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Informationen zum Autor Richard P. Tucker is adjunct professor of natural resources at the University of Michigan. Klappentext Now in a concise edition created expressly for students and general readers, this widely hailed study traces the transformation of the tropics in modern times. Exploring the central role of the United States in the ongoing devastation of tropical lands, Richard P. Tucker highlights the unrelenting pressure caused by the demands of U.S. consumerism. The forced domestication of varied natural systems ultimately led to a devastating decline in biodiversity. The author brings his analysis to life with a series of vivid case studies of sugar, bananas, coffee, rubber, beef, and timber—each a virtual empire in itself. All readers who are interested in environmental degradation and its links to the world economy will be enlightened by this nuanced history. Zusammenfassung Traces the transformation of the tropics in modern times. Exploring the central role of the US in the devastation of tropical lands! this title highlights the pressure caused by the demands of US consumerism. It includes a series of case studies of sugar! bananas! coffee! rubber! beef! and timber. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction: America's Global Environmental Reach Chapter 1: America's Sweet Tooth: Cane Sugar Transforms Tropical Lowlands Chapter 2: Banana Republics: Yankee Fruit Companies and the Tropical American Lowlands Chapter 3: The Last Drop: The American Coffee Market and the Hill Regions of South America Chapter 4: The Tropical Cost of the Automotive Age: Corporate Rubber Empires and the Rainforest Chapter 5: The Crop on Hooves: American Cattle Ranching in Latin America Chapter 6: Unsustainable Yield: American Loggers and Foresters in the Tropics Conclusion: Consuming Appetites
