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
... we believe, should pay more attention to genetic and cultural evolution. Understanding genetic-evolutionary interactions is critical to tasks such as preventing epidemics and designing optimal fishing strategies. Prologue 7.
... we believe, should pay more attention to genetic and cultural evolution. Understanding genetic-evolutionary interactions is critical to tasks such as preventing epidemics and designing optimal fishing strategies. Prologue 7.
Стр. 8
... fishes, for instance, fishes whose genes allow them to breed at smaller sizes will soon predominate, and they will produce fewer young than big individuals. Use a genetically uninformed fishing strategy and you'll discover the fish in ...
... fishes, for instance, fishes whose genes allow them to breed at smaller sizes will soon predominate, and they will produce fewer young than big individuals. Use a genetically uninformed fishing strategy and you'll discover the fish in ...
Стр. 38
... fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Thus intermediate fossils show that amphibians in the distant past were diverging from fishes, and later, birds diverged from crocodiles. And natural selection has been the driving force ...
... fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Thus intermediate fossils show that amphibians in the distant past were diverging from fishes, and later, birds diverged from crocodiles. And natural selection has been the driving force ...
Стр. 42
... fishes to exploit different diets in small lakes can lead to increasingly different populations and, eventually, to reproductively isolated species. There are also rather common circumstances in plants, and increasing evidence in ...
... fishes to exploit different diets in small lakes can lead to increasingly different populations and, eventually, to reproductively isolated species. There are also rather common circumstances in plants, and increasing evidence in ...
Стр. 44
... fishes and shot the elephants with the biggest tusks. The results are smaller fishes and elephants with shorter tusks. And now people are changing the world's climate—one of the most important sources of selection pressure (and thus of ...
... fishes and shot the elephants with the biggest tusks. The results are smaller fishes and elephants with shorter tusks. And now people are changing the world's climate—one of the most important sources of selection pressure (and thus 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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