Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000003190927 | GF76 E58 1991 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
On Order
Summary
Summary
The book arises from a series of lectures given before the Environmental Protection Agency.
Reviews 3
Publisher's Weekly Review
Wolbarst, a physicist at the Environmental Protection Agency, has collected EPA seminars given by 11 distinguished figures--among them Ralph Nader, John Kenneth Galbraith, Barry Commoner, Jacques Cousteau, Paul Ehrlich, Lester Brown and Carl Sagan. In these forceful presentations the most frequently cited environmental threat is overpopulation, seen as exacerbating a host of perilous situations. Among the issues discussed in detail are ozone depletion, the warming of the earth's temperature, plant and animal extinction, hazardous wastes, soil and fresh water loss, climatic changes and deforestation. The statistics are riveting: world population increases by 88 million people a year; deforestation occurs 10 times faster than the trees can be replaced. On the positive side is increased public awareness of and concern about the environment. Solutions offered include these remedies from Carl Sagan: a quick phaseout of chlorofluorocarbon production; more efficient use of energy; a search for renewable energy sources; and planting and preserving forests. A basic, essential environmental reader. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
In this collection of sermons delivered to converted EPA employees in the late 1980s, the preachers agree on the sin and even the penance; however, the question is whether the unchurched have tuned out their dire prophecies of damnation. The only member of the legal-scientific Sanhedrin to understand their predicament is Carl Sagan, cautioning them against becoming wailing Cassandras. The rest simply wave the familiar end-is-near banners: Ralph Nader is still angry after all these years; Barry Commoner still thumps the bible of socialism; Paul Ehrlich continues to warn of overpopulation; and John K. Galbraith remains his sententious self. However, warnings of global soil erosion from Lester Brown (of the Worldwatch Institute) might get through to the heathens, so this work merits a supplemental place next to sacred green texts. ~--Gilbert Taylor
Choice Review
A collection based on lectures presented in an EPA seminar series that expresses the ideas and concerns of 11 scientists, social scientists, and policymakers on the environmental crisis now threatening the planet. The messages are not new. Paul Ehrlich still warns of population explosion, Jacques Cousteau continues to express his concern over the damage to the world's oceans, and Lester Brown projects continued declines in world-wide agricultural output due to climatic changes. These pessimistic predictions are overshadowed, however, by several articles that offer constructive solutions to these and other problems in the face of economic and social constraints. Ralph Nader and Barry Commoner each present cogent suggestions on how changes in our economic and social thinking need to be incorporated into public policy decisions. Perhaps best of all is the essay by Carl Sagan addressing the ever-present dilemma of trying to make potentially costly decisions in the face of incomplete scientific data. Although covering some of the same material as do other works, this book does bring together ideas from some of the best environmental thinkers of the day. Recommended for general readers through college undergraduates. F. T. Kuserk; Moravian College
