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Environmental pragmatism is a new strategy in environmental thought. It argues that theoretical debates are hindering the ability of the environmental movement to forge agreement on basic policy imperatives. This new direction in environmental thought moves beyond theory, advocating a serious inquiry into the merits of moral pluralism. Environmental pragmatism, as a coherent philosophical position, connects the methodology of classical American pragmatic thought to the explanation, solution and discussion of real issues. This concise, well-focused collection is the first comprehensive presentation of environmental pragmatism as a new philosophical approach to environmental thought and policy.

Throughout history, there have been many environmental disasters, such as oil spills, chemical catastrophes, and nuclear explosions, that were all caused by human actions leading to dire consequences for the natural world. Readers learn about the causes and effects of major environmental disasters through age-appropriate main text, interesting fact boxes, bright full-color photographs, and a detailed glossary. They also discover the process of cleaning up after these events and what can be done to keep them from happening in the future. This important environmental issue connects science curriculum topics and critical thinking about the world in an engaging way.

"This paper is a snapshot of the potential of Chinese environmental NGOs to
effectively address environmental problems and needs, alone and in partnership
with others. As environmental NGOs have only be on stage for the last ten years
or so and as they undergo dynamic changes, a thoroughly conducted scientific
analysis about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks is not possible
yet. However, as the author has more than six years working experience with
different Chinese environmental NGOs across the country, some empiric
findings can be given, and some trends and tendencies be predicted.
The paper starts with a look at the history of NGOs in China with a specific
focus on environmental NGOs, followed by problems and chances caused by the
present legal status of the groups. It then describes the main working areas of
Chinese environmental NGOs, illustrating them by giving some representative
examples. After a brief analysis, the paper proposes current trends and
tendencies about the development of China's environmental NGOs. The main
trend is that Chinese NGOs, independently on their origin (grass root, semistate
organizations or Government-organized non-profit environmental
organizations) will gain more respect and influence in both environmental
awareness raising and as competent partners in policy formulation and law
enforcement, if the State institutions concerned will involve them in planning
and developing processes in an early stage and assist them in their capacity
building. NGOs in this paper means citizen and not-profit organizations, such as charities, social organizations, environmental groups, intermediary groups, and so forth." (author's abstract)

Overview -- Aims and Objectives of Environmental Impact Assessment -- Environmental Impact Assessment from the Point of View of a Developing Country -- Selected National Procedures -- The U.S. Model of Environmental Impact Assessment -- Environmental Impact Assessment in Canada -- Environmental Impact Assessment and the Planning Process -- Environmental Impact Assessment at the Planning Level: Two Systems -- Role of Environmental Impact Assessment in Plans and Policies -- EIA — The Relationship Between the Environmental Scientist and the Decision-Maker: A British Perspective -- EIA — The Relationship Between the Environmental Scientist and the Decision-Maker: A Canadian Perspective -- Methods -- to Methods for Environmental Impact Assessment -- EIA Manuals: General Objectives and the PADC Manual -- Methods for Environmental Impact Assessment: Theory and Application (Emphasis on Weighting-Scaling Checklists and Networks) -- A Method for Evaluating Environmental Impacts from Land Development Projects -- Social Impact Assessment: Methodological Overview -- The Theory and Application and Application of Modelling in Environmental Impact Assessment -- Adaptive Environmental Assessment and Management: Some Current Applications -- Assessment of Specific Impacts -- The Environmental Impact Assessment of Highways -- Current Trends in Landscape Evaluation -- The Atmospheric Component of Environmental Impact Assessment -- Water Pollution Impacts -- Risk and Hazard Assessment -- Social Impact Assessment: The State of the Art -- Auditing -- Environmental Impact Assessment, Monitoring and Post-Development Audits -- Names and Addresses of Faculty -- Names and Addresses of Participants.

"Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Beziehung - sowohl die faktische als auch die mögliche - zwischen dem Bereich der Umweltpsychologie, wie diese sich im Laufe des letzten Jahrzehnts entwickelt hat und der Erforschung von Umweltproblemen wie Verschmutzung, die Erhaltung von natürlichen Ressourcen und umweltqualitätbezogenen Sachverhalten. Obwohl die Umweltpsychologie aus Gründen, die in diesem Beitrag erläutert werden, zum großen Teil außerhalb des Bereichs solcher Umweltprobleme geblieben ist, wird hier gezeigt, daß eine bedeutsame Wechselbeziehung zwischen den beiden existiert. Auf der einen Seite können Umweltbedingungen wichtige Einflüsse auf psychologische Funktionen und das Wohlbefinden ausüben, wobei Lärm ein hervorragendes Beispiel ist. Auf der anderen Seite stellen das Verhalten und die Einstellung des Einzelnen Faktoren dar, die selbst einen Einfluß auf die Umweltqualität haben. Die Benutzung von Pkws und der Kauf von bestimmten Waren (wiederverwertbaren Gefäßen, phosphatfreien Waschmitteln, usw.) können als Beispiel dazu dienen. Arbeiten auf beiden Seiten dieser Wechselbeziehung zwischen dem Bereich des Umweltwissenschaftlers und dem des Psychologen werden zitiert. In einem Schlußabschnitt wird versucht, ein Schema zur Entwicklung eines Konzepts dieser Wechselbeziehung herauszuarbeiten, welches das Verhalten von Individuen und von Gruppen als einen Faktor in einem komplexen wechselwirkenden System von physischen, gesellschaftlichen und institutionellen Kräften auffaßt. Der Fall von Raumnutzung in einem landschaftlichen Erholungsgebiet wird als Beispiel für dieses Konzept angeführt." (Autorenreferat)