The discovery of the Americas around AD 1500 was an extraordinary
watershed in human experience. It gave rise to the modern period of
human ecology, a phenomenon global in scope that set in motion profound
changes in almost every society on Earth. This new period, which saw the
depletion of the lands of the New World, proved tragic for some,
triumphant for others, and powerfully affecting for all.
In this work, acclaimed environmental historian Donald Worster takes a
global view in his examination of the ways in which complex issues of
worldwide abundance and scarcity have shaped American society and
behavior over three centuries. Looking at the limits nature imposes on
human ambitions, he questions whether America today is in the midst of a
shift from a culture of abundance to a culture of limits--and whether
American consumption has become reliant on the Global South. Worster
engages with key political, economic, and environmental thinkers while
presenting his own interpretation of the roles of capitalism and
government in issues of wealth, abundance, and scarcity. Acknowledging
the Earth's agency throughout human history, Shrinking the Earth
offers a compelling explanation of how we have arrived where we are and
a hopeful way forward on a planet that is no longer as large as it once
was.
