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Religious individuals and institutions around the world have often been involved with important moral issues, guiding their communities in moral behavior and at times influencing policymakers. In the early twenty-first century, environmental problems such as anthropogenic climate change, resource depletion, and pollution are critical moral issues. While religious leaders offer vastly different solutions and perspectives, religious voices have gained influence in local, national, and global environmental policy debates. Traditionally-defined religious traditions and institutions are not the only emerging religious responses to environmental problems. Forms of nature-venerating religiosity—whether viewing the natural world as a sacred entity or finding wonder in natural ecological processes—have also emerged as critiques of anti-environmental practices and policies, forming a supportive activist spiritual network in the western world. Acknowledging that controversies exist I provide greater discussion on “dark green religion,” a diverse set of nature-revering values and practices often found among western environmentalist communities. Its many branches include Gaia Theory (a scientific theory understanding the whole world as a singular organism), Deep Ecology (an ethical theory positing inherent value in nature), and certain interpretations of Native North American religious traditions (at times problematic and romanticized), all of which define a complex and diverse religious milieu among western environmentalist communities. I discuss several examples from within the long-lived opposition movement to surface coal mining. Nature-venerating religiosity, including dark green religion, forms an important thread of contemporary religious response to burgeoning environmental problems. As some scientists argue that climate change, resource depletion, and other environmental issues will only worsen without proactive changes toward sustainable policies, dark green religiosity will likely continue to be important.

In the last two decades, several publications have addressed the ethical foundations of the organic movement. Papers on the ethics in, and of the organic movement have been especially sensitive to human-nature interrelationships, and the equality of all living things. Many of these discussions of ethics are integrated into, or arise in the latest IFOAM Principles. Other publications review the historical development of organic agriculture (e.g., Conford 1995; Vogt 2000; Heckman 2006; Lockeretz 2007).

In the seventeenth century reflections on the limitedness of the human mind often went hand in hand with the humble acceptance of the human perspective as the only one available to us. Nature here emerged as an object that is valuable only in so far as it is able to satisfy human needs and desires. In recent years this anthropocentric approach towards nature has been challenged for its failure to deal with pressing ecological problems. Arne Naess, for instance, argues that a fundamental change in the way we experience nature is needed. In this essay I will trace the roots of Naess’ conception of nature back to early modern forms of panpsychism. The aim of this consists in revealing that approaches defending the existence of mind-like entities in nature need not be associated with mysticism. These approaches, as will be argued, are valuable in that they enable us to rethink man’s position in history and nature, and through this enable us to recognize the educative role of philosophy.

City expansion and rising consumerism in an increasingly urbanized world has caused greater threat to the physical environment. Ecological planning has thus responded to guide urban development towards minimizing use of land, energy and other materials to help build healthy urban living. The key principle of eco-city planning is to make city habitat in harmony with nature. Earlier planning concepts of garden city, contemporary new urbanism, environmental ethics, deep ecology movement have all a significant influence on the evolution of eco-city planning. Sustainable consumption ideas have also acted as a balancing force. In implementation and planning practice, however, the “one size fits all” approach must be ruled out. The book covers policy, implementation and micro-planning approaches.

Care must be taken when teaching about the environment as to whether the underlying philosophical framework is one of sustainability, deep ecology, bioregionalism, or ecofeminism. Many environmental education projects, activities, and lessons tend to focus on the “problems” with or in nature, thereby reifying nature itself as problematic – a concept abhorrent to most ecofeminists. Inadvertently, educators of all kinds problematize nature as if nature is something separate from all of us. Problems-based learning as a pedagogical practice at first seems to be a logical way to learn about nature; however, there are problems with using this teaching strategy with environmental education topics. Furthermore, from an ecofeminist perspective, nature becomes reified as separate and problematic.

Human-induced global warming – a symptom as well as a cause of the present ecological crisis – poses a worldwide challenge, demanding not only a scientific–technological, but also a religious–moral response. Religions are still the source of ethical norms for large sections of humanity. They are beginning to mobilize their resources in an effort to “save the earth.” This essay provides a survey of literature relating to the fast-developing field of “Religion and Ecology.” Beginning with responses to charges that “monotheism” is the root cause of our predicament, and admitting the ambivalent environmental record of all religions, it refers to the “green” reinterpretation of ancient scriptures, religiously inspired eco-activism and “deep ecology,” including “eco-feminism.” Rejecting a postmodernist “New Ecology” that assumes an “end of nature,” it proposes to “re-invent nature” and build upon this basis an ecology that connects with age-old insights.

Environmentalism as a green ideology and social movement is a comprehensive subject, which can only be studied in an interdisciplinary manner. That is to say, in order to offer any meaningful or convincing theoretical explanation on the environmentalism in a society, we need to understand not only the various values and belief systems, but also the social communication mechanism, which may play their promoting or restricting parts. There is no exception to Indian environmentalism. This chapter places the Indian environmentalism under a theoretical framework of ‘social justice vs. deep ecology’, and characterises it as social justice, non-violence, grassroots democracy, and local economy. Or in other words, Indian environmentalism has been being, and will continue to be for apparent reasons, a type of ‘eco-socialist’ movement, struggling for a sustainable development alongside social justice as well as ecological sustainability.

Unsustainable consumption mostly refers to energy resources and materials' utilization, fostered by human activity. Therefore, energy consumption represents a major challenge when approaching sustainable development issues. Despite many environmental strategies relying on im- provements in energy and material efficiency, the World's energy demand is likely to increase in line with its population. In addition, cultural patterns of human activities are closely related to energy consumption patterns. This paper discusses the relationship between energy consumption and human overpopulation, which is one of the critical issues when approaching sus- tainability. Furthermore, this paper argues about cultural influences and barriers for the rational use of energy. The paper juxtaposes shallow to deep ecology and stresses the importance of transition to deep ecology, which draws on a wide diversity of ultimate philosophical or religious premises, by seeing Nature and culture as fundamentally intertwined. Education has a crucial role in revising energy consumption patterns. This paper also stresses the importance of education for sustainable development as a required ap- proach to a sustainable society. It argues about those conflicts between dif- ferent human goals that should be taken into account in educational systems. Universities should act as agents in promoting transformative change towards sustainability. Thus, the importance of incorporating sustainability principles