dominion over nature, and the remake of the earth's natural systems, and all the assumptions that brought us here will not get us out. This is a must-read for anyone seeking realistic pathways forward, rather than more of the same.JERRY MANDER Founder of the International Forum on Globalization, program director at the Foundation for Deep Ecology, and author of influential books on the social, cultural, and environmental effects of mega-technologies.It has frequently been proclaimed, especially by certain economists, that our problems--whether economic, environmental, social, or political--can be resolved by technological wizardry. Julian Simon, an extreme proponent of this view, urged us to ignore the warnings of environmentalists, and to stride towards a shining new future created by technologies. For the most part, techno-optimists have been simply misinformed and stand in urgent need of some extensive homework on the issue. All the more welcome, then, is this first-rate book. If only it could have emerged sooner, it might have saved us much trouble and much money.NORMAN MYERS British professor and fellow at Oxford University, member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the World Academy of Art and Science, and the Royal Society of Arts, advisor on environmental issues to the United Nations, the World Bank as well as to scientific academies and various governments worldwide. In 1997, he was appointed by HRH Queen Elizabeth II to be a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George for "services to the global environment."Believers in unending growth argue that technology can overcome any environmental penalties of growth. This is the most detailed scholarly rebuttal of that view that I have seen. The Huesemanns systematically take on the pro-growth arguments, and their rebuttals are persuasive. Indeed, I would suggest that, in meeting the technophiles on their own turf, the Huesemanns may be too gentle. The formula Impact=Population X Affluence (or Consumption) X Technology was originated by environmentalists, but it has been adopted by technophiles because it equates technology with population as equal determinants of the environmental impact of growth and change. The problem is that: (1) It assumes a linear relationship among the variables, while the real world is non-linear, marked by thresholds of damage and changing impacts as the scale changes. (2) The range of impacts of the three variables is dramatically different. Population change affects most biological, social and economic interactions, whereas a given technological change by itself influences a much narrower band, and the net impact of technological change as a whole is incalculable. Even using the original formula whose assumptions could be made considerably stronger, the book successfully refutes the belief that technology is a cure for growth. The authors write from broad practical and academic qualifications. The book is also valuable in offering, not just the authors' views, but the viewpoints of many well-known writers on population change and its consequences. That in itself should make it valuable as a textbook for courses on population, environment or resources -- indeed for courses in current history, which too often ignore those critical determinants of our future. Teachers in all