Mike Gismondi

Human history has often been described as a progressive relinquishment from environmental constraints. Now, it seems, we have come full circle. The ecological irrationalities associated with industrial societies have a lengthy history, and our purpose in the proposed book is not to catalogue this litany of wrongs. Rather, this book is about political responses to global environmental crisis at a crucial turning point in history, by focusing on the political discourses surrounding the tar sands in Alberta, Canada.

Human history has often been described as a progressive relinquishment from environmental constraints. Now, it seems, we have come full circle. The ecological irrationalities associated with industrial societies have a lengthy history, and our purpose in the proposed book is not to catalogue this litany of wrongs. Rather, this book is about political responses to global environmental crisis at a crucial turning point in history, by focusing on the political discourses surrounding the tar sands in Alberta, Canada.

Winning Back the Words chronicles the politics of the environmental public hearings on the Alberta-Pacific bleached kraft pulp mill in northern Alberta, and illustrates how the public challenged the authority of experts. Drawing from their own experiences in the hearings, the authors recreate the power struggles among participants over the words and discourses used to debate the impact of the mill on the environment. Controversies about science and values, sustainable development, and local knowledge suggest promising new directions in environmental review.