Tales of an Ecotourist

Crossing the far corners of the globe, Tales of an Ecotourist showcases travel, from the hot and humid Amazon jungle to the frozen but dry Antarctic, as a simple yet spellbinding lens to better understand the complex issue of climate change. At its core, climate change is an issue few truly understand, in large part due to its dizzying array of scientific, economic, cultural, social, and political variables.

Using both keen humor and memorable anecdotes, while weaving respected scientific studies along the way, Mike Gunter Jr. transports the reader to five famous ecodestinations, from the Galapagos Islands to the Great Barrier Reef, revealing firsthand the increasing threats of climate change. Part travelogue, part current events exposé, with a healthy dose of history, ecology, and politics, these tales of ecoadventure tackle such obstacles head on while fleshing out much-needed personal context to perhaps society's greatest threat of all.

Autorentext

Mike Gunter Jr. is a Cornell Distinguished Faculty member and Arthur Vining Davis Fellow at Rollins College where he serves as Professor and Chair of the Political Science department and Director of International Affairs in the Holt School. He is the author of Building the Next Ark: How NGOs Work to Protect Biodiversity.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Seeing the World Anew

Part I. What's Up, Doc?
The Galápagos Islands and Scientific Obstacles to Understanding Climate Change

1. Cartoonish Beginnings

2. From Maps to Modeling

3. Queasiness and Uncertainty

4. Darwin, Science, and Spirituality

5. Irreversible Is Not Inevitable

   Part II. Show Me the Money!
   The Great Barrier Reef and Economic Obstacles to Understanding Climate Change

6. Looks Can Be Deceiving

7. The Blame Game

8. Building Blocks . . . and Tearing Them Down

9. Human Influences-From Lemons to Lemonade?

10. Spending to Save

    Part III. Lions, Rhinos, And Hyenas . . . Oh My
    South Africa's Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and Cultural Obstacles to Understanding Climate Change

11. Insurance

12. Rainbow Nation

13. Parks and People

14. All Politics Is Local, but . . .

    Part IV. I Have a Dream
    Tambopata Research Center and Social Obstacles to Understanding Climate Change

15. Traveling Alone

16. Amid the Deafening Silence

17. Nurturing Nature-at the Nest

18. At the Colpa Colorado

    Part V. THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
    The Antarctic Peninsula and Political Obstacles to Understanding Climate Change

19. Kicking the Carbon Habit

20. Market Mechanisms: Cap and Trade versus the Carbon Tax

21. Fundamentally Flawed?

22. More with Less . . . Or, from Vicious to Virtuous Circles

    Conclusions: The Power of Travel
    Notes
    Bibliography
    Index