1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Old-Fashion Institutionalist's Plea for Progress, October 22, 2002
This review is from: The Environment, Our Natural Resources, and Modern Technology (Hardcover)
This is a book that will challenge much conventional wisdom about the impact of modern technology on our environment. No matter how much you think you know about the topic, you will learn something new by reading it.
The author, an economist of the old-fashion institutionalist school (unlike the current institutionalist crowd, he believes in material progress) begins the book with a simple question: If modern science and technology are killing us, why are we so healthy and living so long? In short, his answer is that human beings have evolved into problem-solving (i.e. technological) creatures, and that no one should deny that this is a good thing in light of the available historical record.
The topics discussed in the book go much beyond what its title suggests and range from the living conditions of early Pacific Islanders to the Nazis' love of all things natural - with the exception, of course, of other human beings who didn't fit their idea of the master race. Indeed, the book is as much a study of the cultural divide between technological optimists and pessimists as it is a study of the impact of technology on humans and the environment.
One warning, though. The author is an academic and writes like one. The titles listed in his 45 page bibliography are thus methodically referenced in the main text in a way that will probably distract some readers unfamiliar with this writing style. In the end, though, the book is well worth the effort.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Strives to uncover facts beneath layers of propaganda, April 6, 2004
The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology by Thomas R. Degregori (Professor of Economics, University of Houston, Texas), is a 256-page, scholarly volume whose reasoning and language is accessible enough to make it appropriate for any non-specialist general reader concerned about the environmental degradation and human overpopulation problems that are significantly effecting planet Earth. The intent of The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology is not to flatly denounce conservation efforts, but rather to closely scrutinize them (including the myths surrounding them), and to take a cold, hard look at whether such things as "ecotourism" are truly beneficial to the ecologies or the people who live in them. From revealing how some African game wardens are empowered to legally shoot to kill anyone suspected of poaching; to debunking the myth of the "untamed West" which ignored the profound impact Native American cultures and settlements had on the land, The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology is a thoughtful and thought-provoking extended essay that strives to uncover facts beneath layers of propaganda on all sides of thorny environmental and technology issues. No academic library's Environmental Studies collection can be considered comprehensive without the inclusion of Professor Degregori's The Environment, Our Natural Resources And Modern Technology.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Illogic of the Leftist Agenda Exposed, January 18, 2004
This review is from: The Environment, Our Natural Resources, and Modern Technology (Hardcover)
The Environment, Our Natural Resources, and Modern Technology is a holistic expose of the hypocrisy of the major planks of the stereotypical leftist agenda: namely the three mentioned in the title.
Dr. DeGregori contrasts "green consumerism" with another plank of the leftist agenda: income disparity, and shows, through a variety of examples, what the results of such national policies would be: increased prices and scarcity for all. In short, the green movement is for guilt-ridden rich folk, and not for the masses.
Addressing natural resources, DeGregori shows that the best way to preserve them would be to allow free trade and property rights. I particularly enjoyed the applications to developing economies around the world, although I found it painful to learn of the way in which developed economic powers (U.S. and Britain in particular) egotistically deprive indigenous cultures of even the chance to utilize their natural resources to increase their income (thereby increasing education, access to life-saving consumer products, and increasing general standards of living). Cases from India, Africa, and Southeast Asia are used to vividly illustrate the consequences of leftist, socialist moves to keep indigenous cultures in developing countries at a stunted level of economic and cultural development.
DeGregori's examination of modern technology is superb, as well. He exposes the fanatacism of anti-technology individuals-e.g. those who decry "cold pasteurization" as harmful, even though empirical evidence shows that there has not been a single incident of an individual consumer becoming ill as a result. His evaluation of techno-phobes' concerns is invaluable, and reaches beyond contemporary quibbles to address the fundamental philosophy driving their zeal. He addresses some of the most important issues of today, such as debates surrounding genetically modified food vs. organic and those regarding the use of DDT and fertilizers.
DeGregori also addresses the demand for technological improvements by cultures in developing countries, and the benefits to be gained: increased income, increased competitiveness in the global economy, increased life-expectancies, and decreased environmental degredation.
I was surprised to find that such a scholarly book was such an easy read; the information was logically presented, and easily digestible. DeGregori's information is heavily footnoted, but since the footnotes aren't the crux of the book, you can simply read around them. If you are looking for more information, the footnotes may well prove invaluable, as DeGregori cites pro and con sources to many of his arguments.
This book was required for a university course that I am taking from DeGregori. In person, and not just on books, DeGregori is a professor with a firm grasp on the latest economic information from developing and developed economies around the world. Degregori encourages you to look on the positive side of things-all the progress we've made, and potential solutions to some of the problems.
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