Overview
Evidence of climate change, loss of biological diversity, tropical deforestation, and an impending crisis in potable water prompts the question: how have we created a situation where our planet - our very future - is at risk? For centuries human impact on the natural world was relatively limited. Some ancient civilizations deforested their regional landscapes - and paid the price with their collapse. Now, while countries in the developed world point to the tropical world as driving the next great wave of extinctions, tropical experts argue that it is the industrial world's addiction to fossil fuels that is the threat. Again, we must ask: What will motivate humans to value Nature before it is too late? In People and Nature: An Introduction to Human Ecological Relations, noted anthropologist and environmental scientist, Emilio Moran considers such questions and provides a lively introduction to ecological anthropology, environmental geography and what is often called human ecology. Not only does Moran review the evolution of human interactions with the natural world - drawing from anthropology, geography, and environmental sciences - he also diagnoses our contemporary situation by examining our changing relations to Nature. He pays particular attention to those aspects that seem to account for the greater connectedness of certain societies to their physical environment, including respect for Nature that self-limits the use of resources, a sense of community, and trust between members of communities. By examining the evolving relations between human communities and Nature, Moran offers a vision of what we must do to have a future worth living.
Full Product Details
Author: Emilio F. Moran
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Imprint: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 1.20cm
, Length: 23.10cm
Weight: 0.340kg
ISBN: 9781405105729
ISBN 10: 1405105720
Pages: 232
Publication Date: 22 December 2005
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print
Availability: In Print
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.
Reviews
We need more books like this! Moran provides a wonderfully accessible and compelling introduction to the greatest issue of our times. This book is required reading to understand the all-too-human dimension of the environmental crisis and why there is real hope for recovery. Tom Lovejoy, The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment <!--end--> Vintage Emilio Moran! A highly readable, well grounded and insightful stock- taking of human environmental relations-a perspective that will be highly valued by both students and others concerned with an enlightened view of how our species manages or mismanages its habitat. Daniel G. Bates, Hunter College, CUNY, and Editor, Human Ecology In this original and thoughtful book, Moran leads readers from the past history of human interactions with natural ecosystems through the present crisis of environmental sustainability and into the future, noting serious challenges, and positive trends as well. Ben Orlove, University of California Davis, and Editor, Current Anthropology Moran...provides a primer of the field for beginning students, covering current environmental problems from an anthropological perspective and looking to hunter-gatherers, early farmers, and other ancient and traditional peoples for comparison. Students can learn what they can do to make the world simpler and better. Recommended for libraries serving high school and undergraduate students, and anyone interested in living more wisely. Choice Those among us who would like to better understand the intricate interaction between knowledge on environmental issues and societal reactions will most definitely profit from this little book, which can be whole heartedly recommended. Environmental Geology The major themes of People and Nature provide a menu rich enough to satisfy any beginning student of ecological anthropology. BioScience People and Nature is the first volume published within the series titled Primers in Anthropology. The aim of the series is to offer a lively overview on a traditional area of anthropological study, an aim which Moran's book no doubt accomplishes. Journal of Social Anthropology
""We need more books like this! Moran provides a wonderfully accessible and compelling introduction to the greatest issue of our times. This book is required reading to understand the all-too-human dimension of the environmental crisis and why there is real hope for recovery."" Tom Lovejoy, The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment <!--end--> ""Vintage Emilio Moran! A highly readable, well grounded and insightful stock- taking of human environmental relations-a perspective that will be highly valued by both students and others concerned with an enlightened view of how our species manages or mismanages its habitat."" Daniel G. Bates, Hunter College, CUNY, and Editor, Human Ecology ""In this original and thoughtful book, Moran leads readers from the past history of human interactions with natural ecosystems through the present crisis of environmental sustainability and into the future, noting serious challenges, and positive trends as well."" Ben Orlove, University of California Davis, and Editor, Current Anthropology ""Moran...provides a primer of the field for beginning students, covering current environmental problems from an anthropological perspective and looking to hunter-gatherers, early farmers, and other ancient and traditional peoples for comparison. Students can learn what they can do to make the world simpler and better. Recommended for libraries serving high school and undergraduate students, and anyone interested in living more wisely."" Choice ""Those among us who would like to better understand the intricate interaction between knowledge on environmental issues and societal reactions will most definitely profit from this little book, which can be whole heartedly recommended."" Environmental Geology ""The major themes of People and Nature provide a menu rich enough to satisfy any beginning student of ecological anthropology."" BioScience ""People and Nature is the first volume published within the series titled Primers in Anthropology. The aim of the series is to offer a lively overview on a traditional area of anthropological study, an aim which Moran's book no doubt accomplishes."" Journal of Social Anthropology
We need more books like this! Moran provides a wonderfully accessible and compelling introduction to the greatest issue of our times. This book is required reading to understand the all-too-human dimension of the environmental crisis and why there is real hope for recovery. Tom Lovejoy, The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment <!--end--> Vintage Emilio Moran! A highly readable, well grounded and insightful stock- taking of human environmental relations-a perspective that will be highly valued by both students and others concerned with an enlightened view of how our species manages or mismanages its habitat. Daniel G. Bates, Hunter College, CUNY, and Editor, Human Ecology In this original and thoughtful book, Moran leads readers from the past history of human interactions with natural ecosystems through the present crisis of environmental sustainability and into the future, noting serious challenges, and positive trends as well. Ben Orlove, University of California Davis, and Editor, Current Anthropology Moran...provides a primer of the field for beginning students, covering current environmental problems from an anthropological perspective and looking to hunter-gatherers, early farmers, and other ancient and traditional peoples for comparison. Students can learn what they can do to make the world simpler and better. Recommended for libraries serving high school and undergraduate students, and anyone interested in living more wisely. Choice Those among us who would like to better understand the intricate interaction between knowledge on environmental issues and societal reactions will most definitely profit from this little book, which can be whole heartedly recommended. Environmental Geology The major themes of People and Nature provide a menu rich enough to satisfy any beginning student of ecological anthropology. BioScience People and Nature is the first volume published within the series titled Primers in Anthropology. The aim of the series is to offer a lively overview on a traditional area of anthropological study, an aim which Moran's book no doubt accomplishes. Journal of Social Anthropology
Author Information
Emilio F. Moran is Rudy Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University and also Professor of Environmental Sciences, Adjunct Professor of Geography, and Director of the Anthropological Center for Training and Research on Global Environmental Change.
