Reference Reviews

Doug’s Student Reference Room

Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy, edited by J. Baird Callicott and Robert Frodeman. 2 vols., 862 pp. Detroit, MI: Macmillan, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-0286-6137-7. $280.

A study published in early 2009 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that even if we completely halt production of carbon dioxide, the heating up of the planet may not be reversed for a thousand years. The widespread acceptance of global warming in the scientific community appears finally to be tipping the balance of public opinion. That shift in opinion parallels the emerging academic disciplines of environmental ethics and philosophy. These interdisciplinary fields draw on science, history, sociology, economics, literature, law and philosophy to explore critical questions about the intersection of human beings with their environment. This two volume set, edited by University of North Texas professors Callicott and Frodeman, features over 300 peer-reviewed articles written to represent a broad spectrum of issues related to the broader discipline, including environmental policy, case studies of significant events such as the Chernobyl nuclear accident, environmental movements like EarthFirst!, geographical concerns from rain forests and deserts to the seven continents, biographies of key contributors to environmental ethics and philosophy from Edward Abbey to John Muir to Edward O. Wilson and controversial topics such as animal rights and ecoterrorism. Although the majority of the contributors are scholars, this set is aimed not just at other academics, but at a general audience beyond academia, accessible to upper high school students and above. Each entry is accompanied by a list of cross-referenced topics and a brief bibliography. A thematic outline, a short glossary and an annotated bibliography are included, as is a collection of ten important primary source documents, including Aldo Leopold’s “The Land Ethic,” Holmes Rolston’s “Is There an Ecological Ethic?” and the Earth Charter, completed by an international commission in 2000. Highly recommended for high school libraries with environmental studies courses and for public and university libraries.