Who rules the earth? : how social rules shape our planet and our lives

349 Pages·2015·9.095 MB·English

by  Steinberg, Paul F

Who Rules the Earth?

Who Rules the
Earth?
How Social Rules Shape
Our Planet and Our Lives
.
paul f steinberg
1
1
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Published in the United States of America by
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© Paul F. Steinberg 2015
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Steinberg, Paul F.
Who rules the earth? : how social rules shape our planet and our lives / Paul F. Steinberg.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-19-989661-5 (hardback)
1. Environmentalism—Social aspects. 2. Environmental policy—Social aspects. I. Title.
GE195.S776 2015
363.7—dc23 2014026033
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To my son
Benjamin Steinberg
Who rules my heart

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
I. SEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS
1 Recycling Is Not Enough 5
2 Strings Attached 19
3 Feasible Worlds 35
II. WHO OWNS THE EARTH?
4 A Perilous Journey 63
5 The Big Trade 95
6 A Planet of Nations 127
III. TRANSFORMATIONS
7 Scaling Up 161
viii Contents
8 Scaling Down 183
9 Keep the Change 211
IV. LEVERAGE
10 Super Rules 245
11 Paper, Plastic, or Politics? 263
Notes 281
Index 317
Acknowledgments
Although I will play the role of author, and you of reader, in the
pages to come, I suspect that anyone who opens a book with a title
like this one is no stranger to grappling with ideas and expressing
a point of view, whether in writing or some other form. So let me
confide, as one merchant of words and ideas to another, that I find
writing to be a peculiar (if deeply enriching) experience. It is an
intensely solitary task, requiring the author to spend long hours se-
questered from social distractions, silently scribbling on notepads,
arranging and rearranging Post-it notes, and tapping away on the
keyboard late at night with little accompaniment beyond a light-
bulb and some music to keep the pace. At the same time, writing is
the most social of activities because all writers draw from—and are
therefore indebted beyond imagination to—the insights of count-
less people, past and present. That is certainly true of this book,
and among the many people who have helped me along the way, a
few deserve special mention.
My research assistants—Laurie Egan, Noah Proser, Ratik Asokan,
and Thomas Carey—were undaunted in tackling the questions I sent
their way, no matter how difficult or obscure. Whether tracking down
the latest data on global water shortages, or figuring out what species
of bird feather adorned the headdresses of Incan emperors, their good
humor and great research instincts were indispensible throughout.