Scarcity or Abundance?: A Debate on the Environment - Hardcover

Myers, Norman; Simon, Julian L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393035905 ISBN 13: 9780393035902

Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc, 1994

Synopsis

A debate between an environmentalist and a critic of the environmental movement covers population growth, biodiverisity, soil erosion, and the economics of environmental protection

About this title

About the Author

Norman Myers is a Visiting Fellow of Green College, Oxford University, a Foreign Associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and Senior Fellow of World Wildlife Fund-U.S.

Reviews

Myers (The Primary Source) and University of Maryland economics professor Simon vehemently disagree on virtually every environmental issue. On a philosophical level, Simon maintains that the quality of human life steadily improves and will continue to do so, while Myers argues that we stand on the brink of environmental catastrophe. The text is a transcript of a debate held at Columbia University in 1992, with pre-and postdebate summaries added for the book. Critical issues discussed are population growth, preservation of biodiversity, global warming, the ozone layer and air and water quality. Despite the variety of topics, this short book is repetitive; with neither author expounding beyond the veneer of his viewpoints, the debate emerges as superficial. Illustrations.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book is a transcript of a debate held at Columbia University in October 1992. Myers, an award-winning environmental scientist, warns about the rapid environmental decline in terms of population growth, species loss, urban sprawl, and dwindling resources-concerns he has voiced in previous books, such as Ultimate Security (LJ 8/93) and Gaia: An Atlas of Planet Management (Doubleday, 1992. rev. ed.). Simon (economics, Univ. of Maryland) offers a completely different viewpoint, arguing that the world is in better condition than in the past and will continue to improve because of our ability to solve problems. He uses data from his previous publications, such as Population Matters (Transaction Pubs., 1990). The authors raise interesting issues, but their arguments are often repetitious, and Simon is shrill at times. The authors' previous writings are preferable for a more in-depth treatment.
Teresa Berry, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See Focus on p.1906.

Edition details

• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393035905
• ISBN 13: 9780393035902
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 274