Hope in spite of everything

The career of Professor Pierre Dansereau (1911-2011) spanned more than six decades. This pioneer of ecology and environmental sciences, a highly prolific author and outstanding teacher, inspired many. This book, in addition to celebrating his intellectual legacy, questions the future of environmental sciences. Here, Dansereau's work becomes a common thread, the cornerstone of some twenty texts dealing with environmental sciences. The authors, through a transdisciplinary approach, link several fields of study and numerous themes: eco-citizenship, eco-development, economics, energy, epistemology, ethics, modeling, pedagogy, evolutionary science, political sociology, social work, and others. In a world where we observe an intensification and complexity of the major problems facing humanity, environmental sciences seem to be becoming unifying. And hope, for its part, appears to be a guide infinitely more inspiring and motivating than cynicism and discouragement. There is no doubt that Pierre Dansereau would have adhered to such a philosophy and such a work, which will accompany students, researchers, practitioners, decision-makers, and citizens of the world.