Arming Mother Nature: The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism

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Arming Mother Nature: The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism
Arming Mother Nature The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism.jpg
Author Jacob Darwin Hamblin
LanguageEnglish
Subject Environmentalism; Environmental sciences; Military planning
Publisher Oxford University Press
Publication date
2013
Pagesx+298
ISBN 978-0-19-974005-5
OCLC 960833512
363.340973
LC Class GE180.H352013
Website Oxford University Press
U. S. Library of Congress catalog

Arming Mother Nature is a 2013 non-fiction book by Jacob Darwin Hamblin, [1] a history professor at Oregon State University. His book argues that The Pentagon and its military planning for WW III promoted "catastrophic environmentalism" by funding environmental science in the Cold War after WW II. The Pentagon planners were interested in the various ways in which natural processes could be harnessed to kill millions of people and/or destroy the agricultural, or other, sectors of the economies of enemy nations. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Reception

According to Professor Gregg Mitman of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Hamblin's book gives a compelling account of how military thinking about WW III and military sources of money supported the scientific study, monitoring, and diplomacy of planet Earth's environment. Mitman particularly commends how a book chapter reveals connections between Charles Elton's research on invasive species and military planners' concerns about agriculture and national security. [5] Reviews indicate that Arming Mother Nature is well-documented [6] and well-written. [7]

Awards

The book won the 2014 Paul Birdsall Prize from the American Historical Association and the 2016 Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize from the History of Science Society. [8]

See also

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Jacob Darwin Hamblin is an American professor of history, specializing in international aspects of science, technology, and the global environment. His 2013 book Arming Mother Nature: The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism won two prestigious awards: the 2014 Paul Birdsall Prize and the 2016 Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize.

References

  1. Hamblin, Jacob Darwin (23 May 2013). Arming Mother Nature: The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism. Oup USA. ISBN   978-0-19-974005-5.
  2. "Review of Arming Mother Nature: The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism by Jacob Darwin Hamblin". Publishers Weekly. May 27, 2013.
  3. Pearce, Fred (10 June 2013). ""How the Cold War Spawned the Environmental Movement" (review of Arming Mother Nature)". New Scientist.
  4. Rothbard, Sarah (1 May 2013). "The Six Point Inspection: New Books on Spam, Violence, and "Catastrophic Environmentalism" (3 brief book reviews, including one for Arming Mother Nature)". Slate and Zocalo Public Square.
  5. Mitman, Gregg (9 August 2013). ""The End Times of Cold War Ecology" (review of Arming Mother Nature)". Science. 341 (6146): 614–615. doi:10.1126/science.1241257. S2CID   153661540.
  6. Whitford, Ben (19 August 2013). "What Greens Can Learn from Dr. Strangelove (review of Arming Mother Nature)". The Ecologist.
  7. "Review of Arming Mother Nature". Kirkus Reviews. May 7, 2013.
  8. "Curriculum Vitae. Jacob Darwin Hamblin, Professor of History" (PDF). Liberal Arts, Oregon State University. (with publication list)