Author Description
From the Preface: "The time left is limited. If we continue on our present course the age of man may be over within a generation; and if not, lifestyle as we know it today will surely be impossible. The fragile biosphere has already been stressed to tolerance, yet we continue to demand more as if we, as a species, have somehow magically transcended the seeming immutable laws ecology..... The cry often heard from those wholly committed to the status quo is that much of what is presented in this book, and in similar works, has not yet been proven beyond a scientific shadow of doubt. This group is right of course, but in rebuttal I offer this: If fifty years hence we discover our environmental concern has been without foundation, what will have been lost. If, on the other hand, we discover we were right and nothing has been done, everything might well be lost. Is the risk worth taking..."
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
The book investigates whether humanity can alter its current trajectory of environmental consumption before the biosphere reaches a point of irreversible collapse. Robert DeVilleneuve examines the intersection of human lifestyle demands and ecological limits, arguing that the refusal to act due to a lack of absolute scientific certainty is a catastrophic gamble. He posits that the potential cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of implementing sustainable practices, even if current environmental projections are later proven to be overstated.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of human consumption patterns relative to ecological capacity
- Arguments regarding the precautionary principle in environmental policy
- Critique of status quo bias in political and economic decision-making
Scope Limits
- Does not provide specific technical solutions or engineering blueprints for environmental remediation
- Focuses primarily on the philosophical and logical justification for immediate action rather than detailed climate modeling
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
This text is recognized as a contribution to the mid-to-late 20th-century environmental discourse, emphasizing the ethical imperative of the precautionary principle. Readers often note that the prose is direct and polemical, serving as a call to action rather than a purely academic scientific study.
Page Count:
310
Publication Date:
1973-01-01
Publisher:
Winston Press
ISBN-10:
0030065569
ISBN-13:
9780030065569
Non-Fiction
Sustainability
Ecology