McGuire (environmental policy, U. of Massachusetts-Dartmouth)introduces a set of common tools used in environmental decision-making, and a framework for analyzing environmental problems. Readers do not need a background in any particular discipline, though he draws on intellectual tools from several disciplines, including both natural and social sciences. He deals in turn with the three major kinds of criteria for making a decision: science, economics, and values. A final section presents case problems of watershed management, fisheries management, sustainability, and climate change. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Because of the complexity involved in understanding the environment, the choices made about environmental issues are often incomplete. In a perfect world, those who make environmental decisions would be armed with a foundation about the broad range of issues at stake when making such decisions. Offering a simple but comprehensive understanding of the critical roles science, economics, and values play in making informed environmental decisions, Environmental Decision-Making in Context: A Toolbox provides that foundation.
The author highlights a primary set of intellectual tools from different disciplines and places them into an environmental context through the use of case study examples. The case studies are designed to stimulate the analytical reasoning required to employ environmental decision-making and ultimately, help in establishing a framework for pursuing and solving environmental questions, issues, and problems. They create a framework individuals from various backgrounds can use to both identify and analyze environmental issues in the context of everyday environmental problems.
The book strikes a balance between being a tightly bound academic text and a loosely defined set of principles. It takes you beyond the traditional pillars of academic discipline to supply an understanding of the fundamental aspects of what is actually involved in making environmental decisions and building a set of skills for making those decisions.