{"product_id":"the-big-ratchet-ruth-defries-9780465044979","title":"The Big Ratchet: How Humanity Thrives in the Face of Natural Crisis","description":"\u003cb\u003eHow an ordinary mammal manipulated nature to become technologically sophisticated city-dwellers -- and why our history points to an optimistic future in the face of environmental crisis\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Our species long lived on the edge of starvation. Now we produce enough food for all 7 billion of us to eat nearly 3,000 calories every day. This is such an astonishing thing in the history of life as to verge on the miraculous. \u003ci\u003eThe Big Ratchet\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of how it happened, of the ratchets -- the technologies and innovations, big and small -- that propelled our species from hunters and gatherers on the savannahs of Africa to shoppers in the aisles of the supermarket. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Big Ratchet\u003c\/i\u003e itself came in the twentieth century, when a range of technologies -- from fossil fuels to scientific plant breeding to nitrogen fertilizers -- combined to nearly quadruple our population in a century, and to grow our food supply even faster. To some, these technologies are a sign of our greatness; to others, of our hubris. MacArthur fellow and Columbia University professor Ruth DeFries argues that the debate is the wrong one to have. Limits do exist, but every limit that has confronted us, we have surpassed. That cycle of crisis and growth is the story of our history; indeed, it is the essence of \u003ci\u003eThe Big Ratchet\u003c\/i\u003e. Understanding it will reveal not just how we reached this point in our history, but how we might survive it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ruth Defries\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0465044972\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780465044979\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Basic Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/09\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.30w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/30\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2015 pg. 1171","brand":"Ruth Defries","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43980955123967,"sku":"9780465044979","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_49618119-b4a0-4220-8f83-2c0e26d92f96.jpg?v=1683252868","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-big-ratchet-ruth-defries-9780465044979","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}