false 92597 1 0 159685 0142000531 9780142000533 3 <![CDATA[Human Natures: Genes, Cultures, and the Human Prospect]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172280045m/159685.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172280045s/159685.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/159685.Human_Natures_Genes_Cultures_and_the_Human_Prospect 4.06 34 In this wide-ranging survey of what it is that has made and that continues to make us human, Ehrlich touches on a number of themes--among them, his recurrent observation that science has taught us little about how genes influence human behavior. (Instead, he notes wryly, "science tells us that we are creatures of accident clinging to a ball of mud hurtling aimlessly through space. This is not a notion to warm hearts or rouse multitudes.") He urges that scientists take a larger, interdisciplinary view that looks beyond mere genetics to the larger forces that shape our lives, a view for which Human Natures makes a handy, and highly accessible, primer. --Gregory McNamee

]]> 92597 3.66 183 31 2000 760870 1568495870 9781568495873 9 <![CDATA[The Population Bomb]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178128535m/760870.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178128535s/760870.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/760870.The_Population_Bomb 3.70 37 The book is a Malthusian catastrophe argument, that population growth will outpace agricultural growth unless controlled. Ehrlich assumes population is going to rise exponentially & that available resources are at their limits. Whereas Malthus didn't make firm predictions of imminent catastrophe, Ehrlich warned of potential massive disasters. Unlike Malthus, he didn't see any means of avoiding the disaster entirely. The solutions for limiting its scope he proposed were more radical than those Malthus postulated. The book deals not only with food shortage, but also with other crises caused by rapid population growth, expressing the possibility of disaster in broader terms. A population bomb requires:
A rapid rate of change
A limit of some sort
Delays in perceiving the limit
The predictions came true, but the effects are mainly unfelt in the developed world. Food production grows exponentially at a rate higher than population growth, in both developed & developing countries, partially due to the efforts of Borlaug's Green Revolution of the '60s. Food per capita is the highest in history. On one hand population growth rates significantly slowed down, especially in the developed world. Famine hasn't been eliminated, but its root cause is political instability, not global food shortage. On the other hand, in the '80s & '90s in a number of countries population growth rates still exceeded economic growth. On quite a few occasions political instability was caused by food shortages.
Tho Ehrlich's theory influenced public policy, Keith Greiner's '94 analysis observed that his projections couldn't possibly have held the scrutiny of time because he applied the financial compound interest formula to population growth. Using two sets of assumptions based on Ehrlich's theory, it was shown that the theorized growth in population & subsequent scarcity of resources couldn't have occurred on his time schedule. Data actually seems to suggest linear, albeit very strong, growth. For example US population growth was more linear than exponential. To be more precise, the exponential function ex can be expanded to (1+x) as the 1st order leading term. For values of x<1%, the difference between exponential growth & linear growth is hard to discern (for x=1% population doubling time would be 70 years). The exponential growth rate of world population in late 2008 has declined to about 1.2% & thus we are entering the regime where exponential growth looks like linear growth when measured over timescales less than the doubling time. Nonetheless, it's incorrect to claim that world population is growing linearly. The world population doubled from 3 billion in 1959 to 6 billion in 1999 & is expected to grow by another 3 billion by 2042. Nevertheless The Population Bomb sold many copies & raised general awareness of population & environmental issues. Early 21st century analyses of US age distribution show that growth in population declined after the pill was approved, tho population continues to grow at a rate of 0.91% per annum. Approval was influenced by Ehrlich's work.
The Population Bomb was written at the suggestion of David Brower, then Sierra Club's executive director, following Ehrlich's 12/67 article in New Scientist. He predicted the world would experience famines sometime between 1970-85 due to population growth outstripping resources. He also stated that "India couldn't possibly feed 200,000,000 more people by 1980," & "I've yet to meet anyone familiar with the situation who thinks that India will be self-sufficient in food by 1971." These predictions didn't come to pass. In the '71 edition, the latter prediction had been removed. An oft-cited cause of these famine aversions is the Green Revolution, as it was called by the USAID in 1968. Another oft-cited cause was the sharp drop in the fertility rate occurring in the developed world during the '60s & '70s.]]> 92597 3.66 183 31 1968 3116338 1597260967 9781597260961 5 <![CDATA[The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3116338.The_Dominant_Animal_Human_Evolution_and_the_Environment 3.35 20


Renowned Stanford scientists Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich believe that intelligently addressing those questions depends on a clear understanding of how we evolved and how and why we’re changing the planet in ways that darken our descendants’ future. The Dominant Animal arms readers with that knowledge, tracing the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural evolution since the dawn of humanity. In lucid and engaging prose, they describe how Homo sapiens adapted to their surroundings, eventually developing the vibrant cultures, vast scientific knowledge, and technological wizardry we know today.



But the Ehrlichs also explore the flip side of this triumphant story of innovation and conquest. As we clear forests to raise crops and build cities, lace the continents with highways, and create chemicals never before seen in nature, we may be undermining our own supremacy. The threats of environmental damage are clear from the daily headlines, but the outcome is far from destined. Humanity can again adapt—if we learn from our evolutionary past.

</div><div> </div><div><div>Those lessons are crystallized in The Dominant Animal. Tackling the fundamental challenge of the human predicament, Paul and Anne Ehrlich offer a vivid and unique exploration of our origins, our evolution, and our future. </div></div></div>]]> 92597 3.66 183 31 129658 3.48 44 9 2008 221647 0671732943 9780671732943 2 <![CDATA[The Population Explosion]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172841284m/221647.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172841284s/221647.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221647.The_Population_Explosion 4.06 16 92597 3.66 183 31 1990 282038 1597260312 9781597260312 4 <![CDATA[One With Nineveh: Politics, Consumption, and the Human Future]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173391992m/282038.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173391992s/282038.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/282038.One_With_Nineveh_Politics_Consumption_and_the_Human_Future 3.73 15 "Here, between the covers of one book, you can find out about the major problems facing the world today, and how to fix them. It all comes sprinkled with the deliciously surprising examples, and wrapped in the alternately gripping and humorous prose, for which Paul and Anne Ehrlich have long been famous. This is a book to savor and from which to learn."-JARED DIAMOND, AUTHOR OF COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL OR SUCCEED AND GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL

"Provocative and eminently readable...this is a direct and levelheaded presentation that should get, and deserves, wide readership."-PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"The Ehrlichs have often been called the ultimate pessimists, but their book is, frankly, heartening. . . . The book is decidedly new and different."-NORMAN MYERS, NATURE

"If you simply want a great book, written by smart, forthright scientists, read One with Nineveh by Paul and Anne Ehrlich." -BOSTON GLOBE

"An urgent warning full of suggestions as to how things could be made better if individuals and businesses and nations cooperated."-THE WASHINGTON POST

"The Ehrlichs manage to be both meticulous and witty as they suggest reforms and remind us that ours is an astoundingly adaptive species capable of making radical change once we're motivated." -BOOKLIST

Named a Notable Book for 2005 by the American Library Association, One with Nineveh is a fresh synthesis of the major issues of our time, now brought up to date with an afterword for the paperback edition. Through lucid explanations, telling anecdotes, and incisive analysis, the book spotlights the three elephants in our global living room-rising consumption, still-growing world population, and unchecked political and economic inequity-that together are increasingly shaping today's politics and humankind's future. One with Nineveh brilliantly puts today's political and environmental debates in a larger context and offers some bold proposals for improving our future prospect.

]]> 92597 3.66 183 31 129658 3.48 44 9 2004 815200 0413616800 9780413616807 0 <![CDATA[New World, New Mind: Changing the Way We Think to Save Our Future]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/815200.New_World_New_Mind_Changing_the_Way_We_Think_to_Save_Our_Future 3.86 7 ]]> 92597 3.66 183 31 220071 3.97 126 17 1989 737588 0345243765 9780345243768 0 <![CDATA[The End of Affluence]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/737588.The_End_of_Affluence 3.67 6 92597 3.66 183 31 1974 1902099 0586086323 9780586086322 1 <![CDATA[The Machinery of Nature (Paladin Books)]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1902099.The_Machinery_of_Nature 3.50 6 92597 3.66 183 31 1986 737590 1559634847 9781559634847 0 <![CDATA[Betrayal of Science and Reason: How Anti-Environmental Rhetoric Threatens Our Future]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223636439m/737590.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223636439s/737590.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/737590.Betrayal_of_Science_and_Reason_How_Anti_Environmental_Rhetoric_Threatens_Our_Future 3.60 5 92597 3.66 183 31 129658 3.48 44 9 1996 473603 0393302415 9780393302417 1 <![CDATA[The Cold and the Dark: The World After Nuclear War]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/473603.The_Cold_and_the_Dark_The_World_After_Nuclear_War 4.50 4 92597 3.66 183 31 10538 4.13 13486 1192 1984