The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the EnvironmentIsland Press, 30 июн. 2008 г. - Всего страниц: 472 In humanity’s more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, we have become the dominant animal. Why, then, are we creating a world that threatens our own species? What can we do to change the current trajectory toward more climate change, increased famine, and epidemic disease? 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. 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. |
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Стр. 7
... cause of genetic change—something to which populations of organisms “adapt” over the course of many generations as their genetic endowments are altered. In practice, however, the two sides of the gene-environment interaction must be ...
... cause of genetic change—something to which populations of organisms “adapt” over the course of many generations as their genetic endowments are altered. In practice, however, the two sides of the gene-environment interaction must be ...
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... cause the human population to outstrip its food supply. Malthus noted that animals commonly produced many more ... caused a paradigm shift in the biological sciences. The widely held conceptual worldview at the time, that the diversity ...
... cause the human population to outstrip its food supply. Malthus noted that animals commonly produced many more ... caused a paradigm shift in the biological sciences. The widely held conceptual worldview at the time, that the diversity ...
Стр. 13
... causes organisms to change generation after generation, it is the only one that makes them appear to be “designed” to survive ... cause organisms to diverge from one another, first by a little bit, and then by more and more. What we call ...
... causes organisms to change generation after generation, it is the only one that makes them appear to be “designed” to survive ... cause organisms to diverge from one another, first by a little bit, and then by more and more. What we call ...
Стр. 18
... caused by the Manchester area's industrialization—hence the term “industrial melanism.” Apparently, as the tree trunks became sooty, the lichens were killed, and the previously camouflaged speckled forms of the moth became conspicuous ...
... caused by the Manchester area's industrialization—hence the term “industrial melanism.” Apparently, as the tree trunks became sooty, the lichens were killed, and the previously camouflaged speckled forms of the moth became conspicuous ...
Стр. 24
... causes their red blood cells to change from normal disks into forms that often look under a microscope like crescent moons (“sickle” cells; figure 1-4). Those people produce only that special kind of hemoglobin and are at grave risk of ...
... causes their red blood cells to change from normal disks into forms that often look under a microscope like crescent moons (“sickle” cells; figure 1-4). Those people produce only that special kind of hemoglobin and are at grave risk of ...
Содержание
1 | |
3 | |
9 | |
35 | |
54 | |
Of Genes and Culture | 68 |
Cultural Evolution How We Relate to One Another | 97 |
Perception Evolution and Beliefs | 119 |
A New Imperative | 234 |
Altering the Global Atmosphere | 255 |
Energy Are We Running Out of It? | 290 |
Saving Our Natural Capital | 310 |
Governance Tackling Unanticipated Consequences | 331 |
Epilogue | 363 |
Postscript | 369 |
Glossary | 377 |
The Ups and Downs of Populations | 140 |
History as Cultural Evolution | 158 |
Cycles of Life and Death | 172 |
Ecosystems and Human Domination of Earth | 193 |
Consumption and Its Costs | 207 |
Notes | 401 |
Selected Bibliography | 413 |
Acknowledgments | 437 |
Index | 441 |
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The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment Paul R. Ehrlich,Anne H. Ehrlich Ограниченный просмотр - 2008 |
The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment Paul R. Ehrlich,Anne H. Ehrlich Недоступно для просмотра - 2009 |
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