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Infinite perspectives on ‘Infinite Nature’
Update
TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution
Vol.22 No.2
61
Infinite perspectives on ‘Infinite Nature’ Infinite Nature by R. Bruce Hull. The University of Chicago Press, 2006. US$25.00, hbk (232 pages) ISBN 0 226 35944 I
David B. Lindenmayer Centre for Resource & Environmental Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
Bruce Hull has produced a remarkable sole-authored book that canvases a vast array of perspectives on the environment. The central thesis of Infinite Nature is that we need to move away from what Hull calls ‘environmental fundamentalism’ toward a more pluralistic consideration of the wide range of perspectives on, and interests in, the environment. These diverse interests can often be conflicting and they encompass ecological, economic, spiritual, ethical, humanitarian and indeed many other ‘natures’. The book is constructed around an in-depth essay on each of these different kinds of ‘nature’. Hull tries admirably (and mostly succeeds) to present a balanced commentary on each one. A good example is his overview of ‘Spiritual Nature’, which canvasses topics ranging from the ‘Frontier Ethic’ [1] (and biblical calls for humans to dominate nature) through to pleas from religious leaders for humankind to invoke serious attempts at environmental stewardship. The breadth of discussion on is similarly expansive in the chapter entitled ‘(In)finite Nature’. It ranges from the merits of technological solutions to environmental problems through to pre-cautionary approaches that attempt to prevent environmental problems from arising in the first place. Both these chapters, similar to most of the 14 chapters in this book, highlight the extraordinary breadth of material that he has gathered to write this volume. As with any attempt to write a major text that encompasses many broad and controversial topics, some errors have inevitably crept in. And there are some serious ones. As an example, New Zealand is not overrun with snakes. Possums, weasels, rabbits and other animals are among the many exotic species creating major problems in New Zealand, but there are no snakes there. In other cases, Hull quotes fascinating numbers about the environment of the USA or the world but then fails to provide the relevant supporting citations. This is a concern because elsewhere in his book, he uses controversial sources (e.g. [2]) to back some of his arguments, such as the contention that the environment is improving. The author takes a largely North American focus and, more particularly a USA one. This is unfortunate because the issues canvassed reach further than simply the USA and are clearly global. Perhaps one of the more major oversights in the book is the conspicuous absence of discussion on what to do when a Corresponding author: Lindenmayer, D.B. ([email protected]). Available online 8 December 2006. www.sciencedirect.com
pluralistic approach to solving environmental problems seems inappropriate. This will trouble many ecologists, conservation biologists and others with deep concerns about the environment, especially when it comes to problems such as logging of rare areas of old growth forests or mining in habitats of threatened species. Despite this oversight, Hull makes a generally convincing case for pluralism in his many kinds of ‘nature’. But perhaps the weakest part of the book is the last chapter. Here, the case for pluralism is made in only a rather oblique and abstract way. This is disappointing given the strong foundations constructed in the preceding chapters. Indeed, Hull’s argument would have been more powerful if he had illustrated environmental pluralism with tangible examples. And there are some good ones to do this. I am most familiar with examples from forestry [3], but there are others from arenas of natural resource management such as agriculture [4] and fisheries [5]. I strongly believe that tangible examples of pluralism would have made Infinite Nature far more relevant not only to ecologists and other technical readers, but also to resource managers and policy makers whom are in the vanguard of efforts to try the close an ever-widening sustainability gap. These shortcomings should not dissuade others from reading this book. Indeed, I found Infinite Nature to be valuable and enlightening for my own work and have no doubt that numerous other ecologists and conservation biologists would too. The cross-disciplinary approach that spans so many key areas influencing the environment means that all readers, irrespective of background and expertise, will learn something new and important from this book. I congratulate the author for a monumental effort in tackling an extremely difficult topic and a job well done. References 1 Pullin, A.S. (2002) Conservation Biology, Cambridge University Press 2 Lomborg, B. (2000) The Sceptical Environmentalist, Cambridge University Press 3 Lindenmayer, D.B. and Franklin, J.F. (2002) Conserving Forest Biodiversity: A Comprehensive Multiscaled Approach, Island Press 4 Ricketts, T.H. et al. (2004) Economic value of tropical forest to coffee production. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 101, 12579–12582 5 Rock Lobster Industry Advisory Committee (2002) Management Arrangements for the 2002/03 Season and Measures Proposed for 2003/04, Rock Lobster Industry Advisory Committee
0169-5347/$ – see front matter ß 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2006.11.010
TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution
Vol.22 No.2
61
Infinite perspectives on ‘Infinite Nature’ Infinite Nature by R. Bruce Hull. The University of Chicago Press, 2006. US$25.00, hbk (232 pages) ISBN 0 226 35944 I
David B. Lindenmayer Centre for Resource & Environmental Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
Bruce Hull has produced a remarkable sole-authored book that canvases a vast array of perspectives on the environment. The central thesis of Infinite Nature is that we need to move away from what Hull calls ‘environmental fundamentalism’ toward a more pluralistic consideration of the wide range of perspectives on, and interests in, the environment. These diverse interests can often be conflicting and they encompass ecological, economic, spiritual, ethical, humanitarian and indeed many other ‘natures’. The book is constructed around an in-depth essay on each of these different kinds of ‘nature’. Hull tries admirably (and mostly succeeds) to present a balanced commentary on each one. A good example is his overview of ‘Spiritual Nature’, which canvasses topics ranging from the ‘Frontier Ethic’ [1] (and biblical calls for humans to dominate nature) through to pleas from religious leaders for humankind to invoke serious attempts at environmental stewardship. The breadth of discussion on is similarly expansive in the chapter entitled ‘(In)finite Nature’. It ranges from the merits of technological solutions to environmental problems through to pre-cautionary approaches that attempt to prevent environmental problems from arising in the first place. Both these chapters, similar to most of the 14 chapters in this book, highlight the extraordinary breadth of material that he has gathered to write this volume. As with any attempt to write a major text that encompasses many broad and controversial topics, some errors have inevitably crept in. And there are some serious ones. As an example, New Zealand is not overrun with snakes. Possums, weasels, rabbits and other animals are among the many exotic species creating major problems in New Zealand, but there are no snakes there. In other cases, Hull quotes fascinating numbers about the environment of the USA or the world but then fails to provide the relevant supporting citations. This is a concern because elsewhere in his book, he uses controversial sources (e.g. [2]) to back some of his arguments, such as the contention that the environment is improving. The author takes a largely North American focus and, more particularly a USA one. This is unfortunate because the issues canvassed reach further than simply the USA and are clearly global. Perhaps one of the more major oversights in the book is the conspicuous absence of discussion on what to do when a Corresponding author: Lindenmayer, D.B. ([email protected]). Available online 8 December 2006. www.sciencedirect.com
pluralistic approach to solving environmental problems seems inappropriate. This will trouble many ecologists, conservation biologists and others with deep concerns about the environment, especially when it comes to problems such as logging of rare areas of old growth forests or mining in habitats of threatened species. Despite this oversight, Hull makes a generally convincing case for pluralism in his many kinds of ‘nature’. But perhaps the weakest part of the book is the last chapter. Here, the case for pluralism is made in only a rather oblique and abstract way. This is disappointing given the strong foundations constructed in the preceding chapters. Indeed, Hull’s argument would have been more powerful if he had illustrated environmental pluralism with tangible examples. And there are some good ones to do this. I am most familiar with examples from forestry [3], but there are others from arenas of natural resource management such as agriculture [4] and fisheries [5]. I strongly believe that tangible examples of pluralism would have made Infinite Nature far more relevant not only to ecologists and other technical readers, but also to resource managers and policy makers whom are in the vanguard of efforts to try the close an ever-widening sustainability gap. These shortcomings should not dissuade others from reading this book. Indeed, I found Infinite Nature to be valuable and enlightening for my own work and have no doubt that numerous other ecologists and conservation biologists would too. The cross-disciplinary approach that spans so many key areas influencing the environment means that all readers, irrespective of background and expertise, will learn something new and important from this book. I congratulate the author for a monumental effort in tackling an extremely difficult topic and a job well done. References 1 Pullin, A.S. (2002) Conservation Biology, Cambridge University Press 2 Lomborg, B. (2000) The Sceptical Environmentalist, Cambridge University Press 3 Lindenmayer, D.B. and Franklin, J.F. (2002) Conserving Forest Biodiversity: A Comprehensive Multiscaled Approach, Island Press 4 Ricketts, T.H. et al. (2004) Economic value of tropical forest to coffee production. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 101, 12579–12582 5 Rock Lobster Industry Advisory Committee (2002) Management Arrangements for the 2002/03 Season and Measures Proposed for 2003/04, Rock Lobster Industry Advisory Committee
0169-5347/$ – see front matter ß 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2006.11.010