Abbreviations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction: The Ecological Shadows of Rising Consumption 1
1 An Unbalanced Global Political Economy 3
2 Dying of Consumption 19
I Automobiles 33
3 Accidental Dependency? The Road to an Auto World 35
4 A Better Ride: Selling Safe and Clean 43
5 The Road Tolls 53
6 The Globalization of Accidents and Emissions 61
II Leaded Gasoline 65
7 Leaded Science: Pumping Out Profits and Risks 67
8 Lead Must Go 79
9 Taking the Lead Out of Africa 89
10 The Globalization of Risk 93
III Refrigerators 97
11 Refrigerating the Ozone Layer 99
12 Phasing Out CFC Refrigerators 107
13 Selling the “Superior” Refrigerator 119
14 The Globalization of Plugging In 129
IV Beef 133
15 The Efficient Steer: Fast, Fat, and Cheap 135
16 The Ecology of Big Beef 147
17 Sustainable Beef? Chasing a Stampede of “Regular” Steers 155
18 The Globalization of More Meat 165
V The Harp Seal Hunt 169
19 To the Red Ice: Heroes and Overharvesting 171
20 The Brutes! Killing Markets with Activism 183
21 Hunting Beaters for Globalizing Markets 193
22 The Globalization of Slippery Markets 203
Conclusion: Transforming Global Consumption 207
23 The Illusions of Environmentalism 209
24 A Brighter World Order of Balanced Consumption 219
Notes 233
References 263
Index 289