Epilogue: Nothing Learned, and Everything Forgotten? Summary and Analysis

In the concise epilogue, the author recapitulates the major themes of the text and reiterates the major events of human evolution and cultural development. He concludes by noting that nuclear holocaust is possible and that environmental holocaust is not onlyprobable, but already underway. Several examples of positive change are noted, but the outlook for continued human survival is notably bleak.

The epilogue is very brief and consists almost entirely of a very brief recounting of the major themes and events described in the text - it reads almost as would an abstract of the book. The final paragraphs note a few somewhat encouraging examples of environmental preservation and attempts to slow or even reverse ecological destruction. Overall, the epilogue remains bleak in outlook and does not offer a particularly hopeful look...