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The Resource Arming Mother Nature : the birth of catastrophic environmentalism, Jacob Darwin Hamblin

Arming Mother Nature : the birth of catastrophic environmentalism, Jacob Darwin Hamblin

Creator
Summary
When most Americans think of environmentalism, they think of the political left, of vegans dressed in organic-hemp fabric, lofting protest signs. In reality, writes Jacob Darwin Hamblin, the movement - and its dire predictions - owe more to the Pentagon than the counterculture. In Arming Mother Nature, Hamblin argues that military planning for World War III essentially created "catastrophic environmentalism": the idea that human activity might cause global natural disasters. This awareness, Hamblin shows, emerged out of dark ambitions, as governments poured funds into environmental science after World War II, searching for ways to harness natural processes--to kill millions of people. Proposals included the use of nuclear weapons to create artificial tsunamis or melt the ice caps to drown coastal cities; setting fire to vast expanses of vegetation; and changing local climates. Oxford botanists advised British generals on how to destroy enemy crops during the war in Malaya; American scientists attempted to alter the weather in Vietnam. This work raised questions that went beyond the goal of weaponizing nature. By the 1980s, the C.I.A. was studying the likely effects of global warming on Soviet harvests. "Perhaps one of the surprises of this book is not how little was known about environmental change, but rather how much," Hamblin writes. Driven initially by strategic imperatives, Cold War scientists learned to think globally and to grasp humanity's power to alter the environment. "We know how we can modify the ionosphere," nuclear physicist Edward Teller proudly stated. "We have already done it." Teller never repented. But many of the same individuals and institutions that helped the Pentagon later warned of global warming and other potential disasters. Brilliantly argued and deeply researched, Arming Mother Nature changes our understanding of the history of the Cold War and the birth of modern environmental science. -- Book jacket
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
x, 298 pages
Contents
  • Introduction: Total War and Catastrophic Environmentalism
  • Part One. Pathways of Nature
  • The Natural Vulnerability of Civilizations
  • Bacteria, Radiation, and Crop Destruction in War Planning
  • Ecological Invasions and Convulsions
  • Part Two. Forces of Nature
  • Earth Under Surveillance
  • Acts of God and Acts of Man
  • Wildcat Ideas for Environmental Warfare
  • Part Three. Gatekeepers of Nature
  • The Doomsday Men
  • Vietnam and the Seeds of Destruction
  • The Terroristic Science of Environmental Modification
  • Adjustment or Extinction
  • Conclusion: The Miracle of Survival
Isbn
9780199740055
Instance
Label
Arming Mother Nature : the birth of catastrophic environmentalism
Title
Arming Mother Nature
Title remainder
the birth of catastrophic environmentalism
Statement of responsibility
Jacob Darwin Hamblin
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
When most Americans think of environmentalism, they think of the political left, of vegans dressed in organic-hemp fabric, lofting protest signs. In reality, writes Jacob Darwin Hamblin, the movement - and its dire predictions - owe more to the Pentagon than the counterculture. In Arming Mother Nature, Hamblin argues that military planning for World War III essentially created "catastrophic environmentalism": the idea that human activity might cause global natural disasters. This awareness, Hamblin shows, emerged out of dark ambitions, as governments poured funds into environmental science after World War II, searching for ways to harness natural processes--to kill millions of people. Proposals included the use of nuclear weapons to create artificial tsunamis or melt the ice caps to drown coastal cities; setting fire to vast expanses of vegetation; and changing local climates. Oxford botanists advised British generals on how to destroy enemy crops during the war in Malaya; American scientists attempted to alter the weather in Vietnam. This work raised questions that went beyond the goal of weaponizing nature. By the 1980s, the C.I.A. was studying the likely effects of global warming on Soviet harvests. "Perhaps one of the surprises of this book is not how little was known about environmental change, but rather how much," Hamblin writes. Driven initially by strategic imperatives, Cold War scientists learned to think globally and to grasp humanity's power to alter the environment. "We know how we can modify the ionosphere," nuclear physicist Edward Teller proudly stated. "We have already done it." Teller never repented. But many of the same individuals and institutions that helped the Pentagon later warned of global warming and other potential disasters. Brilliantly argued and deeply researched, Arming Mother Nature changes our understanding of the history of the Cold War and the birth of modern environmental science. -- Book jacket
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Hamblin, Jacob Darwin
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Environmental policy
  • Environmentalism
  • Environmental sciences
  • Disasters
  • War
  • Military planning
  • United States
  • Cold War
  • Nature
  • Global environmental change
  • United States
  • Environnement
  • Environnementalisme
  • Sciences de l'environnement
  • Catastrophes
  • Guerre
  • Planification militaire
  • Guerre froide
  • Homme
  • Changement global (Environnement)
  • Society
  • Disasters
  • Environmental policy
  • Environmentalism
  • Global environmental change
  • Military planning
  • Military policy
  • Nature
  • War
  • United States
  • Estats Units d'Amèrica
  • Catàstrofes
  • Home
  • Escalfament global
  • Medi ambient
  • Environmental policy
  • Environmentalism
  • Environmental sciences
  • Disasters
  • War
  • Military planning
  • Cold War
  • Nature
  • Global environmental change
  • United States
  • Krig
  • Kemisk krigföring
  • Biologisk krigföring
  • Miljöpolitik
  • Miljörörelser
  • Miljövetenskap
  • Katastrofer
  • Kalla kriget
Label
Arming Mother Nature : the birth of catastrophic environmentalism, Jacob Darwin Hamblin
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-286) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction: Total War and Catastrophic Environmentalism -- Part One. Pathways of Nature -- The Natural Vulnerability of Civilizations -- Bacteria, Radiation, and Crop Destruction in War Planning -- Ecological Invasions and Convulsions -- Part Two. Forces of Nature -- Earth Under Surveillance -- Acts of God and Acts of Man -- Wildcat Ideas for Environmental Warfare -- Part Three. Gatekeepers of Nature -- The Doomsday Men -- Vietnam and the Seeds of Destruction -- The Terroristic Science of Environmental Modification -- Adjustment or Extinction -- Conclusion: The Miracle of Survival
Control code
795177476
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
x, 298 pages
Isbn
9780199740055
Lccn
2012045618
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Note
WorldCat record variable field(s) change: 650, 651
System control number
(OCoLC)795177476
Label
Arming Mother Nature : the birth of catastrophic environmentalism, Jacob Darwin Hamblin
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-286) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction: Total War and Catastrophic Environmentalism -- Part One. Pathways of Nature -- The Natural Vulnerability of Civilizations -- Bacteria, Radiation, and Crop Destruction in War Planning -- Ecological Invasions and Convulsions -- Part Two. Forces of Nature -- Earth Under Surveillance -- Acts of God and Acts of Man -- Wildcat Ideas for Environmental Warfare -- Part Three. Gatekeepers of Nature -- The Doomsday Men -- Vietnam and the Seeds of Destruction -- The Terroristic Science of Environmental Modification -- Adjustment or Extinction -- Conclusion: The Miracle of Survival
Control code
795177476
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
x, 298 pages
Isbn
9780199740055
Lccn
2012045618
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Note
WorldCat record variable field(s) change: 650, 651
System control number
(OCoLC)795177476

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Genre

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