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The planet is sick. Human beings are guilty of damaging it. We have to pay. Today, that is the orthodoxy throughout the Western world. Concern about the environment is legitimate, but catastrophism transforms us into cowering children. Distrust of progress and science, calls for individual and collective self-sacrifice to 'save the planet' and cultivation of fear: behind the carbon commissars, a dangerous and counterproductive ecological catastrophism is gaining ground. Bruckner locates the predecessors of today's ecological catastrophism in Catholicism's admonishment to give up joy in the present for the sake of eternal life and in Marxism's demand that individuals forsake personal needs for the sake of a brighter future. Modern society's susceptibility to this kind of catastrophism derives from what Bruckner calls the 'seductions of disaster', as exemplified by the popular appeal of disaster movies. But ecological catastrophism is harmful in that it draws attention away from other, more solvable problems and injustices in the world in order to focus on something that is portrayed as an Apocalypse. Rather than preaching catastrophe and pessimism, we need to develop a democratic and generous ecology that addresses specific problems in a practical way. This sharp and contrarian essay on one of the great issues of our time will be widely read and discussed.

Intro -- Sommaire -- Préface -- Introduction -- Les Alertes -- Les enjeux du changement climatique -- Agriculture. S'adapter pour préserver les sols -- Les multiples conséquences de la mobilité et des transports -- L'image écornée d'une mer à jamais recommencée -- L'humain dans la biodiversité -- Les options possibles -- Écomimétisme et solutions bio-inspirées appliquésaux éléments-traces métalliques -- L'énergie photovoltaïque, un catalyseur de mutation -- L'entreprise face aux défis de l'adaptation -- De Malthus à Easterlin, ou de la nécessité pour l'hommede se comprendre afin de s'accepter -- Les causes d'imprécision des prévisions démographiques à long terme -- Et l'homme dans tout ça ? -- Temps court, confiance et espérance : les options du politique -- Le refus des limites -- Interactions entre culture et génétiquedans l'évolution de l'homme -- L'homme malade de lui-même -- La biologie de l'attachement -- Mythes et réalités de la plasticité cognitive et cérébrale -- Les perspectives -- Le temps long : les critères anthropologiques -- Les défis conceptuels de l'Anthropocène -- Les tortues nous donnent des leçons -- conclusion -- FIGURES ET SCHÉMAS COMPLÉMENTAIRES.

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- WAYS IN TO THE TEXT -- Who Are Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees? -- What Does Our Ecological Footprint Say? -- Why Does Our Ecological Footprint Matter? -- SECTION 1: INFLUENCES -- Module 1: The Authors and the Historical Context -- Module 2: Academic Context -- Module 3: The Problem -- Module 4: The Authors' Contribution -- SECTION 2: IDEAS -- Module 5: Main Ideas -- Module 6: Secondary Ideas -- Module 7: Achievement -- Module 8: Place in the Authors' Works -- SECTION 3: IMPACT -- Module 9: The First Responses -- Module 10: The Evolving Debate -- Module 11: Impact and Influence Today -- Module 12: Where Next? -- Glossary of Terms -- People Mentioned in the Text -- Works Cited

Biological Diversity takes a fresh, innovative approach to the teaching of biodiversity. Rather than detailing and cataloguing the major taxa and their evolutionary relationships, the authors have selected 18 groups of organisms and used these as a framework in which to discuss the species and their interactions with man and each other. There is a strong narrative theme throughout - the exploited and the exploiters - and, in many cases, there is emphasis on the historical context. A wide range of organisms are covered, from the unicellular to birds and mammals and with an equal consideration of plants and animals. Species have been chosen for their ability to best illustrate particular biological principles, and for their strong interaction with other species. An innovative, accessible, case-based introduction to biological diversity providing a balanced synthesis of science and history. Explores in-depth a selected range of organisms with equal coverage between plants and animals. Describes current and future methods for control and utilisation of troublesome and useful plants and animals. Clearly written and beautifully presented in full colour throughout, including some original illustrations by leading artist Steven Appleby. This fresh approach will appeal to all those interested in the biological sciences, and aims to be accessible to people with a diversity of backgrounds. It will prove particularly useful to biology students, enabling them to get to grips with important biological principles and concepts that underpin the diversity of life, and the interrelationship of humans with other groups of organisms.

The Anthropocene -- the Human Age -- provides Diane Ackerman with the subject for her 24th and most ambitious book. Ackerman has established herself over the past quarter of a century as one of our most adventurous, charismatic and engrossing public science writers. Since her 1990 breakout title, "A Natural History of the Senses, "she has demonstrated a rare versatility, a contagious curiosity and a gift for painting quick, memorable tableaus drawn from research across a panoply of disciplines. "The Human Age" displays all these alluring qualities, as Ackerman delves into fields as diverse as evolutionary robotics, urban design, nanotechnology, 3-D printing and biomimicry. The book simultaneously raises unanswered questions about the politics and ethics of the Anthropocene idea.--New York Times

"This book seeks to answer two fundamental questions: Why do we keep destroying nature when science makes it clear that in doing so we risk our own destruction? How can we stop doing so and regain the unity of humans and nature? First, the book shows that the inability of modern society to modify its relationship with nature has its roots in the collective fictions that have gradually shaped it since the Neolithic revolution. The collective fictions that underpin modernity include, in particular, the subject-object duality, the matter-mind duality, the primacy of rationality, and the superiority of the human species over all other living beings. These deeply ingrained fictions prevent us from acting in the word in agreement with the needs and knowledge that we have. Second, the book argues that humans have a nature that defines them as a unique species beyond their cultural differences, and this nature is not made only of flesh and bones, but also of a set of fundamental needs. Fundamental needs connect humans with nature spontaneously because they are the manifestation of life in them. They also make it possible to re-establish the unity of body and mind and of the different forms of knowledge and to give the economy a new direction, focused on the development of the human being and of its living environment. Challenging our collective fictions and reconnecting with our deepest nature is essential if we are to overcome the current ecological crisis and allow life on Earth to flourish"--