- Almost
- all
- environmental
- books
- treat
- the
- environmental
- crisis
- as
- though
- humans
- are
- in
- charge
- of
- nature,
- rather
- than
- part
- of
- it.
- The
- Earth
- and
- I
- is
- the
- first
- book
- to
- put
- all
- preconceived
- notions
- aside
- and
- to
- ask,
- naïvely:
- Who
- are
- we
- really?
- What
- is
- our
- relationship
- to
- the
- earth?
- How
- is
- it
- possible
- that
- we,
- out
- of
- all
- the
- millions
- of
- species,
- have
- come
- to
- destroy
- our
- common
- home?
- The
- answers
- are
- surprising
- and
- have
- far-reaching
- implications
- for
- those
- searching
- for
- solutions.Part
- One
- tells
- what
- is
- happening
- to
- the
- earth’s
- systems
- and
- how
- they
- are
- being
- destroyed.
- It
- rewrites
- the
- two-million-year
- history
- of
- humanity’s
- tenure
- on
- the
- earth
- as
- if
- we
- are
- part
- of
- nature
- and
- not
- separate
- from
- it,
- and
- describes
- both
- the
- earth
- and
- the
- universe
- as
- living
- systems.
- It
- paints
- a
- global,
- coherent
- picture
- of
- the
- devastation
- to
- Earth’s
- air,
- water,
- forests,
- and
- creatures
- that
- is
- not
- found
- elsewhere.
- It
- reviews
- assaults
- on
- these
- systems
- that
- are
- not
- treated
- adequately,
- if
- at
- all,
- elsewhere:
- chemicals;
- radiation;
- plastics;
- detergents;
- biocides;
- noise;
- cars;
- and
- guns.Part
- Two,
- “Digging
- below
- the
- Surface,”
- asks
- why,
- and
- enters
- territory
- not
- previously
- explored
- by
- environmentalists.
- It
- describes
- the
- various
- ways
- to
- make
- a
- living
- on
- the
- earth—hunting
- and
- gathering,
- shifting
- agriculture,
- nomadic
- herding,
- settled
- agriculture,
- and
- industrial
- technology—as
- choices,
- not
- eras—choices
- coexisting
- with
- one
- another
- until
- today.
- It
- rewrites
- economics.
- It
- explores
- the
- relationship
- of
- warfare,
- slavery,
- religion,
- and
- human
- sexuality
- to
- the
- environmental
- crisis.
- And
- it
- is
- forced
- to
- conclude
- that
- these
- aspects
- of
- human
- culture
- are
- not
- only
- shaped,
- but
- created
- by
- the
- technologies
- we
- use;
- that
- the
- use
- of
- non-human
- sources
- of
- energy
- interferes
- with
- human
- psychological
- development;
- and
- that
- the
- unfulfilled
- urges
- within
- us
- explode
- in
- the
- violent
- technologies
- that
- are
- destroying
- our
- planet.The
- solutions,
- if
- it
- is
- not
- too
- late,
- therefore
- lie
- in
- wise
- choice,
- rather
- than
- wise
- use,
- of
- our technologies.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
