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World War III
WORLD WAR III is the first comprehensive look at the most pressing and least understood problems of our time. Many have brought up the population problem before, but few have traveled the world in search of answers. Tobias journey and questions resulted in this document in the quest for hope in the next millennium. There are approx 300,000 people added to the planet every day, approx 3 million every ten days. This is must read for every concerned citizen>
- GenresNonfiction
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 13, 2015
Documentary filmmaker Michael Tobias expands on several common themes in his films in this important work. I'm a fan of his films and luckily his book is as passionate and meticulously researched as they are. Unluckily today it is dated material, and begs to be updated for this millennium.
It was a bold premise in the early 90s, but it's much less shocking today: overpopulation is impacting the planet, to the point that it's another "world war." How we deal with it affects our very survival, not to mention the survival of other species, plant and non-human animal, who are obliged to share the planet with our increasing numbers.
WW3 synthesizes the twin issues of overpopulation and environmental destruction, and its case studies of China, India, Indonesia, select African nations, Antarctica, and Southern California are capped off with a chapter of gleanings. It's a vastly interdisciplinary look at the social, ethical, cultural, political, religious, scientific and economic causes contributing to the persistent problem of...us, actually.
Contrary to the simplified, reductionist way we are accustomed to thinking about these subjects, what WW3 teaches us is that the problems are as diverse and multilayered as the people and systems creating them and/or suffering because of them. If anything, the take-away is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Why, for example, does economic growth or increased per-capita income in some nations lead to increased fertility rates, while in another part of the world, lead to smaller families? Why are public health and contraceptive campaigns successful in some communities but not others? Why does awareness of certain environmental issues have no apparent corresponding change in behavior?
Tobias seeks out leading lights in social/health services and family planning from around the globe, as well as environmental scientists and heads of state (many retired who can now speak more frankly) to address the matter in a way that is refreshingly respectful of the communities and cultures he covers. There is little 'manifest destiny' ideology telling us that certain nations must stop breeding, or certain religions accept contraception, nor is there the reverse, that white westerners alone must stop consuming. If anything Tobias is overly optimistic that these many problems can be solved and the destruction reversed, that eco-tourism in Africa could turn the tide of species extinction, that a few well meaning international trade initiatives will stop the rape of tropical forests. But perhaps this optimism would have felt more realistic in the 1990s, had we heeded the call then.
While scholarly, I found the book accessible, and it's only in his final chapter that Tobias veers into some tangents, as if the new medium of print versus documentary film finally allowed him to name-drop a few philosophers to prove his erudition. As a Los Angeles native I felt the chapter relating to Southern California was sloppier than the preceding ones, and I sensed an indifference to the many reasons someone would choose to immigrate to the region, even perhaps an anti-immigrant sentiment. Maybe for an updated edition he would consider visiting countries like Guatemala or El Salvador, and examine the poverty and hunger there as they relate to his core themes.
It was a bold premise in the early 90s, but it's much less shocking today: overpopulation is impacting the planet, to the point that it's another "world war." How we deal with it affects our very survival, not to mention the survival of other species, plant and non-human animal, who are obliged to share the planet with our increasing numbers.
WW3 synthesizes the twin issues of overpopulation and environmental destruction, and its case studies of China, India, Indonesia, select African nations, Antarctica, and Southern California are capped off with a chapter of gleanings. It's a vastly interdisciplinary look at the social, ethical, cultural, political, religious, scientific and economic causes contributing to the persistent problem of...us, actually.
Contrary to the simplified, reductionist way we are accustomed to thinking about these subjects, what WW3 teaches us is that the problems are as diverse and multilayered as the people and systems creating them and/or suffering because of them. If anything, the take-away is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Why, for example, does economic growth or increased per-capita income in some nations lead to increased fertility rates, while in another part of the world, lead to smaller families? Why are public health and contraceptive campaigns successful in some communities but not others? Why does awareness of certain environmental issues have no apparent corresponding change in behavior?
Tobias seeks out leading lights in social/health services and family planning from around the globe, as well as environmental scientists and heads of state (many retired who can now speak more frankly) to address the matter in a way that is refreshingly respectful of the communities and cultures he covers. There is little 'manifest destiny' ideology telling us that certain nations must stop breeding, or certain religions accept contraception, nor is there the reverse, that white westerners alone must stop consuming. If anything Tobias is overly optimistic that these many problems can be solved and the destruction reversed, that eco-tourism in Africa could turn the tide of species extinction, that a few well meaning international trade initiatives will stop the rape of tropical forests. But perhaps this optimism would have felt more realistic in the 1990s, had we heeded the call then.
While scholarly, I found the book accessible, and it's only in his final chapter that Tobias veers into some tangents, as if the new medium of print versus documentary film finally allowed him to name-drop a few philosophers to prove his erudition. As a Los Angeles native I felt the chapter relating to Southern California was sloppier than the preceding ones, and I sensed an indifference to the many reasons someone would choose to immigrate to the region, even perhaps an anti-immigrant sentiment. Maybe for an updated edition he would consider visiting countries like Guatemala or El Salvador, and examine the poverty and hunger there as they relate to his core themes.
April 8, 2010
I know the author, so I might be biased. He's amazing.
May 1, 2017
The author seems to have done a lot of research in putting up this book. Too many figures, too many places, too many aspects. It seems like a research paper more than a book - a long tedious pessimistic research paper. Although I am not against pessimism, the facts look so convoluted that it takes away awe from the reader. Everything seems either very unrealistic or normal.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews