Ethics of Biodiversity
Christianity, Ecology, and the Variety of Life
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Paperback / softback
£48.00
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
ISBN: 9781589016453
Number of Pages: 208
Published: 20/04/2010
Width: 14 cm
Height: 21.6 cm
Life on earth is wildly diverse, but the future of that diversity is now in question. Through environmentally destructive farming practices, ever-expanding energy use, and the development and homogenization of land, human beings are responsible for unprecedented reductions in the variety of life forms around us. Estimates suggest that species extinctions caused by humans occur at up to 1,000 times the natural rate, and that one of every twenty species on the planet could be eradicated by 2060. "An Ethics of Biodiversity" argues that these facts should inspire careful reflection and action in Christian churches, which must learn from earth's vast diversity in order to help conserve the natural and social diversity of our planet. Bringing scientific data into conversation with theological tradition, the book shows that biodiversity is a point of intersection between faith and ethics, social justice and environmentalism, science and politics, global problems and local solutions.
"An Ethics of Biodiversity" offers a set of tools for students, environmentalists, and people of faith to think critically about how human beings can live with and as part of the variety of life in God's creation.
"An excellent survey of Christian theological arguments for the conservation of biodiversity that also does a good job of introducing scientific and philosophical arguments. It will work very well as a textbook, while it also makes distinctive and original contributions, in particular around the issue of multiscalar approaches to biodiversity and the importance of moral formation in communities of place." -- Environmental Values