Ebook: The Big Ratchet: How Humanity Thrives in the Face of Natural Crisis

A MacArthur Genius and eminent scientist shows how an ordinary mammal manipulated nature to become a technologically sophisticated city-dweller and why our history points to an optimistic future in the face of environmental crisis.;Prologue; 1: A Bird's-Eye View; Civilization's Engine; The Irish Pivot; The Length of the Lens; 2: Planetary Beginnings; Real Estate in the Cosmos; What Goes Around Comes Around; Time to Fill the Pantry; 3: Enter Human Ingenuity; From Genes to Ingenuity; Tools, Fire, and Words; Forager to Farmer; 4: Conundrums of Settled Life; The Great Irony; Bottleneck from Below; Life from Rivers; Another Conundrum; Ancient China Sidesteps the Bottlenecks; Europe Ratchets Up; 5: Ratchets from Afar; Boobies and Cormorants; Sun-Powered Cargo; Traveling Water; 6: Smash Open the Bottlenecks.