Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-243) and index.

Machine generated contents note: Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction; 2. Meta-narratives of environmental reform; 3. Globalization, tight coupling, and cascading events; 4. Partitioning resources, preserving resources; 5. Advantaging offspring, limiting offspring; 6. Choosing foods, saving soils; 7. Removing rubbish, recovering resources, and creating inequalities; 8. Saving money, conserving energy; 9. Focusing events, altruistic environmentalism, and the environmental movement; 10. A sustainable development state; 11. Conclusion: defensive environmentalists, sustainable development states, and global reform; References.

"As global environmental changes become increasingly evident and efforts to respond to these changes fall short of expectations, questions about the circumstances that generate environmental reforms become more pressing. Defensive Environmentalists and the Dynamics of Global Reform answers these questions through a historical analysis of two processes that have contributed to environmental reforms, one in which people become defensive environmentalists concerned about environmental problems close to home and another in which people become altruistic environmentalists intent on alleviating global problems after experiencing catastrophic events such as hurricanes, droughts and fires. These focusing events make reform more urgent and convince people to become altruistic environmentalists. Bolstered by defensive environmentalists, the altruists gain strength in environmental politics and reforms occur"-- Rudel examines historical examples of environmental reform, arguing that reforms occur when defensive and altruistic environmentalists join forces.

College of Arts and Sciences

Winner of Society for Human Ecology Gerald L. Young Book Award 2014.