The Closing Circle: Nature, Man, and Technology"I regard him as right and compassionate on nearly every major issue." — Stephen Jay Gould A radical argument about the root causes of climate change, The Closing Circle was progressive when it was written in 1971 and its message remains increasingly relevant today. Barry Commoner, the father of modern ecology, claims that production for profit creates dangerous ecological ramifications and offers a concise analysis of the nature, causes, and possible solutions to impending ecological disaster. His analysis is a must-read for those attempting to understand how the global economy impacts our environment and contributes to climate change and for those seeking the steps to be taken in saving our planet. "Readers interested in the history of environmental thought will be fascinated to see how many of today's crises were already understood almost fifty years ago. We've made progress in a few places, but it's hard to read Commoner's prescient warnings without a sigh for how little attention we've actually paid to these great challenges." — Bill McKibben, author of Falter and The End of Nature |
Contents
The Environmental Crisis | 3 |
The Ecosphere | 12 |
Nuclear Fire | 44 |
Los Angeles Air | 61 |
Illinois Earth | 75 |
Lake Erie Water | 88 |
Man in the Ecosphere | 105 |
Population and Affluence | 117 |
The Technological Flaw | 132 |
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action activities agricultural air pollution amount animals appears basic become biological birth capita carbon cause changes chemical close Commoner complex considerable cost countries course cycle depends detergents developing dioxide displaced earth ecological economic ecosphere ecosystem effects effort energy engine enterprise environment environmental crisis evidence example fact fertilizer fish growth human hundred impact important increase industry issue Lake Erie lead less levels limited living living things manufacture materials matter means mercury natural nitrate nitrogen nuclear operation organic origin oxygen percent period plants plastic political population possible present problem production profit quotation radiation reach reason recent reduced relatively reported result scientific scientists serious social society soil substance surface synthetic thousand United wastes whole yield York