The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment

by Anne H. Ehrlich and Paul R. Ehrlich

Book Overview

In humanity's more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, 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?

Renowned Stanford scientists Paul...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597260967
• ISBN13: 9781597260961
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: Island Press
• Length: 428 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

The Other Dominant Animals

I read this book several times. Each time I was surprised. The Dominant Animal begins by considering the ways in which humans influence the environment and the environment, modified by humans, shapes everything else. The book then parades through the delightful minds of Paul and Anne Ehrlich. In that parade one will see, more clearly presented than you will find anywhere else, the intertwined stories of human culture, evolution, and human actions toward and in the environment and how those have changed through time. In the parade one will find Darwin, Wallace, and the early history of evolution alongside traditional peoples living as hunter- gatherers in villages, sequoia trees and tangled banks. The Ehrlichs' tone in the Dominant Animal is both friendly and approachable. Again and again the reader feels as though she has had something logical and intuitive revealed to her. Natural Selection, in the Ehrlichs' hands seems obvious, as does much else in the story of life and the human domination of it. It is easy to find oneself nodding again and again with what this book has to say. The surprise is what the clearly explained facts lead to; the train wreck of our current situation. Every time I read the book, I find myself forgetting what is coming and then there it is, in front of me, the other train. It is clear early in the book that much is wrong in the world and that those problems have tremendous consequences. Yet this not a doomsday book. Most of the book is actually about the basics of ecology and evolution. There are chapters on evolution, culture, cultural evolution, the interactions between genes and the environment, and even how we perceive the world and how that perception influences our decisions. The book, in walking carefully through those basics all framed around the story of humans, would be very useful for an undergraduate biology course. Each chapter is, in and of itself, a kind of essay or perhaps more so a kind of Ehrlichian lecture; wide ranging, thought provoking and ultimately wound together into a strong thesis. The book binds these essays into a broader thesis about who we are and can be as humans. The Ehrlich's have looked further into the future than most scientists are willing to. They have at times been proven wrong, but more often they have just proven ahead of schedule. To read this book is to see what they are thinking now and, if history serves, to see what, for all of us, lays ahead. After laying a clear foundation for understanding built on insights drawn from ecology, evolution, anthropology, economics and lifetimes spent talking with others of the ecological intelligentsia, the Ehrlichs turn to what remains before us. Natural selection favored beavers who built damns that improved their environments and improved their odds of surviving. Dammed ponds are, to beavers, a better environment than the one they found when they arrived. Humans, instead of dams, built cities and roads and global networks of

Must Read: Informing, rewarding, and inspiring

In an easily readable style that resists simplifying the complex relationship between humans and their environment, this book explains why we find ourselves facing the almost overwhelming challenges confronting us and future generations; challenges such as global warming, the threat of nuclear war, resource scarcity and skyrocketing energy prices. Finally, a book that treated me like an adult who wants to be educated without being subjected to fear-mongering, demonizing those who made decisions which resulted in unintended consequences, or making me feel dumb for not having a sophisticated background in science. I loved it! What a great gift for my friends and family who want to make sense of this world but don't want to feel "beat up," manipulated or discouraged when the final page is turned. The book links genetics-culture-population- perception-energy- consumption- ecosystems and globalization and concludes by describing governance and individual choices that can reverse the current momentum towards an increasingly unstable and inequitable world. It fluctuates between being very discouraging and very energizing, calling for intelligent action. Forty years after The Population Bomb shaped a generation, The Dominant Animal may help redirect our personal choices in our homes and in the ballot box. Joan Diamond MBA

This book is a 'must read' for everyone, particularly politicians.

It is sad that C. Hardin, instead of reading and reviewing "The Dominant Animal," simply offers an unsubstantiated attack on its author. Ehrlich has written dozens of books and hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers, and received virtually every honor the scientific community can offer for his work in ecology, evolution, and environmental science. "Dominant Animal" is a brilliant book, by far the best volume ever written explaining where we came from and where we're going. Despite the enormous breadth of the topics covered, the book is concise and an easy read. It explains everything from how genetic and cultural evolution led us to dominate the earth to why climate change, destruction of biodiversity, toxic chemicals, and vast new epidemics could end civilization as we know it. And, as a glance at the acknowledgements would show, the book has been reviewed by the cream of the scientific community. "Dominant Animal" fills in the gaps largely ignored by our educational system. I wish it were a required book for every college freshman; it should certainly be read by every politician - especially presidential (and vice-presidential) candidates.

A great introduction to the environmental dilemma

Paul and Anne Ehrlich have done an incredible job assembling a coherent look at one of the world's biggest issues: the relationship between humanity and the natural environment. "The Dominant Animal" puts humanity into frame, connecting our species' immense accomplishments with the history of human cultural evolution, the distribution and use of resources across the globe, and the serious challenges facing our continued existence. By no means are these topics simple or uncontroversial, but the Ehrlichs bring decades of research and detailed support to illustrate their ideas, and the result is a book that is appropriate for newcomers to environmental issues, as well as those who make it their lives' work. I often hear people seek to discredit the Ehrlichs' writing (including some reviewers at this site) as though their efforts are nothing more than ideology. That attitude is unfortunate. Whether or not one agrees with its conclusions, the most remarkable thing about this book is the transparency of its arguments. The Ehrlichs make clear distinctions between mainstream scientific thought, and where they have an opinion about an unresolved issue, or about ethical matters. I hope that skeptical readers will find a copy at their library and give it a chance; it's the kind of book that wants you reflect, on your own terms. In the coming years, environmental issues will grow in importance. There's no better place to start a conversation about how to respond than with this book.

The most important book I've read this year

Paul and Anne Ehrlich's THE DOMINANT ANIMAL is not only the most sensible and up-to-date book I've read about sustainability; it's also well organized and well written, a true delight to read. As the bad news increasingly piles up -- mass extinctions on land and in the oceans, decreased availability of cheap energy, increased unemployment, floods and droughts leading to crop failures, polar ice caps melting, and famines, to mention only a few -- it becomes crucial that we quickly make informed and sensible choices. THE DOMINANT ANIMAL provides well researched and balanced pros and cons about the most important issues facing us today. I can only agree with the solutions the authors favor, from the unbridled consumption issue (my current line of work) to their analysis of nuclear energy, pp. 306-308 (pertinent to my past life as a physicist). Though the news are grim, I have great hope that if books such as this are widely read we'll be able save ourselves and our grandchildren from a very harsh future that is already encroaching on us.