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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... course. We hope this new edition, combined with the Web site, will be especially valuable both for course use and for general readers who wish to remain up to date in the critical areas covered. Prologue Human beings live in a world of ...
... course. We hope this new edition, combined with the Web site, will be especially valuable both for course use and for general readers who wish to remain up to date in the critical areas covered. Prologue Human beings live in a world of ...
Стр. 7
... course of many generations as their genetic endowments are altered. In practice, however, the two sides of the gene-environment interaction must be viewed together. That bacteria can evolve genetically to be resistant to the antibiotics ...
... course of many generations as their genetic endowments are altered. In practice, however, the two sides of the gene-environment interaction must be viewed together. That bacteria can evolve genetically to be resistant to the antibiotics ...
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... course, means those animals and plants most likely to survive and have many offspring. Thus appeared the idea of natural selection, which caused a paradigm shift in the biological sciences. The widely held conceptual worldview at the ...
... course, means those animals and plants most likely to survive and have many offspring. Thus appeared the idea of natural selection, which caused a paradigm shift in the biological sciences. The widely held conceptual worldview at the ...
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... course. Perhaps the most famous example of rapid selection detected in nature was a change in the English insect known as the peppered moth. Amongbiologists, this case, worked out half a century ago, was a great instance of catching ...
... course. Perhaps the most famous example of rapid selection detected in nature was a change in the English insect known as the peppered moth. Amongbiologists, this case, worked out half a century ago, was a great instance of catching ...
Стр. 35
... course, our own. After all, the title of his magnum opus was On the Origin of Species. Why, then, are there both dogs and wolves; horses and zebras; redshouldered and red-tailed hawks; brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout; tiger and ...
... course, our own. After all, the title of his magnum opus was On the Origin of Species. Why, then, are there both dogs and wolves; horses and zebras; redshouldered and red-tailed hawks; brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout; tiger and ...
Содержание
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3 | |
9 | |
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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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