Overview
The signs of economic change loom large in the mountain West of the USA as shuttered mines and lumber mills are overshadowed by luxurious homes sprouting on valley bottoms or ridge lines. This text explains these changes, assesses their effects on the natural environment, and gauges the reactions of local communities. Douglas E. Booth argues that population spread to the mountain West is following a pattern similar to the historical movement of people from central city to suburb, enabled by increases in income and wealth and changes in technology that ease the movement of goods, people, and information. Consolidating evidence that residential development and sprawl in the rural mountain West are placing stress on native plants and animals, the author shows how the current boom is adding to the cumulative and relatively permanent threats to ecosystems and biodiversity remaining from the older extractive economy. Booth demonstrates that population increases are fuelling local support for measures that would restrict and guide growth. He explores the formation of land trusts and other strategies for mitigating the negative ecological consequences of development. Drawing on concepts from economics, environmental ethics and conservation biology, Booth suggests that the ultimate solution lies in re-directing population growth away from rural areas to reinvigorated and environmentally attractive ""ecological cities"" and to increase the density of development within rural areas themselves.
Full Product Details
Author: Douglas E. Booth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield
Dimensions:
Width: 15.70cm
, Height: 2.10cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.490kg
ISBN: 9780742518759
ISBN 10: 0742518752
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 March 2002
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Booth's work on this matter is nothing short of impressive. Booth's argument is very logically laid-out with clear chapter-to-chapter and section-to-section transition to consistently remind readers where he is in the course of his argument, where he has been, and where he is going. The extensive tables and charts in the book ... support his efforts very well. Searching for Paradise provides an insightful look into the causes and effects of economic development in the mountain West, and is an excellent read for those interested in the relationship between human civilization and the natural environment. Regional Studies
Booth's work on this matter is nothing short of impressive. Booth's argument is very logically laid-out with clear chapter-to-chapter and section-to-section transition to consistently remind readers where he is in the course of his argument, where he has been, and where he is going. The extensive tables and charts in the book . . . support his efforts very well. Searching for Paradise provides an insightful look into the causes and effects of economic development in the mountain West, and is an excellent read for those interested in the relationship between human civilization and the natural environment. * Regional Studies *
Author Information
Douglas E. Booth is retired associate professor of economics at Marquette University and a founding board member of the Driftless Area Land Conservancy.
