Gaia's Wager

Can environmentalism evolve into a powerful social movement that transforms human practices in ways that are ecologically sustainable? Gary C. Bryner contends that it is in our self-interest as a species to ensure that environmental movements coalesce in the service of sustainability. From the very first Earth Day to the setting of Agenda 21 for the new millennium, this book traces the actors, the issues, and the institutions involved in moving environmentalism from a loose collection of fuzzy groups and goals to a new global force for change. Will the next phase of environmental action resemble the WTO protests in Seattle, the UN Kyoto Protocols, or a Think Tank inside the Washington Beltway? Gaia's Wager shows that movements play an important role between political parties and interest groups on the domestic scene and the unruly forces of globalization internationally. Only social movements can catalyze a response to the global environmental threat that has a chance of both capturing imaginations and institutionalizing progress toward environmental sustainability. Above all, Gaia's Wager bets on the confluence of big ideas and social action to yield a more hopeful environmental future.

Can environmentalism evolve into a powerful social movement that transforms human practices in ways that are ecologically sustainable? Gary C. Bryner contends that it is in our self-interest as a species to ensure that environmental movements coalesce in the service of sustainability. From the very first Earth Day to the setting of Agenda 21 for the new millennium, this book traces the actors, the issues, and the institutions involved in moving environmentalism from a loose collection of fuzzy groups and goals to a new global force for change.

Gary C. Bryner is director of the Natural Resources Law Center and research professor at the University of Colorado, School of Law.