A World to Live In

An Ecologist's Vision for a Plundered Planet

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Biological Sciences, Environmental Science, Nature, Environment, Environmental Conservation & Protection
Cover of the book A World to Live In by George M. Woodwell, The MIT Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: George M. Woodwell ISBN: 9780262333696
Publisher: The MIT Press Publication: February 26, 2016
Imprint: The MIT Press Language: English
Author: George M. Woodwell
ISBN: 9780262333696
Publisher: The MIT Press
Publication: February 26, 2016
Imprint: The MIT Press
Language: English

A scientist makes a powerful case that preservation of the integrity of the biosphere is a necessity and an inviolable human right.

A century of industrial development is the briefest of moments in the half billion years of the earth's evolution. And yet our current era has brought greater changes to the earth than any period in human history. The biosphere, the globe's life-giving envelope of air and climate, has been changed irreparably. In A World to Live In, the distinguished ecologist George Woodwell shows that the biosphere is now a global human protectorate and that its integrity of structure and function are tied closely to the human future.

The earth is a living system, Woodwell explains, and its stability is threatened by human disruption. Industry dumps its waste globally and makes a profit from it, invading the global commons; corporate interests overpower weak or nonexistent governmental protection to plunder the planet. The fossil fuels industry offers the most dramatic example of environmental destruction, disseminating the heat-trapping gases that are now warming the earth and changing the climate forever. The assumption that we can continue to use fossil fuels and “adapt” to climate disruption, Woodwell argues, is a ticket to catastrophe.

But Woodwell points the way toward a solution. We must respect the full range of life on earth—not species alone, but their natural communities of plant and animal life that have built, and still maintain, the biosphere. We must recognize that the earth's living systems are our heritage and that the preservation of the integrity of a finite biosphere is a necessity and an inviolable human right.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A scientist makes a powerful case that preservation of the integrity of the biosphere is a necessity and an inviolable human right.

A century of industrial development is the briefest of moments in the half billion years of the earth's evolution. And yet our current era has brought greater changes to the earth than any period in human history. The biosphere, the globe's life-giving envelope of air and climate, has been changed irreparably. In A World to Live In, the distinguished ecologist George Woodwell shows that the biosphere is now a global human protectorate and that its integrity of structure and function are tied closely to the human future.

The earth is a living system, Woodwell explains, and its stability is threatened by human disruption. Industry dumps its waste globally and makes a profit from it, invading the global commons; corporate interests overpower weak or nonexistent governmental protection to plunder the planet. The fossil fuels industry offers the most dramatic example of environmental destruction, disseminating the heat-trapping gases that are now warming the earth and changing the climate forever. The assumption that we can continue to use fossil fuels and “adapt” to climate disruption, Woodwell argues, is a ticket to catastrophe.

But Woodwell points the way toward a solution. We must respect the full range of life on earth—not species alone, but their natural communities of plant and animal life that have built, and still maintain, the biosphere. We must recognize that the earth's living systems are our heritage and that the preservation of the integrity of a finite biosphere is a necessity and an inviolable human right.

More books from The MIT Press

Cover of the book The Commons in History by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Energy at the Crossroads by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book What the Digital Future Holds by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Living Through the End of Nature by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Faster, Smarter, Greener by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Arguments that Count by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Modernizing America's Electricity Infrastructure by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Subversion, Conversion, Development by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Good Reception by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book The Spider's Thread by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Sharing the Work by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Atari Age by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Truth in Husserl, Heidegger, and the Frankfurt School by George M. Woodwell
Cover of the book Beyond Bibliometrics by George M. Woodwell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy