Macroshift : navigating the transformation to a sustainable world / / Ervin Laszlo ; foreword by Arthur C. Clarke

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910958627403321
• Autore: Laszlo Ervin <1932->
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: San Francisco, : Berrett-Koehler Publishers, c2001
• ISBN: 1-283-26843-4; 9786613268433; 1-57675-178-3
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (252 p.)
• Altri autori (Persone): ClarkeArthur C <1917-2008.> (Arthur Charles)
• Disciplina: 306.3
• Soggetti: Sustainable development - Mathematical models; Globalization
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: "The official report of the Club of Budapest."
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. [195]-198) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: pt. 1. World in macroshift -- pt. 2. The new imperatives -- pt. 3. The way ahead.
• Sommario/riassunto: We live in the midst of one of the greatest technological revolutions in history, an era of deep-seated transformation-a macroshift in civilization, says preeminent scholar and futurist Ervin Laszlo. Its signs and manifestations are all around us, from the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic sweeping Africa and the dangerous fire-trap sweatshops routinely killing workers in Bangladesh, to the environmental havoc created by genetic engineering, power plant pollution and mechanized agriculture. The application of new technologies has turned into a double-edged sword. The world is growing together in some respects, but is coming apart in others. Worldwide economic globalization, another sign of the macroshift, all too often benefits the few rather than the many. Hundreds of millions live at a higher material standard of living, but thousands of millions are pressed into abject poverty. The richest 20% earn ninety times the income of the poorest 20%, consume eleven times as much energy, and eat eleven times as much meat. There have been other macroshifts in human history, but they spanned centuries, allowing cultural values, beliefs, and change to occur gradually. Today, technology has reduced our time to adapt; the entire ; critical period of change is compressed into the lifetime of a generation. Today's macroshift, explains Laszlo, harbors great promise, as well as grave danger. He outlines two possible scenarios: "The Breakdown," where we choose to drift without a change in our current direction toward chaos, anarchy, and destruction, or "The Breakthrough," where we collectively transform our thinking and behavior to produce creative, sustainable solutions to dangerous global problems. And he shows what each of us can do-politically, professionally, and privately-to bring about the Breakthrough and shape a humane and sustainable global future. While technology is what drives the unprecedented speed of this macroshift, it is our vision, values, and actions now that will ultimately determine the outcome. The choice is up to us-the power is in our hands.

Protein Machines, Technology, and the Nature of the Future / / by Wyatt Galusky

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910585773003321
• Autore: Galusky Wyatt
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2022
• ISBN: 9783031087172; 9783031087165
• Edizione: [1st ed. 2022.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (159 pages)
• Disciplina: 590; 636.0883
• Soggetti: Technology - Philosophy; Philosophy of nature; Animal welfare - Moral and ethical aspects; Human ecology - Study and teaching; Philosophy of Technology; Philosophy of Nature; Animal Ethics; Environmental Studies
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: 1. An Introduction: Protein Machines with Flaws -- Two Contests/Two Chickens -- The Science of Speculation: Two Futures -- Bibliography -- 2. A Chicken, Part I -- Configuring “Tomorrow” (The Factory) -- Creating a Protein Machine… -- …with Flaws -- Bibliography -- 3. An Interval: A Chicken, Ramona -- 4. A Chicken, Part II -- Configuring Tomorrow (The Laboratory) -- Creating a Protein Machine… -- …with Flaws? -- Bibliography -- 5. A Future, Part I -- A Century of Science Fact and Fiction -- Bibliography -- 6. Another Interval: A Fox, Two Chickens -- 7: A Future, Part II -- Thinking Through Technology -- The Future as a Collective Project -- Technological Change -- Technologies and/as Responsibilities -- The Future as a Laboratory -- Bibliography -- 8. A Conclusion: Protein Machines, the Human Kind -- We Have Changed -- We Will Change -- We Can Change -- Bibliography -- Index.
• Sommario/riassunto: "Debates over the place of meat in our food system are proliferating. It’s rare to find treatments that provide even-handed views of their moral and environmental character, and even harder when you consider the thorny technological dimensions. Galusky’s work is that rare book. It’s a brute force and mature contribution, asking readers to reconsider our relationships to animals as we confront the futures we want and find ways to sustain the present we inhabit." —Benjamin R. Cohen, Associate Professor and Chair, Engineering Studies, Lafayette College, USA "This book is a deep yet accessible analysis of how 'chicken of tomorrow' campaigns of past decades led to the industrial meat production system of today. Chickens and other animals were engineered to serve our meals, but Galusky shows how humans have also been transformed in the process, pointing to our responsibility for developing a more ethical and just relationship. This book provokes essential questions andconversations for our shared interspecies future." —Christopher Henke, Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies, Colgate University, USA This book explores the relationships between humans, chickens, and environments in the context of protein production. The history of these relationships reveals them to be increasingly technological, which results in humans becoming more responsible for those animals and their environments. Understanding this development through the configuration of various kinds of protein machines is key to confronting the kinds of future we wish to promote, and the characteristics of the present we wish to sustain. The book is organized around narratives that explore the concept of the protein machine, with a particular focus on the development of the chicken as it has moved from the field to the factory to the laboratory. These transformations are interconnected, and culminate in efforts to cultivate meat without the animal. Our ultimate goal will be to ask what kind of future does this technology envision, and what roles do humans and animals play in it? Wyatt Galusky is Professor of Humanities, and the Coordinator of the Science, Technology, & Society program, at SUNY Morrisville. His research interests include animals in agriculture and public engagement with science and technology.