The Ecology of Health: Identifying Issues and Alternatives / Edition 1

by Jennifer Chesworth

Overview

The contributors to this innovative and wide-ranging volume reflect on the philosophical issues surrounding health and ecology. They examine the policy issues involved in health and health ecology, and explore the paths that may eventually lead to a new ecology of health.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803973039
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	06/18/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Introduction
PART ONE: PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTIONS ON HEALTH AND ECOLOGY
Biomedical Technologies and the Environment - Carl Mitcham
Rejecting Nature
Brave New Biocracy - Ivan Illich
A Critique of Health Care from Womb to Tomb
Deep Ecology from the Perspective of Ecological Science - Frank B Golley
Beastly Questions - Michael W Fox
Transgenic Animals and 'Wild' Nature - Strachan Donnelley
A Landscape of Moral Ecology
Politics, Spirituality and Environmental Healing - David J Hufford and Mariana Chilton
Birth in the Technology - Robbie E Davis-Floyd
Body Image and Worldview
The Caretakers of Suffering - Janice Morse
Aboriginal Healing and its Relevance for Non-Aboriginals - David E Young
Yoga for Health and Freedom - B K S Iyengar and F Dean Lerner
PART TWO: POLICY ISSUES IN HEALTH AND HEALTH ECOLOGY
Risk, Science, and Democracy - William D Ruckleshaus
The Politics of Cancer - Robert N Proctor
Radiation - Judith Johnsrud
The Ghost in the Biosphere
A Molecular Basis for Development - David Morris
An Environmental Policy for the 1990s
Productive Technologies - Janice Raymond
The Necessity for Limits
Primary Health Care and the World Health Organization - Marilyn Maridiros
Intersectoral Health Care Delivery - Constance Mc Corkle
Ethnobotany - Michael J Balick
Linking Health and Environmental Conservation
You Are What You Eat - Robert Rodale
PART THREE: NEW PATHS: TOWARD AN ECOLOGY OF HEALTH
Health and Self-Mastery - Phil Nuernberger
The Ecology of Personal Power
Addiction and Recovery for Individuals and Society - Jim Johnson
Learning to See New Landscapes - Philip Blackford and Stephen Couchman
The Canadian Outward Bound Wilderness School
Humor and Healing - Hunter 'Patch' Adams
Or, Why We're Building a Silly Hospital
Hospice - Edna Mc Hutchion
A Return to Compassionate Care
The Fallacy of the Active Ingredient - Hari Sharma
Environmental Medicine and Individual Health - William Rea
Homeopathy - Wayne B Jonas
Cause or Consequences in Therapy?
What Is Biodynamics? - Sherry Wildfeuer
Eating in the Bioregion - Dorothy Blair
An Introduction to Permaculture - Bill Mollison
Living the Good Life - Helen Nearing

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Linda Cocchiarella, MD, MSc (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Description: This new book discusses relationships among political forces, alternative health practices, environmental factors, and their impact on individual and societal health.
Purpose: The purpose of this book is to "add new interdisciplinary perspectives on health and environmental issues, to counterbalance the overwhelming presence and empowerment of brokers, lawyers, and the people who hire them." The focus is on the political influences governing healthcare practices with little information provided on the validity, depth, and interrelationships of alternative health practices. Unfortunately, in their attempt to achieve "counterbalance," many of the authors tipped the scales to a different extremist position. They emphasized the weaknesses of the traditional healthcare system, failed to recognize its strengths, and made minimal attempts to integrate the best from current and alternative health practices.
Audience: The book is written for a lay audience. Although some of the authors were credible, others presented a limited, self-serving view of their discipline with misinterpretations of scientific facts. This book is not a useful reference for scientists, researchers, or serious students interested in political and environmental influences on health.
Features: The book is underillustrated, and references are limited and often outdated. The table of contents is adequate. The overall appearance of the book is attractive.
Assessment: The overall quality of the book is uneven. Some chapters, such as "The Politics of Cancer," "Aboriginal Healing...," and "Addiction and Recovery..." are accurate and informative. Other chapters, such as "You Are What You Eat" and "Environmental Medicine and Individual Health" are inaccurate. The closing chapter, "Living the Good Life," deprecates urban dwellers, ignores the complexities of their lives, and presents nonviable options for "living the good life" for the masses. This book covers important topics but lacks the balance necessary for it to achieve its ultimate goal of exploring improved ways of living and delivering health care.

Doody's Review Service

2 Stars from Doody

This new book discusses relationships among political forces, alternative health practices, environmental factors, and their impact on individual and societal health. The purpose of this book is to ""add new interdisciplinary perspectives on health and environmental issues, to counterbalance the overwhelming presence and empowerment of brokers, lawyers, and the people who hire them."" The focus is on the political influences governing healthcare practices with little information provided on the validity, depth, and interrelationships of alternative health practices. Unfortunately, in their attempt to achieve ""counterbalance,"" many of the authors tipped the scales to a different extremist position. They emphasized the weaknesses of the traditional healthcare system, failed to recognize its strengths, and made minimal attempts to integrate the best from current and alternative health practices. The book is written for a lay audience. Although some of the authors were credible, others presented a limited, self-serving view of their discipline with misinterpretations of scientific facts. This book is not a useful reference for scientists, researchers, or serious students interested in political and environmental influences on health. The book is underillustrated, and references are limited and often outdated. The table of contents is adequate. The overall appearance of the book is attractive. The overall quality of the book is uneven. Some chapters, such as ""The Politics of Cancer,"" ""Aboriginal Healing...,"" and ""Addiction and Recovery..."" are accurate and informative. Other chapters, such as ""You Are What You Eat"" and ""Environmental Medicine and Individual Health"" areinaccurate. The closing chapter, ""Living the Good Life,"" deprecates urban dwellers, ignores the complexities of their lives, and presents nonviable options for ""living the good life"" for the masses. This book covers important topics but lacks the balance necessary for it to achieve its ultimate goal of exploring improved ways of living and delivering health care.

Linda Cocchiarella

A collection of 31 essays written by notable ecologists, healthcare professionals, and academic scholars raising questions and offering insights into the relationship between environment and health. The thematic analysis delves into the ethics and issues linking quality health and environment, extending into public policy, modern biomedicine, alternative therapies with homeopathy and yoga, and a variety of strategies in farming and city living that emphasize the environment and sustainable communities. Paper edition (unseen), $22.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews