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Contents:

1 - Where do we fit in?; 2 - Nature and natural selection; 3 - Leaving nature behind; 4 - Lost Eden; 5 - The myth of stability; 6 - The myth of pristine wilderness; 7 - The myth we are poisoning the Earth; 8 - The question of extinction; 9 - The greenhouse effect and global warming; 10 - Genomics; 11 - Genetic modification; 12 - The emergence of complexity; 13 - Experimental ecosystems; 14 - A matter of choices; 15 - The managed planet.

Review:

Every so often a book comes along that takes a different perspective on environmental matters. Some of these have profound effects in one direction (e.g. Carson's Silent Spring) whilst others have the opposite effect (e.g. Lomborg's Skeptikal Environmentalist). To some extent the situation has become so polarised that to argue against environmental destruction is seen more as heresy than alternative perspective.

Trefil's text falls into the latter category: he argues that we can manage changes and that we can, by using nature and other resources, make the world "better". This is very much a technocentric position but, as unfashionable as that has become today, it's worth examining his case to see its merits. The book is divided into four sections. The first, called 'the first step' deals with human development in its broadest sense. Chapter one puts forward the central thesis of the book - that we are a part of and apart from, nature and that both aspects are good. Thus making machinery and building cities is 'natural' for our species and therefore the two parts of human existence are really parts of the same whole. As the author says, controversial, but it's worth going further because such ideas are hardly new. Chapter two looks at natural selection. The key idea is that it's not so much selection as a definite process but just something that happens that gives some advantage. Looked at in this way, speciation and extinction are just events which will be overtaken by other events. A brief third chapter brings the reader up to speed with human development including the agricultural and industrial revolutions. Part two moves into the the more controversial area of myth 'debunking'. Sub-titles 'the myths of pop ecology' it seeks to examine a range of issues to see what the substance is. Chapter four is about the concept of Eden - a mythical place (before humans?) where everything was perfect. Of course, there was no such place and to consider wilderness as such is misleading, so we are told, because it limits our actions. In chapter five the reader meets examples of environmental change by way of demonstrating against our notion that the world has not changed from what we see today. Chapter six suggests that there is virtually no pristine wilderness because everything has some human action. Next, we are asked to review our ideas about pollution with the basic premise that we are not 'poisoning' the Earth merely adding more chemicals some of which are harmful. Extinction is the next study being examined with the idea that species have always become extinct. The greenhouse effect is the focus of chapter eight. Here, the argument is that the effect has been with us for eons and is a vital part of our existence. Further, changes may or may not be happening because of the great uncertainties surrounding our predictions. Part three turns to some of the ideas we can use to better help the Earth. Chapter 10 look at genomics - the structure of DNA and what it means to us. This moves on in chapter 11 to look at genetic modification and how we have been engaged in this throughout history. Chapter 12 outlines the basics of complexity whilst chapter 13 considers the value of experimental ecosystems and how we can use simpler systems to understand the whole. The idea behind these four chapters is that we cannot understand the Earth but we can use what we know to make more useful to us. Part four, subtitled 'the second step' refers to ways in which we could better manage our affairs. In chapter 14 suggests that we should manage the planet for human benefit whilst the final chapter, 15, considers how the future might turn out if we manage the place.

This is an interesting text. It's in the same genre as Lomborg but without the statistics. Much of what it puts forward has been known for years but, as is rightly noted, this does not always mean its mainstream. Those who wish to see a well constructed argument would do well to use this text as a starting point. One may not agree with it but it does allow one to think through what might be the best way forward.