Trouble in Paradise: Globalization and Environmental Crises in Latin America


by J. Timmons Roberts and Nikki Demetria Thanos

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Routledge, July 2003   ISBN: 0415929806
$18.95 paperback, currently $13.27 at Amazon.com

J. Timmons Roberts is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Environmental Science and Policy Program at the College of William and Mary, USA.
Nikki Demetria Thanos works in Mexico as a Popular Educator and Political  Analyst for Witness for Peace.


"Trouble in Paradise helps the non-indigenous, non-Spanish speaking  citizens of the world to take a peep into Latin America's ecological crisis, its roots in globalization and unequal development, and the indigenous responses to ensure survival in the 21st century." --Vandana Shiva, Executive Director, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology

"This eminently readable book is a "must read." Grounded in an understanding of global, historical, structural, and cultural forces, the authors explore the "other side of development," namely pollution, disease, deforestation, habitat loss, and social dislocation. Yet the authors also address how social movements and democratic processes can enhance sustainable development."

--Susan Eckstein, Professor of Sociology, Boston University

"Trouble in Paradise is particularly impressive in that the authors construct a coherent account of the diverse environmental issues of Latin America by framing them in terms of globalization and neo-liberalization processes while at the same time providing an empirically rich portrayal of  these issues.  Roberts and Thanos' topical coverage of Latin American environmental issues is impressive, ranging from the industrial maquiladoras at the U.S.-Mexico border and the suburban industrial wastelands of southern Brazil to the green revolution fields of Central America and the Amazon rainforests. The authors' thoughtful concluding chapter, on the key role that "building a global civil society" must play in solving Latin American environmental problems, is a particularly bold, but pragmatic statement of the agenda we face as global citizens."

Frederick H. Buttel, William H. Sewell Professor of Rural Sociology and Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: The Scene, Its Problems and Roots

Chapter 2: Pollution Havens on the U.S./Mexico Border?  NAFTA, Free Trade, and the Environment

Chapter 3: Green Revolutions, Deforestation, and New Ideas

Chapter 4:
Hazards of an Urban Continent Chapter

5: Bio-splendor, Devastation and Competing Visions in the Amazon Chapter

6: Indigenous Peoples, Development Megaprojects, and Internet  Resistance

With Leo B. Gorman

Chapter 7: Building a Global Civil Society: Living What We Know

Online Resources

Bibliography

Notes

Index

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Gentileza: Dr. David Robinson