The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment

Anne H. Ehrlich, Paul R. Ehrlich

Island Press, Jun 30, 2008 - Science - 472 pages

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.

Contents

• Note on the Paperback Edition: 1
• Prologue: 3
• Darwins Legacy and Mendels Mechanism: 9
• The Entangled Bank: 35
• Our Distant Past: 54
• Of Genes and Culture: 68
• Cultural Evolution How We Relate to One Another: 97
• Perception Evolution and Beliefs: 119
• 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
• 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
• Notes: 401
• Selected Bibliography: 413
• Acknowledgments: 437
• Index: 441

About the author

Paul R. Ehrlich is Bing Professor of Population Studies and professor of biology at Stanford University and a fellow of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics. The author of Human Natures, The Population Bomb, and many other books, he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of numerous international honors, including the Crafoord Prize and the MacArthur “genius award.”

Anne H. Ehrlich is affiliated with Stanford's Biology Department and Center for Conservation Biology, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has served on the board of the Sierra Club and other conservation organizations, has coauthored more than ten books with her husband, and is a recipient of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement and the United Nations Environment Programme/Sasakawa Environment Prize.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment
• Authors: Anne H. Ehrlich, Paul R. Ehrlich
• Publisher: Island Press, 2008
• ISBN: 1597264601, 9781597264600
• Length: 472 pages
• Subjects: Science / Environmental Science