People and nature : an introduction to human ecological relations / Emilio F. Moran.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This book provides a lively and thoughtful introduction to ecological anthropology by examining the evolving relations between human communities and nature.

Written by a noted anthropologist, geographer, and environmental scientist.
Reviews the evolution of human interactions with the natural world---drawing from anthropology and geography.
Explores those aspects of human ecological relations that seem to account for the greater connectedness of certain societies to their physical environment.
Offers a vision for improved relations between humans and nature.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Figures (p. ix)
• Preface (p. xi)
• 1 Human Agency and the State of the Earth (p. 1)
• Introduction (p. 1)
• Can one conceive of ecosystems without human agents? (p. 9)
• Human agency: individuals making a difference (p. 13)
• Overwhelming evidence for concern with the condition of the Earth system (p. 16)
• Looking back and looking forward (p. 23)
• 2 A Reminder: How Things Were... (p. 26)
• The study of human ecological relations (p. 26)
• The contemporary study of environmental issues (p. 32)
• The evolution of human-environment interactions (p. 39)
• Hunter-gatherers: Setting our preferences (p. 44)
• How did we decide to become farmers? (p. 48)
• Herding and farming: An uneasy relationship (p. 51)
• More food for the masses (p. 53)
• 3 The Great Forgetting (p. 57)
• Earth transformations in prehistory (p. 57)
• The archaeology of environmental change (p. 65)
• The urban-industrial revolution and the unleashing of Prometheus (p. 68)
• The contemporary situation: Human-dominated ecosystems (p. 71)
• 4 The Web of Life: Are We In It? (p. 74)
• The web of life and trophic relations: Thinking ecologically (p. 74)
• Ecosystem productivity and net primary production (p. 80)
• Land use and long term disturbance (p. 83)
• 5 What Makes People Do That? (p. 93)
• Learning, adaptation, and information (p. 93)
• Mitigation and the cautionary principle (p. 102)
• Transforming the face of the Earth: Making better decisions (p. 103)
• Population and the environment (p. 106)
• 6 Rebuilding Communities and Institutions (p. 116)
• Community in human evolution (p. 116)
• What is sacred in human evolution? (p. 118)
• Tragedies of the commons (p. 121)
• Institutions and self-organization (p. 125)
• Bioregionalism, deep ecology, and embedding people in nature (p. 129)
• 7 Can We Learn When We Have Enough? (p. 131)
• Material boys and material girls (p. 131)
• Patterns of consumption in developed countries (p. 132)
• Patterns of consumption in developing countries (p. 138)
• A feeding frenzy and a crisis in public health (p. 142)
• Burning fossil fuels instead of calories (p. 145)
• Do we have enough material goods now? (p. 147)
• 8 Quality of Life: When Less Is More (p. 150)
• Resource abundance versus resource scarcity (p. 150)
• When less is more (p. 158)
• The scale of the problem and the scale of the solution (p. 166)
• Restoring our balance: Valuing community and trust, rather than more "stuff" (p. 170)
• Are we happier when we have more? (p. 175)
• References (p. 178)
• Index (p. 206)

Author notes provided by Syndetics