Nature's Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas (Studies in Environment and History)

I used to muse on the subject of environmentalism and why two seemingly opposed camps ("pro-environment" and "anti-environment"--though "anti-environment" could more fairly be termed "pro-development") think the way they do. This book answered many of my questions and started me thinking about more in-depth issues of environmentalism. The history presented is fascinating and, in some cases, appalling. I found myself thinking, "how could these people so eagerly destroy the environment that sustains them?", but at the same time the logic was right in front of me. I may not have agreed with it, but there it was. The book is divided into six sections, which explore environmental thinking in chronological order: 1) Two Roads Diverged: Ecology in the Eighteenth Century; 2) The Subversive Science: Thoreau's Romantic Ecology; 3) The Dismal Science: Darwinian Ecology; 4) O Pioneers: Ecology on the Frontier; 5) The Morals of a Science: Ethics, Economics, and Ecology; 6) The Age of Ecology: Science and the Fate of the Earth. This book was required reading for an environmental ethics class (something I think every college student should take), and I enjoyed reading it. We were asked to think about the points in the book in the context of 6 different frameworks: morals and ethics, religion, capitalism, the commons, science, and wilderness. I recommend that other readers do the same. Thinking about environmentalism from these different viewpoints gives it a different spin every time. I never really considered myself an environmentalist, although I am all for living sustainably on the earth (within reason--some sustainability viewpoints are admittedly extreme). However, this book definitely shifted my opinions to those of a more environmentalist-like identity than I had before. This review refers to the Second Edition (1994).

This comment of Worster's from page 433 pretty much sums it all up:"Whether we choose to learn from the past or not, the past is our most reliable instructor in reality."He presents the supporting material for his case just as elegantly and firmly, throughout the book.

Donald Worster has written a gem of a book. It's too bad that he gets lost in his own selfconceit. Worster merely wants to say that all other ecological ideas are products of cultural conditions. Howver, his ideas are not. Worster is a master at structuring his points, and he is colorful at times. My favorite part, however (other than the connection of interdependncy to fascism) was when he misused his "In the begining was The Word" quote. "The Word," in the original Greek text of the bible, is actually "logos," not literal words of creeation. I had a hard time buying his schtick after reading that line.