Review: The World System
and the Earth System
A.
Horberger and C. Crumley (Eds.)
Reviewed
by A.M. Mannion
University of Reading, UK
Horberger,
A. and Crumley, C. (Eds.). The World
System and the Earth System. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2007. 395pp.
ISBN: 1-59874-100-4. $34.95 Papercover. Alkaline paper.
People-environment
relationships have varied temporally and spatially as has society's attitude to
environment. In the first half of the twentieth century the philosophies of
determinism and possibilism emerged to describe these relationships. Is nature
prescriptive, or is it a set of resources to be exploited or domesticated in
various ways for the advancement of humans without much regard for its
sustainability? The environmental movements of the post1960s raised
environmental awareness and began to change attitudes against a backdrop of
increasing globalization; conservation became a watchword and threw together
the social and natural sciences which entered an often uneasy alliance.
The
situation has altered substantially since then, especially in the context of
acknowledged climatic change which is caused by socio-economic development but
which is affecting natural systems globally. Science contributed to development
via technology and now it must contribute again to establish sustainable
development. There is no escape from the intimately linked natural and social
sciences. So how do they communicate and how effectively? This was the theme of
a conference entitled World-System
History and Global Environmental Change at the University of Lund, Sweden,
in 2003; its content is the subject matter of The World System and the Earth System, a title which encapsulates
the dichotomy but which, interestingly and perhaps ironically, places the
social before the natural!
Following
a 12-page introduction, the book is divided into three sections. The six
chapters of part one deal with the modelling of socioecological perspectives on
various time scales and the use of varied lines of evidence which include
documentary and sedimentary records for specific areas. There is also reference
to model validation, cyclic change, world systems as complex human ecosystems,
parallels with population ecology re cycle oscillations, synchrony and
collapse. Case studies are the subject of the eight chapters of part two. Most
examine the natural and cultural factors involved in environmental change on
millennial, or longer, time scales. Examples are drawn from Neolithic Europe,
ancient Mesopotamia and East Africa while a chapter on Amazonia raises the
question of whether ancient societies created a suitable environment for their
survival or were constrained by their environment and how the issue can be
resolved. The seven chapters of part three debate the sustainability or otherwise
of the world system. Topics include indicators of sustainability, the
integration of human and environmental data, lessons from the past, island
perspectives, and sustainable strategies for development, disease pandemics and
trade.
There
are no quick solutions as to how to enhance the compatibility of socio-economic
and scientific data for predicting the direction and intensity of environmental
change for the formulation of sustainable development strategies. However, at
least environmental scientists and social scientists are asking the relevant
questions and coming together to discuss this vital issue as well as reminding
the world at large that lessons from the past are pertinent to planning for the
future.
This
book should be on social science, geography, environmental science/politics,
and planning reading lists for senior undergraduate and postgraduate students.
A.
M. Mannion <a.m.mannion@reading.ac.uk>,
Ph.D., Department of Geography, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227
Reading, RG6 6AB UK TEL: +44(0)118 9318733, FAX: +44(0)118 9755865.
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Electronic Green Journal, Issue 25,
2007
ISSN: 1076-7975