Island Press: Paul Ehrlich: 'The Dominant Animal'

In humanitys 100,000-year-plus history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it; 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? In The Dominant Animal, renowned entomologist and population specialist Paul Ehrlich (author of 1968s seminal The Population Bomb) believes that intelligently addressing those questions depends on a clear understanding of how we evolved, and how/why were changing the planet in ways that darken our descendants future. Tracing the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural evolution, Ehrlich says humanity can again adaptif we learn from our evolutionary past.