Ecocide

Franz Broswimmer

Description

We live in an age of ecocide. Changes of enormous ecological significance are occurring on our planet - the ozone layer is beginning to disintegrate. Since 1970 the world's forests have almost halved. A quarter of the world's fish have been depleted.



70% of biologists believe the world is now in the midst of the fastest mass extinction of species in the planet's 4.5 billion-year history. Biodiversity loss is rated as a more serious environmental problem than the depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, or pollution and contamination. How have we come to this, and what can be done to conserve our environment for the future?



Ecocide examines the facts behind the figures to offer a disturbing account of the ecological impact that the human species has on the planet. It shows how we are wilfully destroying our world. Highlighting important countermovements who are working for ecological democracy, this unique book is essential for anyone who cares about conserving our environment for the future.
Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. The Human Odyssey: From Biological To Cultural Evolution

2. Problematic Society-Nature Relations Before The Modern Era

3. The Modern Assault On Nature: The Making Of Ecocide

4. The Planet As Sacrifice Zone

5. Ecocide And Globalization

Epilogue: Living In The Age Of Ecocide

Glossary

Tables

Index

Selected Bibliography

Sujets

• Science

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 septembre 2002
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783713486
• Langue: English

Extrait

ECOCIDE
ECOCIDE
A Short History of the Mass Extinction of Species
F RANZ J. B ROSWIMMER
First published 2002 by PLUTO PRESS 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Franz J. Broswimmer 2002
The right of Franz J. Broswimmer to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 07453 1935 3 hardback ISBN 0 7453 1935 1 hardback ISBN 0 7453 1934 3 paperback ISBN 978 07453 1934 6 paperback ISBN 978 18496 4159 3 PDF eBook ISBN 978 17837 1349 3 Kindle eBook ISBN 978 17837 1348 6 EPUB eBook
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Broswimmer, Franz.
Ecocide : a short history of the mass extinction of species
/ Franz Broswimmer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
  ISBN 0-7453-193 5-1 — ISBN 0-7453-1934-3 (pbk.)
1. Nature—Effect of human beings on. 2. Extinction (Biology) 3.
Biological diversity conservation—Social aspects. I. Title.
GF75 .B73 2002
333.95’22—dc21
2002003085
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Chase Publishing Services, Fortescue, Sidmouth EX10 9QG Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Towcester Printed on Demand by CPI Antony Rowe, Eastbourne
For my parents
CONTENTS Acknowledgments List of tables Introduction   The problem   Why bother?   Etiology of ecocide   Chapter outline 1 The Human Odyssey: From Biological to Cultural Evolution   Beginnings   From Tree Shrews to Primates   Fire Use and Dietary Changes   The Rise of Modern Humans   The Megafauna Extinction   The Pivotal Role of Language 2 Problematic Society–Nature Relations Before the Modern Era   The Neolithic Revolution   Ecological Blunders of Antiquity     1. The Mesopotamians, Southwest Asia: 3700 BCE to 1600 BCE     2. The Greeks, Mediterranean: 770 BCE to 30 BCE     3. The Romans, Mediterranean: 500 BCE to 500 CE     4. The Chaco Anasazi, Northwestern New Mexico: 700 CE to 1300 CE     5. The Mayas, Mesoamerica: 200 CE to 900 CE     6. The Easter Islanders, Rapa Nui: 700 CE to 1700 CE 3 The Modern Assault on Nature: The Making of Ecocide   The Capitalist System: A Brief Historical and Sociological Overview   The Rise of Scientific and Technological Thinking   The Capitalist Ethos: Ecological and Social Values   Social and Ecological Implications of the “Columbian Exchange”   The Enslavement of Land and Nature   Early Modern Fur Trade   The Mass Slaughter of the North American Bison   The Rise of Commercial Whaling 4 The Planet as Sacrifice Zone   The Enclosure of the Commons: A Global Phenomenon   The Industrial Revolution   Ecology and Modern Warfare   Ecocide and Modern Warfare   The Planet as National Sacrifice Zone   The Planet as Demographic Sacrifice Zone 5 Ecocide and Globalization   The Impact of Globalism   Poverty and Ecocide   A Terminal Grand Buffet?   Ecocide and the Global Treadmill of Production   The Failure of Environmental Education   The Ideological Turn   The Currents of Ecological Democracy   The Imperatives of Ecological Democracy   Envisioning an Equitable Global Commons Epilogue Living in the Age of Ecocide Glossary Tables Notes Selected bibliography Index
TABLES    1 Species remaining to be described out of an estimated total of 30 million    2 Four categories of the instrumental value of biodiversity    3 Ecosystem functions and their uses    4 Degree of extinction (%) in the five major mass extinctions in the fossil records    5 Milestones in hominid cultural evolution    6 Human forces driving changes in biological diversity (before 1500; 1500 to 1800; since 1800)    7 Late Pleistocene megafauna extinction – (percentages and weights in kg)    8 Onset dates of major extinction episodes (years before present)    9 Causes of biodiversity loss 10 Mechanisms of biodiversity loss 11 Projection of species loss for 2100 CE 12 Exhaustion of fur seal hunting in the Southern Hemisphere, 1780–1820 13 Wars and war deaths, 1500 to 2000 14 The world’s priorities? (Annual expenditures, in US $) 15 Population density and habitat loss, countries of major importance for biodiversity 16 Percentage of species worldwide classified as threatened 17 Number of species considered “threatened” by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre 18 Factors responsible for some extinctions and threatened extinctions 19 Rate of human population increase at different periods in history 20 World population milestones and projections 21 Actual and projected changes in world population, food, energy, and economic output 22 Annual per capita consumption in selected nations 23 Share of the world’s income held by income group, 1965–90 24 Share of global income of the richest and poorest 20% of world’s population 25 Concentration of global income, resources, and wealth, 1999 26 Gross National Product per capita in the species-rich states 27 Seven ‘I’ solutions for conserving biodiversity 28 Liquidating our assets 29 Arteriosclerosis of the Earth 30 The social effects of globalism 31 Who dominates the world? 32 Bioinvasions 33 Monoculture impact 34 Driving up CO 2 35 Human migration and displacement
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the help of a large number of people, too many to list here by name. I would like to acknowledge the key role played by the Globalization Research Center (GRC) at the University of Hawai’i -Manoa in making the publication of this book possible: first, by having the vision to see how my doctoral work fits in with the research mission of the GRC; second, by giving me time off from my other duties as a researcher and editor with the GRC during the summer of 2001 to revise the manuscript, while continuing salary support; and third, by providing me with the manuscript preparation skills of Sally Serafim. Moreover, upon my request, GRC made it possible for me to work with my good friend and colleague Manfred B. Steger. His editorial expertise and hard work on behalf of this publication have been invaluable.
A number of people have read all or parts of the book manuscript at various stages and offered important suggestions. In particular I wish to thank Peter Manicas for his unfailing support and insightful comments throughout the project. I thank my doctoral committee members Emanuel Drechsel, Leslie Sponsel, Alvin So, David Swift, and my Chair Herb Barringer for giving me free rein in pursuing my interests during the dissertation research, which provides the basis for this book. A note of thanks also goes to my colleagues and friends at the University of Hawai’i for freely sharing new ideas and resources, and to Kayomi Kaneda, whose good spirits enabled me to bear with the rather depressing topic of this study.
Finally, I want to express my thanks to the East-West Center at the University of Hawai’i-Manoa for granting me a Visiting Fellowship in the summer of 2000, which enabled me to develop relevant ideas and resources. I am grateful to the many others who have provided feedback, data, or simply old-fashioned encouragement and support. In alphabetical order, they include among others Ann and Ron Kirk, Anneliese Moore, Arthur Getz-Escudero, Anthony Medrano, Barry Barnes, Barry Smart, Carole and Shi-jen He, Charles Luce, Chris Barker, David Goalstone, Deanna Donovan, Devin Joshi, Dorothy and Rom Goldsborough, Eric and Margaret Dornauer, Floro Quibuyen, Glen Dolcemascolo, Hermine Landstaetter, Jennie Peterson, John and Rene Gutrich, Joseph and Renate Sanladerer, Kit Collier, Leopoldine and Franz Ambichl, Lynn Ann Mulrooney, Manfred Henningsen, Manfred Junghans, Mark Valencia, Perle Besserman, Rosarita and Johann Sonnleitner, Yow Suen Sen, Stephen Philion, Tian Chenshan, Val Burris, Vinod and Manju Mishra, and Wolfgang and Susan Sperlich. A mahalo nui loa also goes to the Department of Sociology at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa for providing me with the assistance to make this study possible. Despite the assistance and advice I received from numerous individuals in the course of this project, all remaining flaws of this book are my sole responsibility.
INTRODUCTION
Homo sapiens has become the most dominant species on Earth. Unfortunately, our impact is devastating, and if we continue to destroy the environment as we do today, half the world’s species will become extinct early in the next [twenty-first] century…. Homo sapiens is poised to become the greatest catastrophic agent since a giant asteroid collided with the Earth sixty-five million years ago, wiping out half the world’s species in a geological instant. (Richard Leakey and Roger Levin, The Sixth Extinction) 1

And they were sawing off the branches on which they were sitting, while shouting across their experiences to one another how to saw more efficiently. And they went crashing down into the deep. And those who watched them shook their heads and continued sawing vigorously. (Bertolt Brecht, Exile III ) 2
THE PROBLEM
The problems arising from the current acceleration of mass species extinction and the global destruction of habitat are only now acknowledged as being of fundamental importance for humanity. Still, the fundamental importance of the Earth’s remaining biodiversity remains under-studied and under-appreciated. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, only a fraction of the estimated diversity of life has been identified. Numbers vary considerably, with the most conservative assessment at about 5 million species worldwide, and more generous estimates at about 30 million to 50 million. 3 Of the 1.7 million species that are presently catalogued, only 5 per cent can be considered well known and the relationships between many of them are still a mystery. 4
What we do know, however, is that planet Earth is losing species at a rate unparalleled in human experience. In the late modern era, the normal trickle rate of exti