The wizard and the prophet : two remarkable scientists and their dueling visions to shape tomorrow's world Cover Image

Book

The wizard and the prophet : two remarkable scientists and their dueling visions to shape tomorrow's world / Charles C. Mann.

Summary:

Presents two influential scientists, William Vogt (1902-1968), and Norman Borlaug (1914-2009), whose diametrically opposed views shaped modern understandings about the environment and related public policies.

In forty years, Earth's population will reach ten billion. Can our world support that? What kind of world will it be? Those answering these questions generally fall into two deeply divided groups--Wizards and Prophets, as Charles Mann calls them in this balanced, authoritative, nonpolemical new book. The Prophets, he explains, follow William Vogt, a founding environmentalist who believed that in using more than our planet has to give, our prosperity will lead us to ruin. Cut back! was his mantra. Otherwise everyone will lose! The Wizards are the heirs of Norman Borlaug, whose research, in effect, wrangled the world in service to our species to produce modern high-yield crops that then saved millions from starvation. Innovate! was Borlaug's cry. Only in that way can everyone win! Mann delves into these diverging viewpoints to assess the four great challenges humanity faces--food, water, energy, climate change--grounding each in historical context and weighing the options for the future. With our civilization on the line, the author's insightful analysis is an essential addition to the urgent conversation about how our children will fare on an increasingly crowded Earth.--AMAZON.

Record details

ISBN: 9780307961693
ISBN: 0307961699
Physical Description: x, 616 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2018.
Copyright: ©2018

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 479-584) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Machine generated contents note: ONE LAW -- 1. State of the Species -- TWO MEN -- 2. Prophet -- 3. Wizard -- FOUR ELEMENTS -- 4. V Earth: Food -- 5. V Water: Freshwater -- 6. Fire: Energy -- 7. Air: Climate Change -- TWO MEN -- 8. Prophet -- 9. Wizard -- ONE FUTURE -- 10. Edge of the Petri Dish.