Earthscan is an English-language publisher of books and journals on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology for academic, professional and general readers.

History

The Earthscan Publications imprint was founded by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in the 1980s and was run from 1987 by Neil Middleton. After making a loss, Earthscan became an independent publisher, moving initially to

Kogan Page Kogan Page is an independent publishing company founded in 1967 and headquartered in London, with branches in New York and New Delhi. Kogan Page specialises in business books and digital content, with over 1,000 titles published in key subject ...

, although still printing many books emanating from IIED research. These included ''Desertification'' (), by Alan Grainger, first published in 1982. ''Natural Disasters: Acts of God, or Acts of Man?'' () by Anders Wijkman and Lloyd Timberlake was published in 1984, and in May 1988 two titles were published: ''Women and Environment in the Third World'' (which discusses, among other topics, the Chipko movement) and ''The Greening of Aid''. In August 2009, Earthscan launched their ''Earthcasts'' series of free hour-long interactive Webcast sessions on

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and

Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...

. Notable figures who have participated in the series include Tim Jackson and Robert Costanza. In October of the same year, Earthscan acquired the publishing assets of RFF Press, the publishing imprint of

Resources for the Future Resources for the Future (RFF) is an American nonprofit organization, founded in 1952, that conducts independent research into environmental, energy, and natural resource issues, primarily via economics and other social sciences. Headquartered in ...

. In March 2010, Earthscan won three Independent Publishing Awards, including the top prize of Independent Publisher of the Year, becoming only the second publishing company to win three Independent Publishing Awards in a single year. In January 2011, Earthscan's name and the backlist was bought by one of the "big four" academic publishers,

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research and Dovepress. It i ...

, for an undisclosed sum. The Earthscan imprint is still used, and sits under the

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

imprint. Several staff lost their jobs and the London office was closed. Earthscan authors include Lester Brown, Walt Patterson,

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

('' Earth in the Balance''), the IPCC, Tim Jackson (''

Prosperity Without Growth ''Prosperity Without Growth'' is a book by author and economist Tim Jackson (economist), Tim Jackson. It was originally released as a report by the Sustainable Development Commission. The study rapidly became the most downloaded report in the ...

''), Amory Lovins ('' Natural Capitalism''), Molly Scott Cato, Jonathon Porritt, Felix Dodds, Chris Goodall ('' How to Live a Low-Carbon Life''), Oliver Payne (''Inspiring Sustainable Behaviour: 19 Ways to Ask for Change''), Clive Hamilton ('' Requiem for a Species''), and Sakiko Fukuda-Parr.

Notes and references

External links

* Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Environmental publishers Publishing companies established in 1982 {{publishing-stub