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No matter how hard politicians try to broker agreements about curbing greenhouse gas emissions there are deeper obstacles that would seem to guarantee Planet Earth's ecological decline.
Beyond the Limits is a hard-hitting and probing analysis of the underlying problems that define the possibilities of any response to the problem of climate change.
If you have wondered how humanity has managed to reach a point of no return, this is a book for you. Our problems stem from an unwavering commitment to the growth of economies, populations and improved standards of living. Unpalatable as this diagnosis may be, the underlying issues involve cultural prejudice, inertia, outmoded political programs, and an overwhelming faith in technological innovation and social progress. Further, insufficiently analysed optimism may blind us to the obvious: there still are limits to growth.
The author is able to combine evidence-based scientific analysis with the best of contemporary social and cultural theory to provide a compelling interdisciplinary analysis. His appeal for a genuinely eco-centric approach to politics will definitely rattle a number of philosophical cages.
About the author
Tom Jagtenberg is a published author of books and articles about science and various cultural fields. Tom was a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, University of Wollongong, and an adjunct senior lecturer in the School of Natural and Complementary Medicine, Southern Cross University. He has qualifications in science, engineering and sociology - a BE (Chemical and Fuel Engineering, Hons 1, UNSW), an MSc (Liberal Studies in Science, Manchester University) and a PhD (Sociology, University of Wollongong). His books include Eco-Impacts: New Maps for Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, and Sociology (with David McKie), Four-Dimensional Social Space (with Phillip D'Alton) and The Social Construction of Science.
Tom's interests, whilst being inter-disciplinary, have always had a focus on nature and the environment. Since his student days, he has been concerned with the representation of nature in disciplinary fields as diverse as science, sociology, cultural studies and communication studies, and in political life. He has been a strong critic of the exclusion of non-human interests from academic fields and political parties. As his latest book suggests even Green political parties are limited in the extent to which they can be advocates for other species, their habitats, and even human environments.
After 30 years of research, teaching, administration and research supervision Tom retired from academic life to live in Northern New South Wales with his partner.
