1st Edition

Reconstructing Sustainability Science Knowledge and action for a sustainable future

By Thaddeus Miller Copyright 2015
130 Pages 5 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

130 Pages 5 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

130 Pages 5 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

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 scientific knowledge production and its use. While there is little doubt that science has a crucial role to play in our ability to pursue sustainability goals, critical questions... Read more

Preface  Part 1: Constructing Sustainability Science  1. Planet Under Pressure  2. A Science for Sustainability  4. Constructing Sustainability Science  4. Tensions in Sustainability Science  Part 2: Reconstructing Sustainability Science  5. Reclaiming Sustainability: Limits to Knowledge  6. Sustainability as a Science of Design  7. Conclusion: Sustainability and our Socio-Technical Future

Biography

Thaddeus R. Miller is Assistant Professor at the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning and a Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Solutions at Portland State University, USA. He is also an affiliate of the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes at Arizona State University, USA. His research explores the social, ethical and political dimensions of science, technology and sustainability.

"A new generation of students and scholars has embraced sustainability as a concept and is eager to explore more thoughtful, more integrative and better scientifically grounded ways to approach it. Thad Miller’s new book is just what they are looking for."

Paul B. Thompson, Michigan State University, USA

"Thad Miller’s book presents a sophisticated, nuanced and insightful analysis of the emerging field of sustainability science. Particularly welcome is his analysis of the normative, ethical and epistemological underpinnings of different approaches to sustainability. His proposal for an explicitly normative solutions-oriented approach to sustainability is exactly right."

John Robinson, University of British Columbia, Canada

"Thad Miller, in this new conceptualization of how to restructure for sustainability science, outlines the logic and mechanisms by which an action-oriented, outcome-driven science might emerge. His book serves as a guide for what all sophisticated future-oriented knowledge enterprises should have as a part of their teaching, learning and discovery agendas in order to pursue a more sustainable future."

Michael M. Crow, Arizona State University, USA

"This book will be appealing to readers who are interested in learning more about sustainability science as
a field, and for those grappling with the diversity and diffuse nature of what may or may not be considered under its banner it will be useful orientation."


Lorrae van Kerkhoff, Human Ecology