The Big Ratchet: How Humanity Thrives in the Face of Natural Crisis (48 page)

Seine River,
87

Semi-dwarf varieties

    
rice,
174
,
177

    
wheat,
174

Sewage

    
disposal systems,
87
,
117
,
197

    
lake eutrophication from,
119–120

    
nutrient recycling and,
87–88
,
117
,
197

Sewers,
87

Sexual reproduction,
31

Shaw, William,
87

Shiva, Vandana,
181

Shortage,
4

Shuttle breeding,
173
,
174

Silent Spring
(Carson),
161–163

Simon, Julian,
2
,
7

Slash-and-burn agriculture,
60
,
65
,
69–70

Slaves,
97
,
98
,
122

Smallpox,
95
,
96

Snow, Dr. John,
86

Social behavior,
41

Social learning,
41–43

Social stratification,
55

Societies

    
farming effect on,
9–10

    
food surplus and,
70

    
stratified,
8

Socrates,
1

Soil

    
nutrient depletion in,
59

    
nutrients delivered by rivers,
70–72

    
salt buildup,
71
,
182

Soil fertility

    
degradation in southern Africa,
112

    
opening of nitrogen bottleneck,
110

    
synthesized means to replenish,
107

    
See also
Fertilizer
;
Manure

Solar wind,
21
,
22

Songbirds, cumulative learning by,
45

South America, guano from,
88–92

Soybeans,
x
,
138–140
,
186
,
193

Soymeal,
140

Species, number on Earth,
30

Sprengel, Carl,
107

Squash, New World origin of,
93

Stakman, Elvin,
172
,
183

Staley, Augustus,
140

Starchy food, switch from,
141–142

Starvation, in ancient China,
77

Steam-engine, coal-burning,
123

Sterile males,
177–178

Stockholm Convention (2000),
164–165

Stomach, surface area of human,
43

Stone tools,
48

Strychnine,
151
,
159

Sugar

    
high-fructose corn syrup,
193

    
increase in diets,
193

    
as New World commodity,
96–97

Sugarcane,
97
,
198

Sulfuric acid, in phosphate production,
113–114

Sun

    
energy from,
73–75

    
heat from,
19–20

    
planet, distance from,
19

    
winds powered by,
92–98

Superphosphate,
114
,
116

Sustainable future, move toward,
203

Swaminathan, M. S.,
176
,
183

Sweet potato weevil,
152

Symbiosis,
64

Syphilis,
95

T-cytoplasm,
148

Tea,
96

Teosinte,
53–54

Termites, farming by,
9

Thames River,
86
,
87

Tigris River,
70–71

Tomato,
54
,
184

Tools

    
stone,
48

    
use by animals,
48

Townshend, Charles,
80–81

Tractor

    
gasoline-powered,
123–124

    
steam-engine,
123

    
switch from animal power to,
141

Trade

    
sun-powered winds and,
92–98

    
virtual water,
98–103

Trade winds,
93–94
,
97

Trial-and-error learning strategy,
40
,
200

Turkey wheat,
136

Turnips,
80

Typhus,
154

Undernourishment,
7

United States

    
DDT ban,
163

    
guano trade,
90

    
introduced pest species,
150

    
locust plagues in,
146–147

    
obesity and overweight in,
195

    
pesticide use,
154–156

Urban population

    
diet change in,
92–195

    
growth in,
179
,
203–205

    
transition to,
5
,
15
,
203–205

Vegetable shortenings,
192–193
,
199

Venus

    
lack of carbon cycling,
24

    
temperature of,
17
,
21
,
27

    
volcanoes,
24

Vervet monkey,
50

Virtual water,
98–103

Vogel, Orville,
173–174

Volcanoes,
24
,
26
,
27
,
32

Wallace, Henry,
135
,
172

War of the Pacific,
91

Water

    
contaminated with human waste,
86–87

    
cycling of,
99–101

    
Green Revolution dependence on,
181–182

    
rivers,
70–72

    
virtual,
98–103

Water table,
101

Water vapor,
19
,
20
,
21
,
22

Watson, James,
186

Wealth, diet and,
191

Weathering,
26
,
27
,
68

Wedgwood, Emma,
128

Wegener, Alfred,
25

Wells,
101

Wheat

    
availability of,
105–106

    
Hessian fly,
150

    
in India,
175–176

    
in Mexico,
172–174
,
180

    
origin of,
52

    
Russian wheat aphid,
150

    
short varieties,
138
,
173–174

    
Turkey,
136

    
in United States,
136–138

Wheat rust,
172–173
,
183

Whole grains,
194

Wilder, Laura Ingalls,
146

Wildlife, pesticide impact on,
159–162

Wilkins, Maurice,
186

Wilson, E. O.,
155

Winds, sun-powered,
92–98

Winthrop, John,
95–96

World War I,
110

World War II,
111
,
154

Xenophanes,
100

Yellow River,
70
,
72

Zeidler, Othmar,
153