Bøker av Mario Giampietro

Presents a historical overview of Jevons' Paradox, provides evidence for its existence and applies it to complex systems. This title explains myth of efficiency and explores its implications for resource usage. It is intended for policy makers, natural resource managers, academics and students concerned with effects of efficiency on resource use.

'The Jevons Paradox', which was first expressed in 1865 by William Stanley Jevons in relation to use of coal, states that an increase in efficiency in using a resource leads to increased use of that resource rather than to a reduction. This book provides a historical overview of the Jevons Paradox.

Faced with the twin threats of peak oil and climate change, many governments have turned for an answer to the apparent panacea of biofuels. This title presents a theoretical framework and exhaustive evidence for the case against large scale biofuel production from agricultural crops.

This book explores alternative ways to study agricultural sustainability, applying complex systems theory to actual cases. This innovative text recognizes the changing dynamics of the multiple processes and cross-relations within an environment, and proposes a clearer analysis of agroecosystems than that which can be provided by rigid, reductionist methods. Main concepts, new vocabulary and narratives, and practical examples open the book, followed by technical chapters that provide a more detailed explanation of concepts. The final section of the book presents a tool kit based on these concepts, resulting in strong support of empirical observations that challenge traditional notions of the sustainability of farming systems, food systems, and agroecosystems.

Explores alternative ways to study agricultural sustainability, applying complex systems theory to actual cases. This book recognizes the changing dynamics of the multiple processes and cross-relations within an environment, and proposes an analysis of agroecosystems than that which can be provided by rigid, reductionist methods.