How context matters : linking environmental policy to people and place /

Much of our environmental problem-solving in the past three decades has been reduced to a set of rules or programs that are applied uniformly wherever similar issues surface. Honadle's thesis is that the context of the issue in a particular location, at a particular time, and under particular social/cultural, political, and economic conditions requires that solutions be tailored in a very particular way. This goes to the heart of the geographer's art--i.e., understanding the spatial/contextual dimension of human-environmental interactions. Honadle (Bowling Green State Univ.) develops a "context map" that consists of a "problem context" and a "social context," which are both considered relative to the degree of "embeddedness" in the local cultural fabric. To develop an understanding of context, the author introduces the Environmental Policy Implementation Checklist (EPIC). Honadle has abundant experience in problem solving from around the world and uses many examples in the development of his arguments. The book is not particularly easy to read, as it has a fairly complex theoretical structure. Extensive list of references. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. S. A. Carlson Humboldt State University