One With Nineveh: Politics, Consumption, and the Human Future

465 Pages·2004·3.03 MB·English

by  Paul R. Ehrlich

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a s h e a r w a t e r b o o k
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One Nineveh
with
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Paul R. Ehrlich
and Anne H. Ehrlich
One
with
Nineveh
Politics, Consumption, and the Human Future
Island Press / shearwater books
Washington • Covelo • London
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A Shearwater Book
Published by Island Press
Copyright © 2004 Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American
Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any means without permission in writing from
the publisher: Island Press, Suite 300, 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW,
Washington, DC 20009.
shearwater booksis a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data.
Ehrlich, Paul R.
One with Nineveh : politics, consumption, and the human future /
Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn1-55963-879-6 (cloth: alk. paper)
1. Sustainable development. 2. Consumption (Economics)
3. Overpopulation. 4. Social justice. I. Ehrlich, Anne H. II. Title
hc79.e5e354 2004
338.9'27—dc22 2003024789
British Cataloguing-in-Publication data available.
Printed on recycled, acid-free paper
Design by David Bullen
Manufactured in the United States of America
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For Luke, Lena, Travis, Lucy, Anton, Jack,
Anna, Matthew, Tor, Henry, and their generation—
in the hope the big black coal will be on its
way out when they can read this.
And to Loy Bilderback, friend and intellectual
companion to us for half a century.
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Contents
3 Introduction:Hostages to Hubris
17 Chapter 1.The Human Predicament
45 Chapter 2.The Costs of Success
76 Chapter 3.The Tide of Population
112 Chapter 4.The Consumption Factor
138 Chapter 5.Technology Matters
181 Chapter 6.Billions, Birthrates, and Policies
206 Chapter 7.Consuming Less
237 Chapter 8.A Culture Out of Step
264 Chapter 9.Human Behavior at the Millennium
288 Chapter 10.Sustainable Governance in America
318 Chapter 11.Healing a World of Wounds
335 Notes
391 References
429 Acknowledgments
433 Index