In humanity's more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures wresting sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, we have become the dominant animal. But there's a flip side of this triumphant story of innovation and conquest. As we clear forests to raise crops and build cities, lace the continents with highways, and create chemicals never before seen in nature, we may be undermining our own supremacy.Renowned Stanford scientists Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich believe that intelligently addressing today's great environmental and social challenges requires a clear understanding of how we evolved and how we're changing the planet. "The Dominant Animal" offers readers that knowledge, tracing the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural evolution since the dawn of humanity. Tackling the fundamental challenge of the human predicament, Paul and Anne Ehrlich offer a vivid and unique exploration of our origins, our evolution, and our future.

Our most potentially disastrous national problem, along with the danger of nuclear war and threats to the environment, is the pressing catastrophe of massive illegal immigration. The 2,000-mile United States-Mexican border is the only place in the world where a wealthy, heavily industrialized stable country is confronted directly by a struggling, preindustrial nation. United States prosperity relies on a stable population, and Mexico, with her burgeoning population, increasing poverty, and massive unemployment, is threatening the traditional U.S. lifestyle. Stereotyped thinking, based on racism or fear, will not solve these problems. The Golden Door is a sensitive exploration of a difficult situation, and this edition includes material on the Cuban, Salvadoran, and Haitian migration to the United States.

In humanity's more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, we have become the dominant animal. Why, then, are we creating a world that threatens our own species? What can we do to change the current trajectory toward more climate change, increased famine, and epidemic disease? Renowned scientists Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich believe that intelligently addressing those questions depends on a clear understanding of how we evolved and how and why were changing the planet in ways that darken our descendants' future. "The Dominant Animal" arms readers with that knowledge, tracing the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural evolution since the dawn of humanity. In lucid and engaging prose, they describe how Homo sapiens adapted to their surroundings, eventually developing the vibrant cultures, vast scientific knowledge, and technological wizardry we know today. This classroom edition includes: updated and expanded set of suggested readings; glossary, key terms and concepts; selected, Annotated Bibliography that includes recent important works; and, Comprehensive Web site with ancillary materials such as: classroom relevant articles, study questions, discussion questions, instructor's guide, and author PowerPoint slides.

In this provocative book, the authors look at the interaction between population and food supply and offer a powerful and radical strategy for balancing human numbers with nutritional needs. Their proposals include improving the status of women, reducing racism and religious prejudice, reforming the agricultural system, and shrinking the growing gap between rich and poor.

"This ambitious, enlightened handbook is a cornucopia of strategies and ideas for concerned citizens and policymakers". -- Publishers Weekly

"Give equal education and power to women throughout the world, argue the authors: when that happens, birth rates fall and food supplies go up". -- San Francisco Chronicle (Best Bets of 1995)

"(The book) can help us understand the past and possible future of the meals most Westerners take for granted". -- Bill McKibben, New York Review of Books

"A well-reasoned account of how poverty forces unsustainable use of natural resources ... a careful and balanced treatment of developments in agriculture ... that may help food production to stay ahead of population growth". -- Basia Zaba, Nature

"This generation faces a set of challenges unprecedented in their scope and severity and in the shortness of time left to resolve them.... The Stork and the Plow sets these out thoughtfully (and) accurately.... We can all hope this urgent message is carefully heeded". -- Henry W. Kendall, Nobel laureate and Julius A. Stratton Professor of Physics, MIT