'Where men seeking to grab power once looked to acquire territories and slaves, now the entire globe and its productive capacity' is up for grabs, writes Vandana Shiva, in the foreword to Pambazuka Press' latest title, 'Earth Grab'. The book's 'three groundbreaking reports pull back the curtain on disturbing technological and corporate trends that are already reshaping our world and that will become crucial battlegrounds for civil society in the years ahead.'
It has now been 50 years since a human being first glimpsed the whole of Planet Earth, shimmering alone in the blackness of space. "The earth is blue. How wonderful. It is amazing," reported Yuri Gagarin as the planet appeared in his porthole for the first time on 12 April 1961. Environmentalists subsequently argued that seeing the Earth as small and fragile, rather than large and unfathomable, would transform humanity's relationship with our common home and give renewed impetus to the movement to save nature - and for some it did.
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