Global Im-Possibilities

Global Im-Possibilities is a collective scholarly endeavour in the best sense of the term. Area specialists provide convincing case studies ranging far and wide, beginning with the Mercedes Benz sports stadium in Atlanta and the impact of oil on indigenous communities in North Dakota. It follows through with a series of ‘unfinished stories’ documenting in impressive detail how the forces of neoliberalism time and again frustrate the quest for just sustainabilities in communities in Sri Lanka, Ghana, Bangladesh, Greece, Australia and more. The book is held together by a structure that explains these struggles by connecting environmental justice, environmental racism, and intersectionality, finding optimism in the prospect of many small victories. At a time when Sustainable Development is widely and mostly uncritically seen as the answer to all our problems, this book is a welcome and sometimes optimistic reality check. * Leslie Sklair, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics *
Godfrey and Buchanan challenge sustainability advocates to grapple with the paradoxes, contradictions, and tensions of the sustainability interventions examined in this volume. The contributors bring together stories of just and unjust sustainabilities, featuring a breathtaking diversity of protagonists – from the African American communities subject to the injustices of environmental ornamentation perpetrated by the construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the members of the Baltimore activist group who call themselves The 1619 Coalition, the rickshaw pullers of Dhaka, and the lowland Indigenous communities, who experienced a collective sense of institutional betrayal under the Morales administration. This volume offers a treasure trove of insights and inspirations for those interested in the multiple pursuits of environmental and climate justice. * Prakash Kashwan, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut *