Living in a Dangerous Climate
Climate Change and Human Evolution

A unique, thought-provoking journey from early humans' evolutionary response to climate change to today's global crisis, for students and the general reader.

Renée Hetherington (Author)

9781107694736, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 April 2012

272 pages, 14 b/w illus. 3 tables
22.9 x 15.3 x 1.4 cm, 0.44 kg

'Ethnobiologists, especially those concerned with the role of environmental interactions in the history of human evolution and the development of farming, will find this book useful. In particular, the synthesis of recent research is especially enjoyable, and supported by an extensive bibliography and informative endnotes. The book also stands as an important example of how palaeoanthropological and ethnobiological perspectives can be brought to bear on the question of what to do about surviving climate change.' Ethnobiology Letters

Living in a Dangerous Climate provides a journey through human and Earth history, showing how a changing climate has affected human evolution and society. Is it possible for humanity to evolve quickly, or is slow, gradual, genetic evolution the only way we change? Why did all other Homo species go extinct while Homo sapiens became dominant? How did agriculture, domestication and the use of fossil fuels affect humanity's growing dominance? Do today's dominant societies - devoted as they are to Darwinism and 'survival of the fittest' - contribute to our current failure to meet the hazards of a dangerous climate? Unique and thought provoking, the book links scientific knowledge and perspectives of evolution, climate change and economics in a way that is accessible and exciting for the general reader. The book is also valuable for courses on climate change, human evolution and environmental science.

Part I. Earth's Climate: Impacts on Habitat and Humans: 1. Putting our emergent house in order
Part II. The Evolution of the Homo Species: 2. The cradle of humankind
3. The Neanderthal enigma
4. The end of Homo diversity
Part III. Climate and Human Migration: 5. Climate and human migration
6. Braving the new world
Part IV. Climate and Agriculture: 7. Agriculture and the rise of civilization
8. The Maya civilization and beyond
Part V. The Dominant Paradigm: 9. Dominance destabilized
10. Fitness folly
11. Darwin the selector
12. Hunting down Woody
13. Kammerer's suicide
14. Giants and pygmies
15. Dutch hunger winter babies
Part VI. Today and Tomorrow: 16. Today and tomorrow
17. Dead zones
Part VII. The Economic Connection: 18. The economic connection
19. The progress of dominance
Part VIII. Dangerous Attitudes: 20. Dangerous attitudes
21. Helpful strangers
22. Triumphant oblivion
Part IX. Living in Dangerous Times: 23. Our children
24. Living in a dangerous climate.

Subject Areas: Sustainability [RNU], Social impact of environmental issues [RNT], The environment [RN], Meteorology & climatology [RBP], Earth sciences [RB], Earth sciences, geography, environment, planning [R]