Book reuiews 191 This book is recommended for advanced students in the fields of geography, environmental sciences, applied biological sciences, agriculture, and all re- lated disciplines. It is a well written, balanced pre- sentation of past and present day agriculture, and especially the interdependencies between maintain- ing a quality environment and achieving adequate food production. The book is amply referenced and has many maps and tables that enhance its useful- hess. David Pimentel College gf Agriculture and Life Sciences Cornell Uniuersity Ithaca, NY 14853 USA The Future of the Environment: Ecological Eco- nomics and Technological Change The Future of the En~'ironment: Ecological Eco- nomics and Technological Change, Faye Duchin and Glenn-Marie Lange, with Knut Thonstad and An- nemarth ldenburg, O.~ford UniL'ersit 5, Press, Oxford, 1994. This book is important not only for the elaborate detail of analysis of the sustainability of the world's economy but, more significantly, for the presentation of the methodology of structural economics, a promising analytical alternative to neoclassical gen- eral equilibrium theory. The scenarios explored in this book are based on an extension of the World Input-Output model developed by Wassily Leontief in the 1970s. The aim of the book is to test the feasibility of the assumptions of the Brundtland re- port, Our Common Future (OCF), using state-of-the- art environment-economic modeling techniques. Duchin and Lange use a world input-output model comprised of 16 geographic regions and 50 eco- nomic sectors. The book is divided into two parts. The first three chapters present the basic framework of the structural model and a brief discussion of features of structural economics. Chapters four through thirteen present case studies for specific environmental problems (airborne emissions, indus- trial and household energy conservation) and of spe- cific industries (electric power generation, metals, construction, cement, pulp and paper, chemicals, and motor vehicles). A detailed appendix presents the structure of the world model and its geographic and sectoral classification. In a series of exhaustive scenarios, using the optimistic assumptions of the Brundtland report re- garding the potential for recycling, increased energy efficiency, and technological advance, the authors conclude that, even if all these optimistic assump- tions are borne out, we will still be far from a sustainable economy. Only a fundamental change in lifestyles and a fundamental reshaping of our atti- tudes toward, and use of, technology, will prevent continued environmental degradation. This is cer- tainly not a new conclusion but, to my knowledge it is the first time this conclusion has been based on such an exhaustive analysis using the latest empirical data and such an advanced modeling technique. Considering the experience and talent that went into writing this book it is no surprise that it is a well-written, technically polished, state-of-the-art ap- plication of input-output modeling. If this were the only contribution the book would be worth reading. The importance of the book, however, goes well beyond an interesting test of the Brundtland report assumptions. It represents, I believe, the path toward a new economics; a true empirical and theoretical challenge to neoclassical theory. Structural eco- nomics offers a practical method for evaluating the real impact on society and ecosystems of real techno- logical choices. In the words of the authors (pp. 7-8): ~'The World Model does not attempt to deter- mine a unique and optimal path to sustainable devel- opment, but simply to evaluate the implications of a set of technical and organizational choices that are made outside the model (the Brundtland report in this case). Freed of this impossible burden, it does not need to resort to a constraining notion of equilib- rium based on the assumption of market-type behav- ior alone." It may be an exaggeration to say that structural analysis represents a strictly "positive' ver- sus 'normative' analysis, since any analysis is con- strained by available data which is itself categorized and collected with certain normative prejudices. Nevertheless, the approach represents a step forward because it begins with a snapshot of the economy