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Jacob Darwin Hamblin
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Arming Mother Nature: The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism Illustrated Edition

by Jacob Darwin Hamblin (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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When most Americans think of environmentalism, they think of the political left, of vegans dressed in organic-hemp fabric, lofting protest signs. In reality, writes Jacob Darwin Hamblin, the movement--and its dire predictions--owe more to the Pentagon than the counterculture.

In Arming Mother Nature, Hamblin argues that military planning for World War III essentially created "catastrophic environmentalism": the idea that human activity might cause global natural disasters. This awareness, Hamblin shows, emerged out of dark ambitions, as governments poured funds into environmental science after World War II, searching for ways to harness natural processes--to kill millions of people. Proposals included the use of nuclear weapons to create artificial tsunamis or melt the ice caps to drown coastal cities; setting fire to vast expanses of vegetation; and changing local climates. Oxford botanists advised British generals on how to destroy enemy crops during the war in Malaya; American scientists attempted to alter the weather in Vietnam. This work raised questions that went beyond the goal of weaponizing nature. By the 1980s, the C.I.A. was studying the likely effects of global warming on Soviet harvests. "Perhaps one of the surprises of this book is not how little was known about environmental change, but rather how much," Hamblin writes. Driven initially by strategic imperatives, Cold War scientists learned to think globally and to grasp humanity's power to alter the environment. "We know how we can modify the ionosphere," nuclear physicist Edward Teller proudly stated. "We have already done it."

Teller never repented. But many of the same individuals and institutions that helped the Pentagon later warned of global warming and other potential disasters. Brilliantly argued and deeply researched, Arming Mother Nature changes our understanding of the history of the Cold War and the birth of modern environmental science.
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  1. ISBN-10
    9780199740055
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199740055
  3. Edition
    Illustrated
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    May 2, 2013
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    9.49 x 1.11 x 6.44 inches
  8. Print length
    310 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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"With this book Jacob Hamblin makes a major contribution to our understanding of the decisive role of military priorities and military funding in the shaping of a wide range of environmental sciences. As a contribution to the historiography of science as conditioned by its political, ideological, social, and financial contexts, Arming Mother Nature shows how the ideologies and international institutions of the Cold War shaped the rise of fundamental environmental sciences....A carefully crafted, powerfully articulated study of one of the most important dimensions of today's environmental policy debate....The book is a weighty example of the importance of environmental history research in relation to the public realm."--Richard P. Tucker, Environmental History

"[A] fascinating and often disturbing history"--American Scientist

"In Arming Mother Nature, Jacob Hamblin offers a far-reaching and provocative account of just how dependent narratives of global climate change are upon the military support, apocalyptic scenarios, and political ideology that shaped the growth of the modern environmental sciences during the Cold War."--Science Magazine

"[T]hought-provoking..."--New Scientist

"This book advances the intriguing idea that 'catastrophic environmentalism' is not standard rhetoric warning the public about climate change and extinction of species, but a strategy developed by the Pentagon to fight the Cold War. Recommended."--CHOICE

"A well-written and -documented challenge of some of the assumptions on both sides in the debate about global warming."--Kirkus Reviews

"Jacob Hamblin's new book is a clearly and calmly told tale of the American effort to conscript nature--from the seafloor to the stratosphere--for potential active duty during the Cold War. Well researched in U.S. and European archives, it finds the roots of modern apocalyptic environmentalism in the hair-raising deeds and often hare-brained schemes of an American scientific-military complex under pressure to find ways to prevail against the USSR. It sheds new light on the old adage that is a miracle anyone survived the Cold War."--J.R. McNeill, Georgetown University

Book Description

A startling argument that planning for World War III led to modern environmentalism, revealing how scientific research extended total war to the natural environment

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0199740054
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Illustrated edition (May 2, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780199740055
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199740055
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.49 x 1.11 x 6.44 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

About the author

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Jacob Darwin Hamblin

Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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Jacob Darwin Hamblin is an award-winning historian who writes about science, technology, the environment, and world affairs. He was born in Germany and grew up on or near American military bases, before going to college and graduate school in California, where he earned a Ph.D. in History at UC Santa Barbara. As an adult he has lived and worked in France, England, and several universities in the United States. He has written several books and his essays have appeared in the New York Times, Salon, and many publications devoted to the history of science, technology, and the natural environment. He currently resides in the American Pacific Northwest, where he is a professor of history at Oregon State University.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
15 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

s.k. wakley
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Research
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2013
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This is the first "textbook" that I have enjoyed like a good novel. Sad that it is not fiction, since the facts presented are a true wake up call for us all to pay closer attention to our policy makers. Hamblin is an extremely readable historian and his research is awe inspiring. I bought the book for my iPad to read--- but then promptly ordered a few hardbacks to give to my friends. Its that good!
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R. Albin
3.0 out of 5 stars Useful but Uneven; 3.5 Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2015
An interesting but uneven discussion of the origins of modern environmentalism. As with quite a few things in American life, Hamblin demonstrates that modern environmentalism is partly an ironic consequence of the Cold War. This is not a new idea but Hamblin adds some interesting narrative and analysis to this concept. The book is divided into 3 roughly chronological sections. The first covers the immediate postwar period and 1950s, the second the 1960s and 70s, and the final section covers the 80s to the present. Hamblin presents 3 basic points. The first is that the concept of human ability to adversely affect the natural world in a major way was boosted tremendously by WWII, particularly the development of nuclear weapons, especially fusion weapons. The second is that the US defense establishment was quite taken with the idea of manipulating nature, including meteorological and climate manipulations, devoted substantial resources to researching these possibilities, and in the process greatly boosted modern geophysical and environmental science research. The last is that the Cold War era preoccupation with human-induced environmental catastrophe become something of an intellectual straight jacket - poisoning subsequent discussions of these topics. In general, this is a well written and researched book, but there are some problems with presentation and analysis.

The first part, dealing with the late 40s and 50s, is arguably the weakest section. Much of this is a narrative of research on bacteriological and radiologic warfare that could have been dealt with in a single chapter setting the stage for the rest of the book. There are also some possible errors of fact and interpretation. Hamblin implies that British preoccupation with crop destruction was motivated primarily by concerns about colonial staple crops. Given that Britain has been a food-importing nation since the 19th century and that food security was a major anxiety during both world wars, this seems misplaced. Rickets is not an infectious disease. I don't doubt Hamblin's point that the concept of environmental catastrophe was boosted greatly by military preoccupations with potential environmental warfare, but interest in this concept may have been more widespread than he suggests. One of the earliest, and best, novels about the end of civilization is George Stewart's Earth Abides. Published in the late 40s, this book describes an ecological catastrophe, was apparently commercially successful at the time, and has been almost continuously in print since publication. There are some other subsequent examples of this type of popular work.

Hamblin really hits his stride when discussing the role of the Defense establishment in the development of the geophysical and environmental sciences, which he documents well was driven partly by potential use of geophysical and environmental manipulations as tools of warfare. These efforts ultimately generated our present understanding of the earth sciences and climate. He points to Vietnam as a specific example of efforts, via use of herbicides, to put these ideas into effect. Hamblin is also very good on the ways in which the idea of global catastrophe was used in Cold War diplomacy. Both the USA and the Soviet Union attempted to capitalize on it in international relations. The discussion of the Nixon administration's somewhat surprising and rather cynical role is quite interesting. Hamblin is useful on the ways in which military research would bleed ironically into environmental research. Jay Forrester, the leader of the MIT Limits to Growth team, spent much of his career working on defense related projects.

The analysis in the last part of the book is mixed. Hamblin has some interesting narration and discussion about some of the controversies, notably the Limits to Growth work and the Nuclear Winter discussions. He makes some good points about how these controversies were entangled with Cold War politics and how post-Cold War debates about these issues have been encumbered by what can only be called bad habits of thought from the Cold War. Others, notably Oreskes and Conway, have made this point as well. Hamblin, unfortunately, goes a bit too far in his analysis, suggesting that some environmental advocates, former VP Gore is mentioned prominently, tend to exhibit this trait and fall back to knee jerk catastrophic rhetoric. This is incorrect and Hamblin's discussions of the Limits to Growth work (citing Bjorn Lomborg as a reliable source does not increase your credibility), which he apparently regards as a failed prediction, shows the limitations of his analysis.

The Limits to Growth team did not, in fact, predict impending catastrophe. Their business as usual scenario, published in the early 70s, predicted major problems in the second half of the 21st century (Hamblin actually mentions this in passing but doesn't seem to have really assimilated this point). Recent, independent assessments of their model outputs showed that they did remarkably well. The idea that the second half of this century will be very difficult seems increasingly credible. Nor did the Limits to Growth team regard the BAU scenario as an inevitable consequence of our civilization - that is why they ran multiple scenarios. There are similar limitations of his discussions of some of the critics of the Limits to Growth work, including the now prominent economist William Nordhaus and the physicist John Maddox. His rather cursory discussion of the Nuclear Winter controversy also omits some important points.
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Fiona Troon
5.0 out of 5 stars Very scary and fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2013
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If I made the rules, this book would be required reading in every high school and university. Although the idea of harnessing nature as a weapon is not all that new, our nation has carried it to the extremes that only a world power could consider. Please, please pass copies of this book to every library in your town, and encourage everyone you know to read it.
3 people found this helpful
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pattama
5.0 out of 5 stars Must-Read!
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2013
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The ideas presented in this book are not new. Yet, they are well put together. I would recommend this book to all, especially young generations. We, the older generations, have brought us where we are today. I hope we and younger generation can help us moving to a better place.
3 people found this helpful
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Julia Keuhlen
5.0 out of 5 stars Innovative
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2013
This book is fantastic. All the ideas presented are the things we as society need to be aware about. Couldn't put it down! Wonderfully written.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Bookmuncher
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2014
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Fascinating unknown history.
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J. Gomes
5.0 out of 5 stars A History you only heard rumours about
Reviewed in Germany on September 19, 2013
Verified Purchase
As I read this book I realized even more so, that the military in the US was led by people willing to deceive an entire population and the world as well merely to be on top and win over the USSR. I guess you could say that the Cold War was everything to them and it did not matter that maybe 100 million people or more might die as long as they won. Think Gen. Curtis Le May...
This is an eye opener and anyone interested in understanding the Cold War period through the lens of the world environment and how it was viewed as a possible weapon to be used (abused) will find this an outstanding book.
The insight and information the author has gleaned through his research is boggling. Without the Freedom of Information Act and the willingness of President Clinton to release old classified documents from this period, we would never had known what was going on and how it actually may relate to the strange weather around the globe which we are now experiencing.
This is certainly a well written must read book. It connects more dots than you could imagine.
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