Wasted World

How Our Consumption Challenges the Planet

Rob Hengeveld

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Hardback

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English

University of Chicago Press
15 April 2012

Ecological science, the Biosphere; The environment

All systems produce waste as part of a cycle—bacteria, humans,

combustion engines, even one as large and complex as a city. To some

extent, this waste can be absorbed, processed, or recycled—though never

completely. In Wasted World, Rob Hengeveld reveals how a long history of human consumption has left our world drowning in this waste.

This is a compelling and urgent work that traces the related

histories of population growth and resource consumption. As Hengeveld

explains, human life (and population growth) depends not only on

mineral resources but also on energy. People first obtained energy from

food and later supplemented this with energy from water, wind, and

animals as one source after another fell short of our ever-growing

needs. Finally, we turned to fossil energy, which generates atmospheric

waste that is the key driver of global climate change. The effects of

this climate change are already leading to food shortages and social

collapse in some parts of the world. Because all of these problems are

interconnected, Hengeveld argues strenuously that measures to counter

individual problems cannot work. Instead, we need to tackle their common

cause—our staggering population growth. While many scientists agree

that population growth is one of the most critical issues pressuring the

environment, Hengeveld is unique in his insistence on turning our

attention to the waste such growth leaves in its wake and to the

increasing demands of our global society. A practical look at the sustainability of

our planet from the perspective of a biologist whose expertise is in the

abundances and distributions of species, Wasted World presents a

fascinating picture of the whole process of using, wasting, and

exhausting energy and material resources. And by elucidating the

complexity of the causes of our current global state, Hengeveld offers

us a way forward.

By: Rob Hengeveld
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 23mm, Width: 16mm, Spine: 3mm
Weight: 624g
ISBN: 9780226326993
ISBN 10: 0226326993
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 15 April 2012
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Rob Hengeveld is affiliated with the Centre for Ecosystem Studies of Alterra, Wageningen, the Netherlands, and was an honorary professor in the Department of Animal Ecology at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

Reviews for Wasted World: How Our Consumption Challenges the Planet

"""This is a fresh new way of looking at our core problems on the planet-a different lens to try to understand why we're having such problems and how we might find better paths."" -Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet"""