W.R. Catton's "Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change" is a superb book, written in a lively style, with explanatory diagrams, extensive source endnotes, a bibliography for each chapter, and a glossary of terms used. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in what Catton calls the "human predicament" of overpopulation. It is a remarkable, original work by an ecological sociologist who was a gifted scholar, deep thinker, and lucid writer. Certainly, no other book has had such a profound impact on my own thinking and the way I view the world. I wish I'd read it back when it was first published in 1980, for It explains with great clarity much of what I've been thinking "around" for decades—I say "around," because I never quite put it all together, which Catton does.
The book deals with the problem of exponential human population growth on an Earth with finite, limiting resources. The topic is not new, for Malthus dealt with it in 1798 and many thinkers have since revisited the problem, either agreeing with Malthus or scoffing at him. Running through the book is the idea that a paradigm shift—a radical change in the way we think about the relationship of Homo sapiens to the rest of the world we inhabit—is needed if the human species is to survive. The prevailing paradigm of exuberance is that resources are unlimited, that perpetual techno-industrial economic growth is both possible and desirable, and that any problems mankind encounters can be solved with technology. The effects of accumulation of harmful waste products are virtually ignored.
An alternative, ecological paradigm recognizes that Homo sapiens, though endowed with unique adaptions, is subject to the same laws of nature as other species. By 1980, humankind had already exceeded the earth's carrying capacity—the number of people the earth could permanently sustain using only renewable resources. This "overshoot" of the human carrying capacity was achieved by the "drawdown" of non-renewable (fossil-fuel) resources, by "takeover" of habitats from other species for our own sustenance, and by the use of "phantom carrying capacity" provided by utilizing renewable resources like fisheries faster than they can be renewed. Catton's conclusion is that the global human population is headed toward a "crash" (that is, a massive die-off) that probably can no longer be prevented but might be ameliorated if we take certain steps. He makes no predictions about when the crash will occur, although some recent authors have. W.E. Rees (1923), for example, augmented Catton's argument with current data in "The Human Ecology of Overshoot: Why a Major ‘Population Correction’ Is Inevitable."
Now, in 2023, the global human population is nearly twice that in 1980, and the ecological manifestations of overshoot are much more evident—accelerated habitat destruction, global warming, rampant wildfires, polar and glacial melting, extreme weather, widespread pollution by agricultural and industrial wastes and plastics, etc. Interestingly, Catton emphasizes that it does no good to blame political ideologies or oil companies for the human predicament. We have simply been doing what all animal species do, expanding our range as much as possible and utilizing all available resources, including (in our case) those sequestered in the past. Most of the people in developed and "underdeveloped" nations alike continue to operate under the old paradigm. Without widespread knowledge (especially among politicians, industry leaders, and planners) of the ecological problems and what needs to be done to ameliorate if not rectify them, most of us will continue to participate in our own or our children's demise.
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Top reviews from other countries
Kay
A must read to understand the human race’s predicament
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 23, 2022Jk
A classic in the society - environment interplay
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2013Helen E. Thompson
This is one of the most thought-provoking books I have ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2015