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

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Global warming, acid rain, the depletion of the rainforests, the polluting of our atmosphere and oceans - the threats to our environment are growing at an alarming pace. It's certainly easy to indulge the kinds of desperate, hand-wringing environmentalism that point to problems without suggesting solutions. Thankfully, however, Daniel Botkin is able to pinpoint areas of concern and suggest potential cures. In his groundbreaking study of environmental issues, Discordant Harmonies, Botkin suggests that the real barrier to solving the crisis in the environment is not lack of scientific knowledge but the persistence of mythological and metaphoric ways of perceiving the natural world. A seasoned scientist (and pioneer of the use of computers to predict ecological trends), Botkin draws on some revealing case-studies - of predator/prey relationships; of forests evolving over centuries; of species nearing extinction; of examples of well-intentioned mistakes in conservation - in order to illuminate his argument. Radical, stimulating, and insightful, Discordant Harmonies suggests a manifesto for environmentalism in the coming decade and beyond.