Barry Commoner and the Science of Survival: The Remaking of American Environmentalism (Urban and Industrial Environments) [Hardcover]

Michael Egan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Urban and Industrial Environments | Publication Date: March 23, 2007

For over half a century, the biologist Barry Commoner has been one of the most prominent and charismatic defenders of the American environment, appearing on the cover of Time magazine in 1970 as the standard-bearer of "the emerging science of survival." In Barry Commoner and the Science of Survival, Michael Egan examines Commoner's social and scientific activism and charts an important shift in American environmental values since World War II.Throughout his career, Commoner believed that scientists had a social responsibility, and that one of their most important obligations was to provide citizens with accessible scientific information so they could be included in public debates that concerned them. Egan shows how Commoner moved naturally from calling attention to the hazards of nuclear fallout to raising public awareness of the environmental dangers posed by the petrochemical industry. He argues that Commoner's belief in the importance of dissent, the dissemination of scientific information, and the need for citizen empowerment were critical planks in the remaking of American environmentalism.Commoner's activist career can be defined as an attempt to weave together a larger vision of social justice. Since the 1960s, he has called attention to parallels between the environmental, civil rights, labor, and peace movements, and connected environmental decline with poverty, injustice, exploitation, and war, arguing that the root cause of environmental problems was the American economic system and its manifestations. He was instrumental in pointing out that there was a direct association between socioeconomic standing and exposure to environmental pollutants and that economics, not social responsibility, was guiding technological decision making. Egan argues that careful study of Commoner's career could help reinvigorate the contemporary environmental movement at a point when the environmental stakes have never been so high.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A riddle: Why has the scientist who has arguably had the greatest impact on the course of post-World War II science been almost entirely ignored by mainstream historians of science? Because his accomplishments were as a social activist rather than as a scientist. But now, at long last, Barry Commoner's supremely important challenge to the morphing of Big Science into handmaiden of the chemical and nuclear industries has been recognized and admirably recounted by Michael Egan. Bravo, Mr. Egan, for filling in a large blank in recent history of science."--Clifford D. Conner, author of *A People's History of Science*

"Egan tells an absorbing tale about a remarkable man who is insightful, persistent, iconoclastic, informed, and optimistic." Sylvia N. Tesh American Scientist

"Egan's telling of the life, science, and politics of Barry Commoner reminds us of a time when scientists could be activists, and science and activism could coexist." Jody A. Roberts Chemical Heritage

About the Author

Michael Egan is Associate Professor of History at McMaster University and Director of the Sustainable Future History Project.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (March 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262050862
• ISBN-13: 978-0262050869
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,433,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gospel of Survival, August 2, 2010

By 

Norm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barry Commoner and the Science of Survival: The Remaking of American Environmentalism (Urban and Industrial Environments) (Paperback)

Michael Egan has produced a well balanced history of the various parts of the conservation/environmemntalism movement. A main feature for me was the confrontation between Barry Commoner and Paul Ehrlick over population growth vs industrial greed in Chapter 4. 75 pages of notes and bibliography make a wonderful supplement for the serious student. This together with The Long Emergency by J. H. Kunstler make a good introduction to the many reasons why the survival of mankind is in jeopardy. Really! Read them both (from Amazon).