Green alternatives to globalisation: a manifesto

Michael Woodin and Caroline Lucas, Pluto Press, 256 pages, paperback, £11.99

This book, by two leading members of the Green Party, contains some alarming facts about global environmental destruction.

The authors argue convincingly that transnational companies are responsible for much of the damage done to the environment. These companies produce more than half the global greenhouse emissions and the majority of the most polluting chemicals.

However, the authors' solution, known as "localisation" (producing more locally), seems less convincing. They want world trade rules rewritten and a "site here and sell here" policy to tie transnationals down.

They advocate ecological taxes to check the production of substances harmful to the environment and reforms such as local money to tackle financial speculation. However, it is not clear how such a programme would be implemented and the extent to which it would reduce world poverty or protect the environment.