ABSTRACT
Chapter Outline: Section 1.1 provides a quick review of evolutionary theory, which is necessary for understanding both the life sciences and environmental ethics. The focus is on how evolution creates value. The chapter’s central section (1.2) summarizes six great issues, all of which will occupy us later in the book: pollution, human health, climate change, natural resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and human population and consumption. All are considered in long-term global perspective. These problems can be disheartening, but they can also be exaggerated, so the chapter concludes (section 1.3) with a brief reflection on what we don’t need to worry about.
