A Note from the Editor

The Garrett Hardin Society Online! Transmission of knowledge from one generation to another is a challenge. In the past, it often took direct contact with a parent, teacher, or trusted friend to introduce us to new ideas, books, and their authors. One of the benefits of the availability of the Internet is that individuals searching for information on particular topics can come across sites containing information and sources they might not hear of from their circle of acquaintances.

Many of the readers of The Social Contract do so online. Often they are high school and college students doing research on immigration, population numbers, resource conservation and problems associated with multiculturalism. The Fall 2001 issue of our journal included a special feature on the work of Garrett Hardin, "one of the intellectual leaders of our time," as Science magazine observed. It would be difficult to name another person who has influenced so many people involved in our mutual concerns.

Some months ago, a few of Professor Hardin's admirers decided to launch The Garrett Hardin Society as an online site dedicated to the preservation and wider dissemination of his work. The Garrett Hardin Society is now a reality. It contains biographical information, a selection of his most influential articles, and a list of his books along with links to sites where they may be purchased.

The Homepage includes quotes from the large store of insights by Dr. Hardin and each time you visit the site you will see a different quotation.

The Social Contract Press has been privileged to contribute to the preservation of some of Hardin's work by reissuing a number of his books which had gone out of print.

An emeritus professor of human ecology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Garrett Hardin deserves a wide audience for his cogent observations about biology, ethics, and public policy.

Please visit www.GarrettHardinSociety.org.

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Our thanks go to Michigan attorney, author, and environmental activist John Rohe for editing the feature section of this issue of The Social Contract. Senator Gaylord Nelson deserves our gratitude for launching Earth Day after long effort and turning America's attention to the fragile nature of our surroundings.