ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book addresses the notion that our environmental problems are due to Western culture, and that our ancestors and people in indigenous societies live in harmony with nature until the corrupting influences of Western culture. It describes the conservation of common-pool or open-access natural resources, such as fisheries, forests, grazing lands, freshwater, and clean air. The book aims to understand the evolution of environmental aesthetics, which should help to explain why people cherish nature as well as destroy it. It discusses how increasing the integration between the biological and social sciences is improving our understanding of how we are altering our environment—and how these changes also affect us. The book also addresses the problem of explaining why people are so ecologically shortsighted, and why people in developed countries consume so many resources.
