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Human ecology
The Science of the Total Environment, 4 (1975) 323-324 © Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in Belgium
Book Review
Human Ecology, edited by F. Sargent II, North-Holland, Amsertdam, 1974, 480 pp., price: U.S. $34.75.
This book contains 21 chapters written by 19 authors and was prepared with the objective of establishing a conceptual framework for studying and furthering our understanding of "Man in Nature". Human Ecology identifies the unique nature of man among all living organisms; his ability to alter and control the areas of the earth he inhabits, which is not possible by any other free living organism. Further, man occupies a place within all ecosystems and has the ability to change them. Today it is possible that man has passed beyond the major phase of biological adaptation to environment and is now confronted by the need for cultural adaptation. The so-called stress syndrome related to cultural achievement indicates that man may not be adapting himself to compensate for change. However, the time scale for biological evolution and cultural adaptation are clearly very different. This book stresses that man is not independent of nature. The earliest concepts of ecosystems, enunciated by Stephen Forbes in 1887, have a legacy today in that man is often excluded from a study of total ecosystems. This is reflected in biology with the emphasis often towards quantitative and analytic rather than qualitative and synthetic appraisal. Man tends to place himself above all animals and plants and as a father figure adopts a protective attitude to the more lowly forms of life. Today man has recognised that behind the mask of cultural achievements there lies a murky area whose contents pervade and effect all terrestrial ecosystems. Man has to face the facts presented by total environmental impact studies arising from cultural advancement; the need for solidarity of purpose and consistency of implementation in planning his future. The field of study is global, but too often there is a tendency, at national levels at least, to become complacent, to seek excuses in order not to face up to real issues, to relax when a favourable change (e.g., lowering of the birth-rate) Occurs.
Many of the changes taking place today have been described in terms of an exponential growth or decay; if this type of change is accepted then drastic action is required now, not to eliminate the future consequences, but rather hopefully to reduce them to a level at which solutions can be found. Human Ecology is not solely concerned with the affluent countries, but rather with all of mankind in all stages of development. There is no simple answer, no simple political or economic solution. If there is an approach likely to provide some answers, it lies in the field of education for which there is no instant remedy and for which only rudimentary guidelines exist. Human Ecology considers agriculture (the management of national and international resources); energy (sources, patterns of use, detrimental by-products); minerals (conservation, re-utilisation, allocation-it is worth noting that of the 33 323
major minerals the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. combined, are leading producers of some 64 percent); water (not a problem of quantity or quality, but rational management in the context of total resource planning). The complexities of transportation and communications are considered in terms of the need to understand nature and the scale of change in relation to those of ecology. Today the dimensions of ecological practice need to be centred upon technological and ecological sensitive approaches. To recognise hazards, not only in terms of local changes, but rather in the broader perspective of social and economic policies. A major obstacle arises because of the differences in the degree of evolution reached by different countries. Some are in a state of natural ecological balance while others have reached a state at which ecological consequences of advanced technological existance are only acknowledged, but not really accepted. Human Ecology considers such fundamental issues as shelter for man, clothing, the need to plan for people and not buildings, to provide through planning various choices which are clearly related to objectives and the consequences of reaching such objectives. Health of individuals is dealt with in terms of man's ability to overcome and to adjust to insults. Health is also approached from the concept of community structure, interactions among different cultures, religion and other parameters whereby a community governs itself within the confines of an ecological setting. Several chapters in this book deal with the meaning of the quality of life and environmental quality both of which are difficult to define. It is noted that teclmological capacity can be geared to improve the quality of life at reasonable and bearable cost, but requires a very great change in our way of life and attitudes towards each other. Man's phylogenetic state is advanced, but he appears to devote considerable energy and time for the purpose of self-destruction. Today much is written about the ecological approach, the study of total systems. This book clearly illustrates that it is impossible to exclude man and perhaps hints that it might be more appropriate to focus attention on man and the manner in which he changes the natural environment rather than the details of biological change devoid of any consideration of man. Intradisciplinary excuses for not studying man are many, while the interdisciplinary approach is in its infancy and is plagued by political and economic pressures. Man's historical record of survival breeds complancy, but at a cost if we are to accept the future rate of population growth, the mass of food required to support future populations and the limitations imposed by dwindling natural resources. Perhaps the last saga of man on earth is virtually written unless he can obtain a source of energy in order to overcome the apparently unsurmountable obstacles to his survival. On the brighter side it would seem fairly easy to erect a system of concepts and objectives of international dimensions and, provided that a measure of good will between nations emerges, to develop an operational framework encompassing the issues which require priority. This book achieves its objectives in defining and describing the nature and scope of human ecology and the need to consider man in an ecological context.
Plymouth (England) 324
E.I. Hamilton
Book Review
Human Ecology, edited by F. Sargent II, North-Holland, Amsertdam, 1974, 480 pp., price: U.S. $34.75.
This book contains 21 chapters written by 19 authors and was prepared with the objective of establishing a conceptual framework for studying and furthering our understanding of "Man in Nature". Human Ecology identifies the unique nature of man among all living organisms; his ability to alter and control the areas of the earth he inhabits, which is not possible by any other free living organism. Further, man occupies a place within all ecosystems and has the ability to change them. Today it is possible that man has passed beyond the major phase of biological adaptation to environment and is now confronted by the need for cultural adaptation. The so-called stress syndrome related to cultural achievement indicates that man may not be adapting himself to compensate for change. However, the time scale for biological evolution and cultural adaptation are clearly very different. This book stresses that man is not independent of nature. The earliest concepts of ecosystems, enunciated by Stephen Forbes in 1887, have a legacy today in that man is often excluded from a study of total ecosystems. This is reflected in biology with the emphasis often towards quantitative and analytic rather than qualitative and synthetic appraisal. Man tends to place himself above all animals and plants and as a father figure adopts a protective attitude to the more lowly forms of life. Today man has recognised that behind the mask of cultural achievements there lies a murky area whose contents pervade and effect all terrestrial ecosystems. Man has to face the facts presented by total environmental impact studies arising from cultural advancement; the need for solidarity of purpose and consistency of implementation in planning his future. The field of study is global, but too often there is a tendency, at national levels at least, to become complacent, to seek excuses in order not to face up to real issues, to relax when a favourable change (e.g., lowering of the birth-rate) Occurs.
Many of the changes taking place today have been described in terms of an exponential growth or decay; if this type of change is accepted then drastic action is required now, not to eliminate the future consequences, but rather hopefully to reduce them to a level at which solutions can be found. Human Ecology is not solely concerned with the affluent countries, but rather with all of mankind in all stages of development. There is no simple answer, no simple political or economic solution. If there is an approach likely to provide some answers, it lies in the field of education for which there is no instant remedy and for which only rudimentary guidelines exist. Human Ecology considers agriculture (the management of national and international resources); energy (sources, patterns of use, detrimental by-products); minerals (conservation, re-utilisation, allocation-it is worth noting that of the 33 323
major minerals the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. combined, are leading producers of some 64 percent); water (not a problem of quantity or quality, but rational management in the context of total resource planning). The complexities of transportation and communications are considered in terms of the need to understand nature and the scale of change in relation to those of ecology. Today the dimensions of ecological practice need to be centred upon technological and ecological sensitive approaches. To recognise hazards, not only in terms of local changes, but rather in the broader perspective of social and economic policies. A major obstacle arises because of the differences in the degree of evolution reached by different countries. Some are in a state of natural ecological balance while others have reached a state at which ecological consequences of advanced technological existance are only acknowledged, but not really accepted. Human Ecology considers such fundamental issues as shelter for man, clothing, the need to plan for people and not buildings, to provide through planning various choices which are clearly related to objectives and the consequences of reaching such objectives. Health of individuals is dealt with in terms of man's ability to overcome and to adjust to insults. Health is also approached from the concept of community structure, interactions among different cultures, religion and other parameters whereby a community governs itself within the confines of an ecological setting. Several chapters in this book deal with the meaning of the quality of life and environmental quality both of which are difficult to define. It is noted that teclmological capacity can be geared to improve the quality of life at reasonable and bearable cost, but requires a very great change in our way of life and attitudes towards each other. Man's phylogenetic state is advanced, but he appears to devote considerable energy and time for the purpose of self-destruction. Today much is written about the ecological approach, the study of total systems. This book clearly illustrates that it is impossible to exclude man and perhaps hints that it might be more appropriate to focus attention on man and the manner in which he changes the natural environment rather than the details of biological change devoid of any consideration of man. Intradisciplinary excuses for not studying man are many, while the interdisciplinary approach is in its infancy and is plagued by political and economic pressures. Man's historical record of survival breeds complancy, but at a cost if we are to accept the future rate of population growth, the mass of food required to support future populations and the limitations imposed by dwindling natural resources. Perhaps the last saga of man on earth is virtually written unless he can obtain a source of energy in order to overcome the apparently unsurmountable obstacles to his survival. On the brighter side it would seem fairly easy to erect a system of concepts and objectives of international dimensions and, provided that a measure of good will between nations emerges, to develop an operational framework encompassing the issues which require priority. This book achieves its objectives in defining and describing the nature and scope of human ecology and the need to consider man in an ecological context.
Plymouth (England) 324
E.I. Hamilton