Contested Environments

Why are food scares become so common? Whose voices count in decisions affecting the landscapes where we live? Will we soon be wars over water? What makes people protest outside international trade meetings? These are just a few of the questions that are explored in Contested Environments. By bringing together perspectives from science, social science, technology, and humanities, the book addresses in a uniquely interdisciplinary way why environmental issues are so often controversial.

Other features include

• the detailed examination of a wide range of topics from specific disputes such as those around GM crops, national parks, energy policy, water supply, and international trade to broader debates like environmental justice, economic valuation of environments, and the media
• the promotion of integrative thinking through the book-wide use of the concepts of value, power, and action
• the inclusion of frequent activities to encourage readers to develop both their appreciation of particular issues and generic skills
• the rich illustration of the text with examples from around the world.

The book is part of a series entitled Environment: Change, Contest and Response. The series forms a significant part of an interdisciplinary Open University course on environmental matters. The other books in the series are: Understanding Environmental Issues; Changing Environments; Environmental Responses.

Nick Bingham is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences, The Open University, UK. His current areas of research include the management of food safety, responses to the pollination crisis, and matters of coordination in smart cities. He is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters and is joint editor of Contested Environments.

Andrew Blowers, OBE, is Emeritus Professor of Social Sciences at the Open University. Over a long career he has been involved in the field of environmental politics and policy making as an academic, politician, government adviser, nuclear company director and prominent environmental activist. As a member of the first Committee on Radioactive Waste Management he was directly responsible for some of the UK's policy on legacy waste. The Legacy of Nuclear Power brings together his varied experience and expertise and reflects his lifetime concern with the fate of nuclear communities now and in the future.