Green Asia

Economic development in Asia is associated with expanding urbanism, overconsumption, and a steep growth in living standards. At the same time, rapid urbanisation, changing class consciousness, and a new rural-urban divide in the region have led to fundamental shifts in the way ecological concerns are articulated politically and culturally. Moreover, these changes are often viewed through a Western moralistic lens, which at the same time applauds Asia's economic growth as the welcome reviver of a floundering world economy and simultaneously condemns this growth as encouraging hyperconsumerism and a rupture with more natural ways of living. This book presents an analysis of a range of practices and activities from across Asia that demonstrate that people in Asia are alert to ecological concerns, that they are taking action to implement new styles of green living, and that Asia offers interesting alternatives to narrow Anglo-American models of sustainable living. Subjects explored include eco-tourism in the Philippines, green co-operatives in Korea, the importance of "tradition" within Asian discourses of sustainability, and much more.

Tania Lewis is an Associate Professor and Deputy Dean of Research and Innovation in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

1. Sustainability, Lifestyle and Consumption in Asia 2. From Sustainable Architecture to Sustaining Comfort Practices: Air Conditioning and its Alternatives in Asia 3. Green Marketing and Green Consciousness in India 4. Relying on Heaven': Natural Farming and 'Eco-Tea' in Taiwan 5. The Urban Wilds: Ecoculture, Consumption and Affect in Singapore 6. Domestic 'Eco'-tourism and the Production of a Wondrous Nature in the Philippine 7. The Greying of Greenspeak? Environmental Issues, Media Discourses and Consumer Practices in China 8. Building a Green Community: Grassroots Air Quality Monitoring in Urban China 9. Keitai mizu: A Mobile Game Reflection in a Post 3/11 Tokyo, Japan 10. Living Co-ops in Korea: Sustainable Living, Communal Labor and Social Economy 11. "Urban Farming in Tokyo: Towards an Urban-Rural Hybrid City" 12. Farming Against Real Estate Dominance: The Ma Shi Po Community Farm in Hong Kong