Nature's Web

In this compelling search for a new environmental ethic, Marshall ( Demanding the Impossible: The History of Anarchism ) traces the development of human attitudes about nature from ancient times to the present. He notes that ecological thinking draws on science as well as philosophy and religion. In the first section, Marshall examines major religions--Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam--and their views of and effect on nature. In the second section, he turns to the scientific and industrial revolutions that changed our perceptions of the universe. Finally, Marshall surveys facets of today's ecological movements, including deep ecology, social ecology, eco-feminism. He calls for a libertarian ecology that demonstrates reverence for life and its diversities. A sound environmental ethic, he observes, requires imagination to appreciate the needs of other beings and things. (Apr.)