Laid waste! : the culture of exploitation in early America

"This book is a historical synthesis of the culture of exploitation. It is also a lamentation of the qualities of America that led to current environmental crises. The author hopes to provoke and invite readers to engage in the difficult work of reimagining our modern world in more sustainable ways. Nature itself is resilient and the Earth will prevail, but we also would like to preserve the possibility of human life on this planet. This is a goal about which nature is utterly indifferent, but it was one of three in the hearts of the American founders. In Thomas Jefferson's hands the Lockean triad of "life, liberty, and property" was recast as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." That subtle difference implies so much more than mere survival or brutal domination; it suggests that wealth and power are not ends in themselves but means to something greater and deeply humane."