The Vanishing of a Species? A Look at Modern Man’s Predicament by a Geologist
by Peter Gretener. Qualitas. 2010. 280 pages. $19.95.
In the 1970s, geologist Peter Gretener believed strongly that the human race would go extinct if it did not dramatically readjust its ways of living. He wrote a manuscript explaining why, but he died before he could publish it.
In 2009, his son, Nick Gretener, discovered the manuscript and found that “much of what had been put down some 30 years ago rings as true today as when it was written, perhaps even more so given the current economic turmoil.”
Nick Gretener had the text published as The Vanishing of a Species. His father’s words—untouched except for obligatory proofreading corrections and occasional editorial notes—implore the human race to reassess its actual needs and scale back its expectations accordingly. The author cautions that permanent economic growth is impossible, that pursuit of happiness via material gain guarantees disappointment, and that the planet will not support our continued trajectory of population expansion. True prosperity necessitates that we flourish within our planet’s ecological limits.
The Vanishing of a Species is a valuable look both backwards and forwards—the challenges the world faced in the twentieth century, and the challenges it still faces today. Historians and futurists both may find much to like.
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