The Subversive Science: Essays Toward an Ecology of Man

"Population explosion, pollution, suburban sprawl, death of the city, the vanishing wilderness we keep hearing of these threats but usually manage to ignore them. ... In this book we find instead a number of clear, calm discussions of environmental problems, providing information and ideas without excessive emotional appeal. ...The 37 papers, chosen from a wide variety of journals, such as Human Biology, Daedalus, Landscape, American Scientist, are obviously intended for the nonspecialist intelligent reader. They are divided into five groups, of which the first deals with population problems, both human and animal. "The Environmental Encounter" is the title of a group of papers discussing man's reaction to his environment, what he sees, and the way he feels about it. Here are included comments on American front yards, the shapes of roofs in different European countries, the importance of sacred places, and an essay by Alan Watts reprinted from The Psychedelic Review. The third and fourth sections are called "Man and Other Organisms" and "Man in Ecosystems." Here we learn about the domestication of cattle, sidelights on evolution, René Dubos' comments on the germ theory, the possible unexpected effects of pesticides and radiation. A hopeful note appears in a discussion of the use of solar energy. The final part, called "Ethos, Ecos, and Ethics," includes more philosophical commentaries. Especially interesting is a discussion by Lynn White of the historical roots of our éecologic crisis."-- from a review by Marjorie C. Meehan in ://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=345416.