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The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment
In humanitys guide, and author PowerPoint slides
Paperback, 480 pages
Published
October 14th 2009
by Island Press
(first published June 30th 2008)
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WASHINGTON POST — Book review
What the World Is Coming To
By Michael Ruse, co-editor of the forthcoming "Evolution: The First Four Billion Years"
Thursday, August 7, 2008; C02
THE DOMINANT ANIMAL
Human Evolution and the Environment
By Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich
Island Press/Shearwater. 428 pp. $35
Canadians joke that, given their vile winters, they are the only people in the world who welcome glo...more
What the World Is Coming To
By Michael Ruse, co-editor of the forthcoming "Evolution: The First Four Billion Years"
Thursday, August 7, 2008; C02
THE DOMINANT ANIMAL
Human Evolution and the Environment
By Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich
Island Press/Shearwater. 428 pp. $35
Canadians joke that, given their vile winters, they are the only people in the world who welcome glo...more
Im in the midst of reading the Ehrlich's book and finding it quite stimulating. It is intersting to compare with some of the books of Steven Pinker, especially the "Blank Slate". It appears that there is some disagreement on the subject of heredity. Pinker argues that much of our behavior is determined and pretty much convinced me of this in his book. On the other hand the Ehrlichs make a very interesting case for culture overcoming heredity. Their argument is based on the amount of in...more
Very broad and diverse topics covered, from the evolution of life and the human family tree, to the subsequent rapid development of society leading to the all too familiar resultant mess we made of the world especially since the 2nd half of 20th C. While useful as a basic introduction to environmental science, I am surprised it barely addressed what I believe is THE crux of all our ecological woes - namely the overarching goal and culture of growing material consumption, and how to address it.
I think this book would make an excellent freshman colloquium book. It didn't really go into detail about any one topic, but I think the book did a great job introducing a lot of very important concepts that sometimes get glossed over or skipped. The authors also did a good job connecting everything together. It was a book I didn't struggle to finish, and it was broken up nicely. It also references a lot of other really good books that go into much greater detail about given topics, so for p...more
A really good summary of the overall environmental problems that are threatening the planet. Our loss of natural capital and ecosystem services are a vague idea to most, but this book puts them in perspective. By writing in mostly "plain-language" while also using the most current science, it should be accessible to most of the general public. I would recommend to anyone who wants a scientific perspective on the role a habitable Earth plays in our species future (hint: its a big one...more
An overarching look at humans and our impact on the planet. This book covered many different subjects relating to human dominance. I wished that the authors had just picked two or three themes and explored them more in depth.
this book covers a lot of ground and is a great read for people just getting into environmental issues. there is good coverage of biological concepts that are essential for understanding our enviro dilemmas. for people who have already read a lot in this realm, this book might seem a bit repetitive. overall, though, they (the ehrlichs) make some great points and have compiled a lot of thorough research.
Great information on how genetic and cultural evolution has gotten us to where we are and some of the consequences of where we are. However it was a little 'text bookish' for me.
Mieko
marked it as to-read
Absurdnerd
marked it as to-read
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Paul Ralph Ehrlich is an American biologist and educator who is the Bing Professor of Population Studies in the department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and president of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology. By training he is an entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera (butterflies), but he is better known as an ecologist and a demographer, specifically for his warnings about...more
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