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Daniel B. Botkin

Discordant Harmonies: A New Ecology for the Twenty-first Century

by Daniel B. Botkin (Author)

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Global warming, acid rain, the depletion of forests, the polluting of our atmosphere and oceans--the threats to our environment are numerous, raising justifiable concern among most of us and genuine alarm in some. But as scientist Daniel Botkin argues in this provocative book, our ability
to solve these problems is limited--not by our scientific knowledge--but by the age-old myths and metaphors that shape our perception of the natural world. Indeed, our beliefs about nature have fallen well behind our knowledge.
Daniel Botkin is a seasoned scientist. He has spent three decades in the field studying the changes and interactions of forests and animal species. In the 1970s he pioneered the use of computers to predict ecological trends. Now, in Discordant Harmonies, he combines his considerable expertise
with the well-honed eye of the nature writer and a philosopher's sense of how ideas shape our perceptions of reality to take us on a marvelous guided tour of the natural world. His method is to introduce a problem in our beliefs about nature by giving us a fascinating case study: of predator-prey
relationships, of forests evolving over centuries, of species nearing extinction, of the ways our "protection" of nature has had surprising--and often disappointing--results. Botkin's revealing case studies also highlight controversial present-day issues--like controlled burning in national forests,
fishing and hunting quotas, and policy-making for management of natural resources. He looks at each of these cases in the light of past thinking and current research, revealing how old myths often blind us to the new technology and to the ways of thinking we need to solve our environmental problems.
Above all, Botkin is concerned with redefining the relationship between human beings and nature, so that our needs can be met and the intricate systems of nature can persist.
Whether discussing moose herds on Isle Royale or Yosemite's famous Mariposa Grove of Sequoias, Botkin writes vividly and insightfully about nature, challenging us to rethink some of our most cherished notions. Anyone who is concerned about the environment will find much here to ponder as well
as the pleasure of meeting a stimulating and thoughtful mind at work.

ISBN-10

9780195074697
ISBN-13

978-0195074697
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

April 30, 1992
Language

English
Dimensions

8.05 x 0.63 x 4.78 inches
Print length

256 pages
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4.7 out of 5

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Amazon Customer

Great book on looking at the environment in different ways. Ahead of its time.

Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2022

Verified Purchase

I read for a graduate course several years ago and keep coming back to it for reference.

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Francisco Valenzuela

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2016

Verified Purchase

Well written and an easy read and intr4oduction to Evolutionary Ecology.

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Zintka

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2014

Verified Purchase

Very interesting and convincing

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2016

It is a wonderful book, and I have had it for months. I would further recommend it to anyone!!!!!

One person found this helpful

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John Anderson

An important and valuable alternative

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2004

I wish this book had been written about 15 years earlier & I wish it was currently read by a wider audience. This is a well written book in which Botkin does an excellent job at articulating some of the troubling aspects of ecological theory as they move out into the world of policy, conservation, and belief. Like many of us Botkin was obviously raised in the academic environment of "equilibrium models" or "Balance of Nature" ideologies, and like some of us he found that what he actually saw in the field didn't really match up with what the theoreticians on the one hand and the hard-core "environmentalists" on the other were saying we had to believe. Botkin recognizes and revels in the complexities of the natural world and asks some difficult questions about the role that theory plays in shaping our overall perceptions. Anybody interested in conservation, land-use, or applied ecology would do well to spend some time with this book. The only reason that I don't give it 5 stars is that I wish that Botkin had gone a little farther -one gets the sense throughout that he has seen a promised land of a "New Ecology" but he keeps drawing back, he knows that there are fatal flaws in much ecological rhetoric, but he can't quite bring himself to say "away with this nonsense". Other than that, if there was one semi-popular ecology book that I would want folks to read, this would probably be a top candidate.

8 people found this helpful

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Eric P. Perramond

Crowing into the Winds

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2001

First, let me say that this is a very good book, and that my comments are only meant as a cautionary note. Second, Botkin does know his "stuff" when it come to understanding ecological applications, theories, and the use of metaphors. This book was a useful, popular, corrective to the vast number of misunderstood ecological concepts at the time of its publication. That said, however, Botkin is also like a rooster: he crows too loudly, every morning. By page 38, I was already tired of his "this requires a new view and understanding of nature" which had been stated at least a dozen times before said page. Perhaps some readers will need this prose "boot to the head" reminder. Many readers will find this irritating. He is very much preaching to the choir as well. Changes in Ecology and parallel fields (Conservation Biology, Physical Geography, etc...) had already understood the past mistakes of such concepts as "equilibrium" (static) and "climax community." Botkin was about ten to fifteen years too late in writing Discordant Ecologies. Keep that in mind as you read it. If you start saying "Aha!" a lot just remember that others have already said this for decades, and that the corrective suggestions that Botkin produces have already been incorporated in the vast variety of ecological fields he discusses. This is a great book to use in a history of science, history of ecology, or biogeography class. It will also be useful to a lay audience, unfamiliar with the last 50 years or so of ecological literature. It is also rather easy to read in one sitting.

16 people found this helpful

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Sage Adams

Environmentalism and Pragmatism

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2001

I liked this book. It was a bit difficult to get through at first. I started the book and put it down for a few months, in chapter 3. But I picked it up again and read it all the way through. Botkin (the author) writes repeatedly about a new way of thinking that incorporates both environmental awareness and the need not to go too far in our concern about the environment. He discusses how the movement of environmentalism is basically operating on false principles, just as our mainstream industrial ways of thinking are perpretrating untold destruction of the natural world.
Botkin talks about the need for compromise, and specifically the need to think of nature in a new way. This new way that he iterates is the recognition of nature as a chaotic system. It is not constant, it is not irreversible (in some ways), and populations fluctuate under certain circumstances.
He describes how we need a new kind of ecologist. How we need people to study the animals and the ecosystems they inhabit with the idea of chaos in mind. But not complete chaos, there is structure to nature, but it is not formalized, nor is it constant. It is changing patterns that never repeat themselves, I guess Botkin might say, more eloquently than I no doubt.
He has a lengthy discussion about the role of religion in this book, which I found interesting. He even talks about the GAIA theory. Botkin re-iterates his points on numerous occasions, to the point that you almost get sick to hear them again. But he drives the point home, and his points are valid, and his view of nature, based on his own experiments is enlightening, scientific, and refreshing.

10 people found this helpful

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Discordant Harmonies: A New Ecology for the Twenty-first Century

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