Unlike doomsayers who paint a stark picture of no-win choices between eating and breathing, Aaseng carefully teases out facts and trends to answer his subtitle's question in the affirmative. Artfully beginning with a history of conflict over the implementation of environmental regulations, he shows how unemployed people came to blame environmentalists for job losses and outlines the agenda of the Wise Use Coalition, a group opposed to environmental regulation. Then, point by point, he counters their arguments and concludes with a chapter on how environmental stewardship can create jobs while solving other problems as well. He also balances viewpoints on the merits of government regulation vs. individual initiative. His writing style is particularly well adapted to these topics, conveying the passions involved while remaining fair to each side. An evenhanded summary of some truly vital concerns. Includes source notes, bibliography, index, illustrations not seen. (Nonfiction. 12+)
