extinction (biology)

Looks at how the reader can build a better world and remove oneself from apocalyptic thinking and discusses how scientific breakthroughs help in avoiding disasters.

A fascinating history of species extinctions, their causes and the looming "sixth extinction". Explores the history of this search, its subjects, its controversies, its current conclusions, and their implications for our efforts to preserve Earth's biodiversity. It explains what extinction is, what causes it and whether it is preventable, and by comparing past geological extinction events, it aims to predict what will happen in the future.

"Using DNA collected from remains as a genetic blueprint, scientists aim to engineer extinct traits - traits that have evolved by natural selection over thousands of years - into living organisms. [The author] argues rather than viewing de-extinction as a way to restore one particular species...that the overarching goal should be the revitalization and stabilization of contempory ecosystems"--Dust jacket.

Twelve-year-old twins Nick and Eryn investigate why their mother and new stepfather are keeping secrets, why they are forbidden to meet their stepsiblings, and, most important, why their lives are in danger.

Over the last half billion years, there have been five major mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around the cataclysm is us. In this book the author tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. She provides a moving account of the disappearances of various species occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up to Lyell and Darwin, and through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

"Shows...the faces of Earth's sixth great mass extinction, revealing how humans have made this century a time of darkness for our planet's birds and mammals"--Dust jacket.

The author, a paleobiologist, presents the idea that unless we rethink how we generate the power we use to run our global ecosystem, where we get our food, and how we make our money, we could trigger what would be the sixth great extinction on Earth.

"Information about some of the more important and interesting endangered animals of Europe, including the animal's common name, scientific name, and conservation status; also includes a map showing the range of each animal featured; and a glossary, additional resources, and an index"--.

"Information about some of the more important and interesting extinct animals, including the animal's common name and scientific name; also includes a glossary, additional resources, and an index"--.

A resource on fossils and the stories they tell of the history of life on Earth.