[onlooker]

To better understand the horrendous predicament humanity is in I recommem these two books by William Catton "Bottleneck : Humanity's Impending Impasse: Humanity's Impending Impasse" and ", Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change, "

[Tanada]

How about links to the books and actual reviewing the books instead of just throwing out the title and author and telling people they should read them?

[onlooker]

I think Pstarr captured the essence of the books quite well
Here is an additional summary:
Bottleneck: Humanity’s Impending Impasse was written to show how and why three converging trends have put humankind in much deeper peril than is generally acknowledged. First, there are many more of us inhabiting this planet than it can sustain. Second, technological advances of recent centuries have made gigantic and prodigal our per capita resource appetites and our per capita environmental impacts. Third, even though, as the symbol-using species, we humans conceivably could do better at anticipating future circumstances and planning ahead, our evolutionary heritage together with unanticipated dysfunctions of modern division of labor have kept us too preoccupied with short-term concerns. People today are dependent upon a fantastically intricate web of exchange relations (“the market”). Even when functioning normally—and not in a collapsed condition, as currently—this system of relations has a serious and pervasive dehumanizing effect not adequately discerned by economists nor sociologists. Recognition of and adequate adaptation to the deteriorating ecological context of human life has been impeded. Human societies (even our own) are almost certainly going to act in ways that will make an inevitably difficult future unnecessarily worse. Factors analyzed in this book have made people seriously averse to the kind and extent of cooperation our difficult future will require. Together with the basic trio of disturbing trends—humans having become so numerous, so ravenous, and so short-sighted—this has made the nature of today’s human prospect far more dire than most policymakers dare admit. It tempts even the wisest and most civic-minded to seek or promote “remedial” policies that will worsen the real predicament.]

Catton believed that industrial civilization had sown the seeds of its own demise and that humanity’s seeming dominance of the biosphere is only a prelude to decline.

[AdamB]

To better understand the horrendous predicament humanity is in I recommem these two books by William Catton "Bottleneck : Humanity's Impending Impasse: Humanity's Impending Impasse" and ", Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change, "

Indeed. Catton's "Overshoot" does a wonderful job of detailing all the past times humans have changed the carrying capacity of their environment. However, if you also watch video interviews of him, you can see his disdain for immigrants as well. He claims to have been repulsed at an early age by the sight of brown folks who he felt didn't belong at Crater Lake or perhaps it was Rainier or Hood, and this anti immigrant stance then flows over into his rationalization for what are now known as quite Trump-like attitudes towards furrin'ers. He also mentions their breeding rate, as compared to fine white folks such as..well...himself.

I didn't find any reference in his video interviews of Overshoot where he recognized that he himself was the illegal immigrant, and if the Natives scalped him in his sleep, it would completely reasonable considering what fine white folks had done to them when they illegally immigrated and stole the land from the natives.

His videos didn't appear to contain anything over the top skinheadish, but his argument is basically the same. His beautiful PacNW, ruined by all those Mexican speaking brown skilled furrin'ers.

[onlooker]

I think you do a disservice if you focus solely on whatever bigoted attitudes he might have had . He wrote these books employing impressive ecological knowledge. And the main points clearly are that we have become too numerous, too ravenous and too short sighted as a species and that is leading to a bottleneck impasse as per the title of one of his books. Bottleneck=die off

[jedrider]

Someone asked me if I thought we should get rid of 90% of the population and I told them that it wouldn't make a difference as 10% of the population consumes 90% of the resources. I'm sure Catton realized the danger of both categories of OVERSHOOT.

I read his overshoot book and I don't recall any racism inherent as it was a very matter of fact book, actually not that difficult to comprehend with the stark language used. For instance, 'die-off' doesn't have too many interpretations.

[AdamB]

I think you do a disservice if you focus solely on whatever bigoted attitudes he might have had .

MIGHT have had? As of January 2017 he is still on the anti-immigrant website board of directors. You figure that means he has changed his mind, hanging around with all his Trump voting friends?

He wrote these books employing impressive ecological knowledge.

And an impressive list of all the times humans have changed their own carrying capacity. Sort of refuting his own conclusions along the way, but no one said that an ecologist is required to be logical or mathematically oriented...they just need to tell some good stories.

And the main points clearly are that we have become too numerous, too ravenous and too short sighted as a species and that is leading to a bottleneck impasse as per the title of one of his books. Bottleneck=die off

He certainly does hope people dieoff...particular them brown invaders of his homeland. Well, his homeland now, his ancestors having taken it from said brown people.

[AdamB]

So according to adamb, Catton's alleged statements, in an alleged video point, suggest an alleged racism.

Well, those facts and his currently being on the board of directors of anti-brown people websites. As of January 2017. Do some research Pete, it isn't like he hid any of this.

[onlooker]

So according to adamb, Catton's alleged statements, in an alleged video point, suggest an alleged racism.

Well, those facts and his currently being on the board of directors of anti-brown people websites. As of January 2017. Do some research Pete, it isn't like he hid any of this.

William Robert Catton, Jr. was an American sociologist best known for his scholarly work in environmental sociology and human ecology. His intellectual approach is broad and interdisciplinary. Wikipedia
Born: January 15, 1926, Minneapolis, MN
Died: January 5, 2015, New Zealand

[AdamB]

So according to adamb, Catton's alleged statements, in an alleged video point, suggest an alleged racism.

Well, those facts and his currently being on the board of directors of anti-brown people websites. As of January 2017. Do some research Pete, it isn't like he hid any of this.

William Robert Catton, Jr. was an American sociologist best known for his scholarly work in environmental sociology and human ecology. His intellectual approach is broad and interdisciplinary. Wikipedia
Born: January 15, 1926, Minneapolis, MN
Died: January 5, 2015, New Zealand

So..you are implying that having him on the board of directors of anti-immigration/illegal websites is perhaps faux news? He allowed his name to be used even after death to lend scientific credibility to closet skinhead organizations? Talk about a true believer, no wonder we have to cast a jaundiced eye on his conclusions, knowing his motivations were this strong, to continue even after his demise. Makes perfect sense as well, the skinhead organizations are also fans of dieoff and being outbred by brown people. He just put the official stamp of science on those ideas I guess. Sort of like the work of William Shockley?