| Description |
xiv, 218 p. : ill., map ; 23 cm. |
| Series |
Blackwell primers in anthropology ; 1
|
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (p. [178]-205) and index. |
| Contents |
Human agency and the state of the earth. Introduction ; Can one conceive of ecosystems without human agents? ; Human agency : individuals making a difference ; Overwhelming evidence for concern with the condition of the earth system ; Looking back and looking forward -- A reminder: how things were ... The study of human ecological relations ; The contemporary study of environmental issues ; The evolution of human-environment interactions ; Hunter-gatherers : setting our preferences ; How did we decide to become farmers? ; Herding and farming : an uneasy relationship ; More food for the masses -- The great forgetting. Earth transformations in prehistory ; The archeology of environmental change ; The urban-industrial revolution and the unleashing of Prometheus ; The contemporary situation : human-dominated ecosystems -- The web of life: are we in it? The web of life and trophic relations : thinking ecologically ; Ecosystem productivity and net primary production ; Land use and long term disturbance -- What makes people do that? Learning, adaptation, and information ; Mitigation and the cautionary principle ; Transforming the face of the earth : making better decisions ; Population and the environment -- Rebuilding communities and institutions. Community in human evolution ; What is sacred in human evolution? ; Tragedies of the commons ; Institutions and self-organization ; Bioregionalism, deep ecology, and embedding people in nature -- Can we learn when we have enough? Material boys and material girls ; Patterns of consumption in developed countries ; Patterns of consumption in developing countries ; A feeding frenzy and a crisis in public health ; Burning fossils fuels instead of calories ; Do we have enough material goods now? -- Quality of life: when less is more. Resource abundance versus resource scarcity ; When less is more ; The scale of the problem and the scale of the solution ; Restoring our balance : valuing community and trust, rather than more "stuff" ; Are we happier when we have more? |
| Subject |
Nature -- Effect of human beings on.
|
|
Human beings -- Effect of environment on.
|
|
Environmental degradation.
|
|
Environmental policy.
|
| ISBN |
1405105712 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
|
1405105720 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
|
9781405105712 |
|
9781405105729 |
|
