diversity and biomass; life on Earth doesn’t have to be lethal, but our time is running out.

** Factor Five: The Promise of Resource Productivity. Ernst von Weizsacker (Emmendingen, Germany), Karlson Charlie Hargroves (Brisbane, Aust.), and Michael H. Smith (Brisbane, Aust.). London & Sterling VA: Earthscan, Dec 2009/448p/$39.95. Sequel to Factor Four (von Weizsacker/ Lovins/ Lovins,1997) on the unique historic opportunity to scale up resource efficiency and radically transform the global economy with 80%+ improvements in energy productivity, water use, transport, buildings, and materials, based on concepts such as bio-mimicry and whole system design. 

** State of the World 2010: Beyond the Consumer Culture. The Worldwatch Institute (Washington). NY: W. W. Norton, Jan 2010/304p/$19.95pb. For society to thrive long into the future, we must move beyond our unsustainable consumer culture to one that respects environmental realities; shows how societies worldwide can make this shift and have already started to do so, as a result of actions by governments, the media, and religious organizations.               (ENVIRONMENT * RESOURCES)