Ignoring the Apocalypse: Why Planning to Prevent Environmental Catastrophe Goes Astray

Shows how the United States has planned for various apocalyptic threats, from the energy crisis to nuclear war, and illustrates why those plans have thus far failed to eliminate these threats.

Review
“Davis provides a critical assessment of how Americans go about understanding environmental catastrophes, including the formulation of plans for averting or mitigating the expected outcomes. He examines the reason why Americans often ignore impending dangers, even apocalyptic ones based on rigorous scientific and mathematical analysis, and why government solutions and policies often fail to deal realistically with their potential consequences for future generations of people and ecosystems….This is an important book to read in order to learn how people, Americans in particular, go about framing or avoiding issues that have dire consequences for the quality of human life. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections.”–Choice

“Davis has served in the US government and as a consultant on energy and environmental issues for some three decades. Picking up on America's love affair with apocalypse, inherited from the Puritans, he discusses four threats that could destroy the world as we know it: global climate change, nuclear war, over-population, and the energy crisis.”–Reference & Research Book News

“David Davis, long one of our leading scholars in energy politics and policy, has produced a remarkable analysis of the history and politics of the four apocalyptic problems facing the US and the world today. This book brings together comprehensive overviews of the history and politics of four different problems that could precipitate a planetary apocalypse. Davis analyzes the difficulties of developing policy in each issue area and provides important insights into the politics of apocalyptic problems.”–Mary M. Timney Professor of Public Administration, Pace University author of Power for the People: Protecting States' Energy Policy Interests in an Era of Deregulation

“What could be more timely in an era when claims of crises of biblical proportion are de rigueur in environmental policy debates than David Davis's Ignoring the Apocalypse? His book offers substantive depth, historical and political perspective, and rhetorical context as Davis traces the evolution of contemporary debates over population control, global warming, nuclear war, and energy. Apocalypse is an erudite and accessible tale of how competing views of science, statistics, and strategic advantage have driven, and continue to drive, environmental debates.”–Robeert F. Durant Professor of Public Administration and Policy, American University author of The Greening of the U.S. Military and Environmental Governance Reconsidered

“David Davis has written a fascinating book on an important topic. Given the sweeping environmental degradation around the world, Davis' book could not be more timely.”–Rosemary O'Leary Distinguished Professor and Co-Director The Maxwell School of Syracuse University