The Journal of Heredity 2001:92(1)
© 2001 The American Genetic Association 92:97
Book Review |
The Environment 2: As I See It, The Mold Must be Broken. By B. Wallace. Elkhorn Press, Elkhorn, West Virginia. 2000. 534 pp. $15.00
Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA 24061
These splendid and thoughtful essays by Bruce Wallace take readers beyond his 1998 collection The Environment: As I See It, Science Is Not Enough. Wallace presents a convincing case that time is running out for mankind and the current mold of simple solutions to complex issues must be broken if we are to develop environmental literacy. That this review is being written during the presidential nominating conventions where platitudes are spoken and simplistic solutions are offered for complex problems is ironic. Differences between Wallace's concerns for environmental literacy and the future of mankind with the pabulum emulating from Philadelphia and Los Angeles are striking. His perceptiveness is seen in the following taken from the brief prologue.
My collection of essays is intended to warn those students of and prepare them for the confrontations they will encounter in society—confrontations that involve the growing numbers of persons, the growing energy demands, the spread of Western-style industrialization to other lands, the pollution of the environment, the destruction of the seas, and the depletion of natural resources. These confrontations will require that they be equipped with more than standard biological information so that they can withstand the "image makers" and their seductive accounts of "progress." (p. xi).
The crux of this thesis is summarized in the epilogue where he discusses pessimistically the dire consequences facing the world if humans are unwilling to address these issues. The examples presented are biologically sound and informative. As Wallace says, "There is only one earth."
Between the prologue and the epilogue are 100+ brief essays divided into nine sections. "A Litany of Environmental Concerns" (essays 1–29) addresses difficulties associated with simplistic solutions to complex environmental/social problems. Involved not only are differences in the concerns of developed and emerging nations, but relationships of humans with other organisms, and what I call blind faith. Wallace emphasizes that solutions involve more than those which can be provided by science, technology, and capital. Again and again he cautions the reader of dangers inherent with one-dimensional solutions to multidimensional problems. The satire of essay 25 which begins, "Voltaire! Where are you now that we need you?" was particularly cogent. A case is made in the section "Personal vs Community Aspirations" (essays 30–38) for scientists, humanists, philosophers, and theologians to join together in instruction of students with respect to the grave harm associated with environmental degradation (p. 143) because science is not enough (p. 144). Environmental literacy is needed to achieve the chemistry and respect which involves "Prudence" (essays 39–46) and "Civility" (essays 47–52) among and within groups.
"Education" (essays 53–66) is an essential component in the solution. Involved is more than instruction. Namely, extended conversations among concerned individuals from various fields and specialities are required to address pending environmental/social issues (p. 227). If each discipline insists on protecting their turf the future is bleak. To facilitate conversations will require a mutual respect and accumulation of new information for intellectual maturation. Meaningful discussion requires avoidance of dogma. Essay 61 describing the summer 1948 meeting of the Lenin Academy of Agricultural Sciences and its implications on genetics is especially cogent to readers of this journal. As one who recently was in Russia, the deleterious effects of "genetic" dogma from more than half a century ago are still evident in animal agriculture.
Of the issues covered in essays 67–108, some are anecdotal and humorous, others are serious, and all are informative. One describing 31-hour days (essay 85) and another suggesting that every month begin on Sunday (essay 94) very cleverly break the mold and demonstrate Wallace's fertile mind and the way he looks at things. Although diverse, this group of essays has a common thread and demonstrates why the mold must be broken. Solutions are exceedingly complex and require philosophical changes at the individual, community, national, and international levels. Wallace has produced a sobering volume that should be required reading in an era of overpopulation in a world with finite resources. Environmental literacy is lacking and the clock is ticking.
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