000			03571nam a22004097a 4500
001			sulb-eb0011589
003			BD-SySUS
005			20160404144631.0
008			131127r20132013nhu o 00 0 eng d
020			_a9781611684643
020			_a1611684641
020			_z9781611684162
040			_aMdBmJHUP _cMdBmJHUP
050		4	_aQH541 _b.W42 2013
082	0	4	_a577 _222
100	1		_aWessels, Tom, _d1951- _eauthor.
245	1	4	_aThe myth of progress _h[electronic resource] : _btoward a sustainable future / _cTom Wessels.
250			_aRevised and expanded edition.
260			_aBaltimore, Maryland : _bProject Muse, _c2013 _e(Baltimore, Md. : _fProject MUSE, _g2015)
260			_aHanover [New Hampshire] : _bUniversity Press of New England, _c[2013] _e(Baltimore, Md. : _fProject MUSE, _g2015)
300			_a1 online resource (1 PDF (xv, 155 pages))
500			_aIssued as part of UPCC book collections on Project MUSE.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505	0		_aPrologue -- Introduction -- 1. The myth of control : complex versus linear systems -- 2. The myth of growth : limits and sustainability -- 3. The myth of energy : the second law of thermodynamics -- 4. The myth of the free market : the loss of diversity and democracy -- 5. The myth of progress : a need for cultural change -- Epilogue : From consumption to connection -- Glossary of scientific terms -- Index.
520			_aIn this compelling and cogently argued book, Tom Wessels demonstrates how our current path toward progress, based on continual economic expansion and inefficient use of resources, runs absolutely contrary to three foundational scientific laws that govern all complex natural systems. It is a myth, he contends, that progress depends on a growing economy. Wessels explains his theory with his three laws of sustainability: (1) the law of limits to growth, (2) the second law of thermodynamics, which exposes the dangers of increased energy consumption, and (3) the law of self-organization, which results in the marvelous diversity of such highly evolved systems as the human body and complex ecosystems. These laws, scientifically proven to sustain life in its myriad forms, have been cast aside since the eighteenth century, first by Western economists, political pragmatists, and governments attracted by the idea of unlimited growth, and more recently by a global economy dominated by large corporations, in which consolidation and oversimplification create large-scale inefficiencies in both material and energy usage. Wessels makes scientific theory readily accessible by offering examples of how the laws of sustainability function in the complex systems we can observe in the natural world around us. He shows how systems such as forests can be templates for developing sustainable economic practices that will allow true progress. Demonstrating that all environmental problems have their source in a disregard for the laws of sustainability that is based on the myth of progress, he concludes with an impassioned argument for cultural change.
588			_aDescription based on print version record.
650		0	_aSustainable development.
650		0	_aEnvironmental policy.
650		0	_aEcology.
655		0	_aElectronic books.
655		7	_aElectronic books. _2local
710	2		_aProject Muse, _edistributor.
776	0	8	_iPrint version: _z9781611684162
710	2		_aProject Muse.
856	4	0	_zFull text available: _uhttps://muse.jhu.edu/books/9781611684643/
942			_2Dewey Decimal Classification _ceBooks
999			_c32880 _d32880