The State of the Earth: Environmental Challenges on the Road to 2100 - Hardcover

""The best assemblage of all the basic scientific information about our ecological problems and about how we have reacted, especially in the U.S." --Alfred W. Crosby, author of Children of the Sun: A History of Humanity's Unappeasable Appetite For Energy " -- ""Surveys the road that led to the current environmental situation... appropriate for the general reader."-- Material Culture" -- ""Anyone interested in the environmental condition of our planet will find Conkin's book enlightening.... Conkin provides an instructive, well-researched, and easy-to-read work." --John T. Ackerman, Strategic Studies Quarterly" -- ""Paul K. Conkin provides a comprehensive analysis of the many environmental hazards that humans must face in this still-young country. The State of the Earth is an invaluable resource for those who desire a broad yet thorough and scientifically informed introduction to present environmental challenges." --www.ebookthief.com" -- ""It's a 21st century attempt to rectify the major environmental issues resulting from the excesses of the 20th century." --Central Kentucky Lifestyle" -- ""Earnest, honest and readable. Recommended for those looking for a new perspective on environmental issues." --Northeastern Naturalist" -- ""Paul Conkin is a sober, mature historian with a breadth of vision and understanding that gives his encyclopedic assessment of the human condition credibility, depth, and poignancy." --Richard Heinberg, author of The Oil Depletion Protocol" -- ""I know of no other book that tries to tease out the implications of the modern industrial age into the twenty-first century for a non-specialist audience. I think that this one will find an audience well beyond academia and that it will stand the test of time." --Mark Cioc, author of The Rhine: An Eco-Biography, 1815-2000" -- ""Conkin offers a concerned but calm, scientifically informed but reader-friendly, guide to both today's environmental quandaries and recent policy responses. His is a most timely book that deserves wide attention." --J.R. McNeill, author of Something New Under the Sun" -- ""Conkin's somber account of the ecological dangers facing humanity today raises deep and painful moral questions. Can the two-centuries-long banquet of the affluent nations continue without damaging the biosphere and ruining the prospects of our children's children? A distinguished American historian, Conkin shows that we live at a critical turning point in human and planetary history. This is a powerful and timely introduction to global ecological issues. It deserves to be read alongside other recent ecological classics such as J. R. McNeill's Something New Under the Sun or Jared Diamond's Collapse." --David Christian, author of Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History" --

The present era of staggering scientific and technological innovations, with major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, commerce, and communications, seems to document unparalleled human achievement. Yet when we examine the long-term implications, it becomes clear that an ever-growing number of humans have threatened the delicate environmental balance that sustains life on this planet. The past century may be remembered not as a period of great progress but as one marked by unrestrained consumption and failure to come close to a sustainable use of the earth's limited natural resources. In ""The State of the Earth"", noted historian Paul K. Conkin provides a comprehensive analysis of the many environmental hazards that humans must face in this still-young century. Our activities have threatened the survival of many plants and animals, created scarcities in cultivatable soils and water needed for irrigation, used up a large share of fossil fuels, polluted air and water, and most likely created the conditions that will lead to major climate changes. Conkin not only evaluates the challenges but recognizes the successes of concerned individuals and organizations in creating awareness and in supporting policies that will best preserve a healthy earth. ""The State of the Earth"" is an invaluable resource for those who desire a broad yet thorough and scientifically informed introduction to present environmental challenges. Even when humans possess the knowledge and the tools to cope with mounting environmental problems, they may not be willing to make the needed sacrifices. Conkin demonstrates that the issues are as much moral and political as technological.