Our Environment Contents

3. Revolutions

Conclusion

The Paleolithic era marked the congregation of people in social groupings - coordinating their efforts for hunting and defence. The Neolithic revolution marked the succession from hunter-gatherer to agricultural society - the deliberate husbandry of animals and cultivation of crops. The industrial revolution marked the switch from labour intensive agricultural production to technology intensive industrial production, coupled with a massive step-change in the rate of use of natural resources. Each successive revolution has brought with it substantial changes in the relationship between people and their environments. The term environmental revolution is being used today to mark the contemporary emergence of more environmentally sustainable modes of production and development - the hope of a new environmentalism.