Power: Ethical debates about resources and the environment; Food: Ethical debates about what we eat

Power: Ethical debates about resources and the environment has sections on Environmental ethics, Power and energy, Renewable resources, Transport and travel, Wood and water, The environment and you, plus a Timeline, lists of Books and Websites, Glossary and Index. Gaia theory, fossil fuel exhaustion, greenhouse gases, the Kyoto Protocol, nuclear fission, wind farms, wave and tidal power, solar power, geothermal energy, air travel, cars and SUVs, biofuels and hydrogen, trees and fresh water are discussed.

The reader is challenged by question boxes headed YOU DECIDE; some examples: ‘Who should take responsibility for reducing greenhouse gases – governments, [U.S.] states or individuals?’ ‘Do the risks associated with nuclear power outweigh the risks posed by global warming?’ ‘Is it fair for developed nations to criticise the Three Gorges Dam, when they have already benefited from building large hydroelectric schemes?’

Food: Ethical debates about what we eat is an admirable member of the same series. This book discusses Where does food come from?; Animal welfare and the environment; New foods; Food distribution and marketing; Food and health. Among the issues raised are global warming, factory farming, overfishing, herbicides, GM foods, organic farming, cash crops, fair trade, sustainable development and population growth, obesity, vegetarianism, and organic foods. There are a Timeline, lists of Books and Websites, Glossary and Index.

As the issues are discussed, the reader is again challenged by question boxes headed YOU DECIDE. The discussions are carefully balanced. Fairly typical YOU DECIDEs are ‘Is it acceptable to alter the genetic structure of an organism just for profit?’ and ‘Are farmers in less developed nations being manipulated and exploited by rules that should only be applied in the developed world?’

There is an unfortunate slip in the Glossary. While ‘kosher’ is appropriately defined as ‘conforming to Jewish religious law’, ‘halal’ is defined as ‘meaning “lawful”; used to refer to actions such as food preparation that are permitted by Jewish law’, instead of ‘…Islamic law’ (this slip is not made in the text of the spread about religious requirements for food).