People and Nature: An Introduction to Human Ecological Relations

Contents......Page 8
Figures......Page 10
Preface......Page 12
Introduction......Page 16
Can one Conceive of Ecosystems Without Human Agents?......Page 24
Human Agency: Individuals Making a Difference......Page 28
Overwhelming Evidence for Concern with the Condition of the Earth System......Page 31
Looking Back and Looking Forward......Page 38
The Study of Human Ecological Relations......Page 41
The Contemporary Study of Environmental Issues: The Rise of Cross-Disciplinary Team-Based Approaches......Page 47
The Evolution of Human–Environment Interactions......Page 54
Hunter-Gatherers: Setting our Preferences......Page 59
How Did We Decide To Become Farmers?......Page 63
Herding and Farming: An Uneasy Relationship......Page 66
More Food for The Masses......Page 68
Earth Transformations in Prehistory......Page 72
The Archaeology of Environmental Change......Page 80
The Urban–Industrial Revolution and the Unleashing of Prometheus......Page 83
The Contemporary Situation: Human-dominated ecosystems......Page 86
The Web of Life and Trophic Relations: Thinking Ecologically......Page 89
Ecosystem Productivity and Net Primary Production......Page 95
Land Use and Long Term Disturbance......Page 98
Learning, Adaptation, and Information......Page 108
Mitigation and the Cautionary Principle......Page 117
Transforming the Face of the Earth: Making Better Decisions......Page 118
Population and the Environment......Page 121
Community in Human Evolution......Page 131
What is Sacred in Human Evolution?......Page 133
Tragedies of the Commons......Page 136
Institutions and Self-Organization......Page 140
Bioregionalism, Deep Ecology, and Embedding People In Nature......Page 144
Material Boys and Material Girls......Page 146
Patterns of Consumption in Developed Countries......Page 147
Patterns of Consumption in Developing Countries......Page 153
A Feeding Frenzy and a Crisis in Public Health......Page 157
Burning Fossil Fuels instead of Calories......Page 160
Do We Have Enough Material Goods Now?......Page 162
Resource Abundance versus Resource Scarcity......Page 165
When Less Is More......Page 173
The Scale of the Problem and the Scale of the Solution......Page 181
Restoring Our Balance: Valuing Community and Trust, Rather Than More “Stuff”......Page 185
Are We Happier When We Have More?......Page 190
References......Page 193
Index......Page 221