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The Resource Growth : from microorganisms to megacities, Vaclav Smil

Growth : from microorganisms to megacities, Vaclav Smil

Creator
Author
Summary
"Growth has been both an unspoken and an explicit aim of our individual and collective striving. It governs the lives of microorganisms and galaxies; it shapes the capabilities of our extraordinarily large brains and the fortunes of our economies. Growth is manifested in annual increments of continental crust, a rising gross domestic product, a child's growth chart, the spread of cancerous cells. In this magisterial book, Vaclav Smil offers systematic investigation of growth in nature and society, from tiny organisms to the trajectories of empires and civilizations. Smil takes readers from bacterial invasions through animal metabolisms to megacities and the global economy. He begins with organisms whose mature sizes range from microscopic to enormous, looking at disease-causing microbes, the cultivation of staple crops, and human growth from infancy to adulthood. He examines the growth of energy conversions and man-made objects that enable economic activities--developments that have been essential to civilization. Finally, he looks at growth in complex systems, beginning with the growth of human populations and proceeding to the growth of cities. He considers the challenges of tracing the growth of empires and civilizations, explaining that we can chart the growth of organisms across individual and evolutionary time, but that the progress of societies and economies, not so linear, encompasses both decline and renewal. The trajectory of modern civilization, driven by competing imperatives of material growth and biospheric limits, Smil tells us, remains uncertain." --
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xxv, 634 pages
Isbn
9780262042833
Instance
Label
Growth : from microorganisms to megacities
Title
Growth
Title remainder
from microorganisms to megacities
Statement of responsibility
Vaclav Smil
Creator
Author
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
"Growth has been both an unspoken and an explicit aim of our individual and collective striving. It governs the lives of microorganisms and galaxies; it shapes the capabilities of our extraordinarily large brains and the fortunes of our economies. Growth is manifested in annual increments of continental crust, a rising gross domestic product, a child's growth chart, the spread of cancerous cells. In this magisterial book, Vaclav Smil offers systematic investigation of growth in nature and society, from tiny organisms to the trajectories of empires and civilizations. Smil takes readers from bacterial invasions through animal metabolisms to megacities and the global economy. He begins with organisms whose mature sizes range from microscopic to enormous, looking at disease-causing microbes, the cultivation of staple crops, and human growth from infancy to adulthood. He examines the growth of energy conversions and man-made objects that enable economic activities--developments that have been essential to civilization. Finally, he looks at growth in complex systems, beginning with the growth of human populations and proceeding to the growth of cities. He considers the challenges of tracing the growth of empires and civilizations, explaining that we can chart the growth of organisms across individual and evolutionary time, but that the progress of societies and economies, not so linear, encompasses both decline and renewal. The trajectory of modern civilization, driven by competing imperatives of material growth and biospheric limits, Smil tells us, remains uncertain." --
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Smil, Vaclav
Dewey number
909.82
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
CB428
LC item number
.S625 2019
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Civilization, Modern
  • Technology and civilization
  • Growth
  • Human ecology
  • Population
  • Energy development
  • Economic development
  • Cities and towns
  • Urban ecology (Sociology)
  • Cities and towns
  • Civilization, Modern
  • Economic development
  • Energy development
  • Growth
  • Human ecology
  • Population
  • Technology and civilization
  • Urban ecology (Sociology)
Label
Growth : from microorganisms to megacities, Vaclav Smil
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
on1085577162
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xxv, 634 pages
Isbn
9780262042833
Lccn
2018059356
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1085577162
Label
Growth : from microorganisms to megacities, Vaclav Smil
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
on1085577162
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xxv, 634 pages
Isbn
9780262042833
Lccn
2018059356
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1085577162

Subject

Library Locations

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