Nieuwenhuis, Paul (2014). Sustainable automobility:  understanding the car as a natural system. Cheltenham : Edward Elgar. 208 p. ISBN: 978 1 78347 267 3 (hardback) and 978 1 78347 268 0 (ebook).

If we are part of nature, then so is everything we make. This  book explores this notion using the example of the car, how it is made and used and especially how we relate to it, with a view to creating a more sustainable automobility.

We have been trying to make cars cleaner and more efficient, but has this really made them more sustainable? This book argues, within the context of sustainable consumption and production, that we should see the car as a natural system, subject to natural laws and processes. As part of this new perspective we need to change our attitude to cars, building more durable relationships and co-evolving with them. Revolutionary, perhaps; but if we get it right, this approach will allow us to enjoy motoring – albeit in modified form – into the future. The book draws on a range of disciplines, including industrial ecology, engineering, philosophy, anthropology, consumer psychology and object-oriented ontology, as well as providing industry examples to support its innovative case.

• Download from the ebook edition:
  Chapter 1: Introduction: a natural history of the car

•  See more on Edward Elgar’s website (Table of contents)
• See also : http://www.sustainableautomobility.com/

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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