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 Red
Sky at Morning: Americans and the Crisis of the Global
Environment, by James Gustave Speth, is a
comprehensive look at international environmental problems
and how best to address them.
As founder and president of the World Resources Institute,
co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council,
former adviser to Presidents Carter and Clinton, and
former Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations
Development Programme, Speth draws on years of experience
in his groundbreaking analysis of a global system that
perpetuates rather than ameliorates environmental degradation.
Speth starts by explaining why current approaches to
critical global environmental problems-climate change,
biodiversity loss, deterioration of marine environments,
deforestation, water shortages, and others-don't work.
He goes on to offer intriguing insights into why we
have been able to address domestic environmental threats
with some success while largely failing at the international
level. Although efforts to protect Earth's environment
are not succeeding, the challenges are not insurmountable.
The book concludes with eight concrete suggestions for
a sustainable future including the development of environmentally
benign technologies, modification of consumption patterns,
good governance, and education.
Speth is currently the dean and a professor at the
Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. The
book is scheduled for release in March 2004. Ordering
information available from Yale University Press at:
http://www.yale.edu/yup/books/102321.htm.
Analysis of the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants,
by Marco Antonio Olsen, was published in 2003.
Prepared under the auspices of the United Nations Environment
Programme Chemical Division, the treaty is the first
international legal instrument to focus attention on
the dangers of persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
-chemicals that are commonly used as pesticides in agriculture
and to control insect-causing diseases like malaria.
Olsen chronicles the Stockholm Convention negotiations,
discusses the treaty's intricacies, and looks at the
role of nongovernmental organizations in its negotiation.
In addition, he explains the fundamentals of Pops, their
chemical properties, toxicology, common and/or historical
uses, and examples of their harmful effects.
Olsen is a law professor at the Federal University
of Espirito Santo Law School in Brazil. Ordering information
may be found at: http://www.oceanalaw.com/main_product_details.asp?ID=343
 The
Trade in Wildlife: Regulation for Conservation,
by Sara Oldfield, provides a timely and broad-based
critical assessment of how the international trade in
wildlife is currently regulated and how these regulations
are enforced.
Through analysis of key case studies and a comparative
look at the trade in other illegal goods, Oldfield highlights
the weaknesses in the current system, shows where it
is failing, and clearly outlines what must be done if
conservation efforts are to be supported by trade regulations
rather than undermined by them.
This book is a comprehensive resource for academics
and students in economics, environmental studies, law
and politics and a critical text for conservationists,
policy-makers and NGOs. Available through Earthscan
Press.
Bases Fundamentales
de Derecho Ambiental Mexicano ("Fundamental Basis
of Mexican Environmental Law"),
by Carla Aceves-Avila, will be available in February
2004.
Aceves-Avila provides an overview of the federal environmental
legislation in Mexico in five parts:
| (1) |
An introduction to elementary concepts
on the environment, ecology, environmental history
and legal philosophy, as well as the Constitutional
and administrative basis of Mexican environmental
law. |
| (2) |
The legal protection of natural resources
and habitat in Mexico with brief comments on the
legislation applicable to biodiversity and wildlife,
land, water and air pollution, and non renewable
resources. |
| (3) |
The applicable regulations of activities
that produce any kind of environmental pollution
including hazardous waste control and management. |
| (4) |
The obligations of the federal agencies
of environmental protection in Mexico. |
| (5) |
A brief comment on administrative
procedure and environmental justice in Mexico, including
federal environmental crimes. |
Aceves-Avila is a law professor in several public and
private universities in Mexico, as well as a private
environmental counselor for domestic and international
affairs. Ordering information may be found at http://www.porrua.com.
The Environmental
Negotiator Handbook,
by Alexandre Timoshenko, provides a definitive look
at environmental negotiation and the establishment of
international rules and standards.
Timoshenko describes the process of creating international
legislation from pre-negotiation to adoption and signature
to implementation. The book is a resource for government
officials, representatives of intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations, lawyers, and academics
to improve their understanding of and ability to contribute
to environmental negotiations.
As Timoshenko says in the preface, "the overall
goal is to help ensure a meaningful and constructive
participation in the negotiation and thereby to strengthen
the coherence and effectiveness of new international
legal instruments aiming at sustainable development."
The Handbook is available through Kluwer
Law International/Aspen Publishers.
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