The future: a ratchet job

摘要

Humanity's roller-coaster ride is either a unique, exhilarating oneway journey of escape from our nasty and brutish past, or an outrageous act of hubris that can only end in environmental tragedy. Ruth DeFries's riveting "biography of an ingenious species" tells us everything but the outcome. She sees our rise as turns of a ratchet. Our genius at technological innovation means that, unlike other species, we can break the environmental binds that tie us. Our constant innovations allow us to sustain ever more people on the planet -but always at a cost that eventually catches up with us, and requires renewed innovation. At every turn, "once again, prospects look grim... until a new way to use nature's endowments emerges. The ratchet turns again."