Nature Wars: People vs. Pests - Softcover

Winston, Mark L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 067460542X ISBN 13: 9780674605428

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1999

Synopsis

On our side, a vast arsenal of chemical pesticides. On their side? They don't have a side, the pests who must do nature's bidding. This is our war, and should we win it, ours would be a sorry planet. With disturbing news from the front, Nature Wars sounds the alarm against our dangerous tactics for controlling the pests that are an annoying but integral part of our world. Thirty years after Silent Spring woke us to the devastation wrought by DDT, chemical pesticides are as pervasive as ever, deployed at a rate of 4 pounds a year for every man, woman, and child in this country. This ongoing commitment to pesticides, Mark Winston argues, reflects our sense of place in nature: embattled, beleaguered, driven to aggression. His book, as sensible as it is wise, seeks to change this mindset, to show how a more measured and discriminating approach to pests, one based on management rather than eradication, might serve us and the natural world far better than our ill-fated all-out war. Winston backs up this approach with a full battery of case studies that take us from lawns and kitchens to farms and orchards, from insects and weeds to rats and coyotes. Here we see the complex political, biological, economic, social, and personal interactions that lie behind each pest management decision. Against this background Winston considers diverse instances of past pest management that reveal a consistent pattern of mistakes and problems-and lead to realistic, workable proposals for reducing pesticide use. A compelling book about ethics and choices, Nature Wars shows us the difference between protecting ourselves from real pests and poisoning ourselves and the planet. It turns us from our war on nature to our task as stewards of the environment.

About this title

Review:

Humans continue to deploy weapons of mass destruction against other creatures of this planet, namely the insects and bugs that consume our crops. No matter what we do, we seem unable to eradicate them, and there are now those who believe that this fifty-year onslaught is beginning to rebound on us. Mark Winston, author of Nature Wars, is one of them. His book is...interesting...a good historical approach to the subject...[and] makes fascinating and well-balanced reading.--John Emsley "Times Literary Supplement "

A highly readable history of pest control, from chemical sprays to genetically altered plants.--Chicago Tribune

Nature Wars is an effective primer for the general reader on our struggles against insects and other pests... In an articulate and accessible writing style, Winston explains the pesticide dilemma, the threat that our reliance on synthetic pesticides poses both to human health and safety and to the preservation of what is left of the natural environment... Winston's discussion of these controversial issues, and the conflict between humans and pests, will be helpful to anyone who hopes to develop an informed opinion about our continuing war with nature.--Lawrence M. Hanks "Nature "

Winston...brings an unusually reasonable and compassionate voice to a debate usually swarming with harangues... Winston understands the impulse [to turn to powerful chemicals to control pests], but he also understands that the consequences can be harmful and surprising... Nature Wars leaves room for hope by setting an example of reasonableness... He cuts through hysteria, spotlighting the real threats of genetically engineered plants...[and] recommends tolerance toward the roach... If people would only listen to voices like Winston's, our world would be safer for organisms in their natural places--and even for pests like us.--Polly Shulman "Discover "

In this well-written, up-to-date account of the history of pest-control technology, Mark Winston describes how successful alternative methods can be... If we are to realise the goal of controlling pests without poisoning ourselves or the wildlife around us, we need to match their evolutionary adaptability with ingenuity in a diversity of control measures.--Phil Gates "BBC Wildlife "

With a gift for turning the arcane into amusing prose, Winston explains how natural pheromones, sterilization strategies, and insect predators are better alternatives for pest control.--Science News

Winston is probing and thoughtful, whether he is exploring what he contends was an unwarranted public outcry over a 1992 spraying in Vancouver of the biological control Bacillus thuringiensis to thwart a gypsy-moth invasion, or the likelihood that the public will view as a failure the ongoing effort in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia to stop the spread of codling moths (an apple pest) by releasing sterile male moths.--Robert Braile "Boston Globe "

[An] erudite and fascinating book... Before telling some very good tales about multiplying moths, gnawing rates and invading coyotes, Winston sets down a few key economic facts... [And] the lesson here, says Winston, reads like a Greek tragedy: The more modern agriculture removes biodiversity from the land, the more susceptible it becomes to pests, which ultimately means more pesticides. This deadly cycle explains why the promise of biological controls of the use of natural predators has remained just that, a promise.--Andrew Nikiforuk "Globe and Mail "

Mark Winston's study of pest-control regimes and his conclusion that we should go easier on pests...is a compelling argument and certainly lively.--Michael McCarthy "The Independent "

If the dangers are well known and legislators are prepared to regulate the release of chemicals into the environment, is there still a problem? Mark Winston, in his book Nature Wars, firmly believes there is... I recommend it to all those concerned with green issues, be they scientist, student or layman.--Graham Elmes "Times Higher Education Supplement "

Synopsis:

The aim of this book is to sound the alarm against dangerous tactics for controlling the pests that are an annoying but integral part of our world. Over 30 years after the devastation wrought by DDT, chemical pesticides are as pervasive as ever. The author argues that this ongoing commitment to pesticides reflects our sense of place in nature: embattled, beleaguered and driven to aggression. Here he seeks to show how a more measured and discriminating approach to pests, one based on management rather than obliteration, might serve us and the natural world much better. Case studies are used and take the reader from lawns and kitchens to farms and orchards, from insects and weeds to rats and coyotes. These show the complex political, biological, economic, social and personal interactions that lie behind each pest management decision. The diverse instances of pest management are considered, and reveal a consistent pattern of mistakes and problems. The author uses these to lead to a realistic, workable proposal for reducing pesticide use.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 067460542X
• ISBN 13: 9780674605428
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 222