Reconstructing sustainability science : knowledge and action for a sustainable future / Thaddeus R. Miller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Miller, Thaddeus R., author.

Series:

Science in society series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sustainability.

Physical Description:

xvii, 111 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Eathscan from Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2015.

Summary:

The growing urgency, complexity and 'wickedness' of sustainability problems - from climate change and biodiversity loss to ecosystem degradation and persistent poverty' and inequality - present fundamental challenges to the production and use of scientific knowledge. While there is little doubt that science has a crucial role to play in our ability to pursue sustainability goals, critical questions remain as to how to organize research most effectively and connect it to actions that advance social and natural well-being. Drawing on interviews with leading sustainability scientists, this book examines how researchers in the emerging, interdisciplinary field of sustainability science are attempting to define sustainability, establish research agendas, and link the knowledge they produce to societal action. Pairing these insights with case studies of innovative sustainability research centres, the book reformulates the sustainability science research agenda and its relationship to decision-making and social action. It repositions the field as a "science of design" that aims to enrich public reasoning and deliberation while also working to generate social and technological innovations for a more sustainable future. This timely book gives students, researchers and practitioners a valuable and unique analysis of the emergence of sustainability science, and both the opportunities and barriers faced by scientific efforts to contribute to social action. Book jacket.

Contents:

Constructing sustainability science

Planet under pressure

A science for sustainability

Constructing sustainability science

Tensions in sustainability science

Reconstructing sustainability science

Reclaiming sustainability : limits to knowledge

Sustainability as a science of design

Conclusion : sustainability and our socio-technical future.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780415632614

0415632617

9780415632621

0415632625

OCLC:

802325803