Introduction

An important consideration of the ecosystem underlines the point that private competition for the pursuit of profit opens the global society to the threat of destruction.

The challenge may be to our aesthetic sensibility, for instance, the destruction of less developed seashore for the sake of "developments" such as hotels and time shares. A comparable threat may exist to our recreational use such as urban parks.

The challenge may also exist to our health, by means of toxic waste and pollution.

I. Why is eco-socialism important?

References:

1. John Rowntree's review of Joel Kovel's book, "The Enemy of Nature" [PDF], in Because People Matter, March-April 2004
   Kovel's book offers insight to activists and thinkers who seek an understanding of the relationship between today's social and ecological crises.
2. "Global Ecology and the Common Good", John Bellamy Foster, Monthly Review, February 1995
3. "A Planetary Defeat: The Failure of the Global Environmental Reform Movement", John Bellamy Foster, Monthly Review, January 2003 Professor Foster reports on the failure of the second Earth Summit in Johannesburg (2002) to live up to the promise of the first summit (Rio de Janeiro, 1992). He lists and discusses six reasons for the disappointing state of affairs.
4. Interview with JB Foster: "Not the Owners of the Earth", Dollars and Sense
5. Interview by Skip Berry, Dollars and Sense , April 2003