Abstract This chapter defines food security as the condition reached when a nation’s population has access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet its dietary needs and food preferences. It stresses China’s importance to global food security because of its population size. The chapter introduces the contents of the volume and then treats briefly food security in ancient and dynastic (211 bc–1912) China. It examines environmental stressors, such as population growth, natural disast...

Education Reform in the American States is a timely evaluation of the accountability movement in American public education, culminating in the No Child Left Behind Act, federal legislation of 2002. The authors treat the current accountability movement, placing it in historical context and addressing the evolution in public education policymaking from the overwhelming emphasis on state and local discretion to increasing federal oversight and mandates related to federal funding. They provide...

This book explains how and why large oil-producing corporations have affected government institutions, energy policy, and politics in the United States—and suggests how their influence can be reduced.Big oil is the leading factor in U.S. energy politics today; the largest oil-producing companies also constitute a formidable force and interest group in American politics. This book examines why oil is so important and how the prominence of huge corporations—often wor...

An authoritative, comprehensive overview of economic, political, and environmental drivers of America's energy picture, from trends in the production and consumption of fossil fuels and renewables to the state of the national energy grid.Energy Resources: Examining the Facts is part of a series that uses evidence-based documentation to examine the veracity of claims and beliefs about high-profile issues in American culture and politics. Each book in the

The 2010 Midterm Elections were momentous in the history of U.S. campaigns. Readers of this book will follow the path of seven House and six Senate races from inception to election postmortem. The chapters are both narrative and provide analysis of an array of interesting and diverse contests from throughout the country. Each entry was written by one or more experts living in the state or region of the race. The authors provide succinct and highly readable chapters meant to illustrate the ...

The 2014 midterm congressional elections provided a view of the attitude of American voters in the sixth year of Barack Obama’s presidency. This book provides insight about the formative aspects of the 2014 campaign season as well as in depth coverage of key races for Congress. The first section has four chapters that cover the substance of topics that impacted this campaign cycle: the popularity and productivity of the 113th Congress, voter suppression laws passed in many states, the role...

As the price of oil falls, bestselling author and economist Jeff Rubin takes us to the epicentre of the bursting global carbon bubble, and dares us to imagine a new engine for growth that does not run on oil.For a decade, the vision of Canada's future as an energy superpower has driven the country's political agenda, as well as the fast-paced development of Alberta's oil sands and the push for more pipelines like Keystone XL across the continent to bring that bitum...

Over its twenty years with president and CEO Rick George at the helm, Suncor Energy went from being Canada’s “unluckiest oil company” to a stock market darling and the second-largest publicly traded corporation in the country. Both a contrarian and an optimist, George often made multibillion-dollar moves despite deep skepticism within the industry. His $2.8-billion expansion into the oil sands ignited massive growth in Canada’s most valuable, and controversial, natural resource. And his $1...

The independent congressman, presidential candidate, and activist shows young voters how to effect change in America—and the world.Throughout the Presidential campaign, Senator Bernie Sanders promised voters a future to believe in through his progressive platform and a vision for America worth fighting for. This vision calls for an economic, environmental, health care, and social justice revolution beyond the stagnant agendas of Democrat and Republican politicians t...

This damning account of the forces that have hijacked progress on climate change shares a bold vision of what it will take, politically and economically, to face the existential threat of global warming head-on.In the past few years, it has become impossible (for most) to deny the effects of climate change and that the planet is warming, and to acknowledge that we must act. But a new kind of denialism is taking root in the halls of power, shaped by a quarter-centur...

Every year, the world's governments spend over US $700 billion subsidizing activities that harm the environment. The Natural Wealth of Nations shows how cutting these wasteful subsidies can actually boost the economy, save tax and help the environment.By raising taxes on harmful activities like air pollution whilst cutting taxes on payrolls and profits, pollution is discouraged and both work and investment boosted.In a comprehensive global survey, The Natural Wealth of Nati...

Economics has failed us ... but there is life after growth!Economists insist that recovery is at hand, yet unemployment remains high, real estate values continue to sink, and governments stagger under record deficits. The End of Growth proposes a startling diagnosis: humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its economic history. The expansionary trajectory of industrial civilization is colliding with non-negotiable natural limits.Richa...