Over the last 530 million years there have been five mass extinctions of species-the last,65 million years ago,when the dinosaurs disappeared.The biodiversity of our planet may now be on the verge,Leakey and Lewin believe,of a sixth extinction,caused this time by the relentless expansion and limitless appetites of human beings. The new science of 'biodiversity',presented clearly and cogently by Leakey and Lewin,combines insights from palaeontology,biology,ecology and even economics.It integrates the role of Darwenian ...
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Over the last 530 million years there have been five mass extinctions of species-the last,65 million years ago,when the dinosaurs disappeared.The biodiversity of our planet may now be on the verge,Leakey and Lewin believe,of a sixth extinction,caused this time by the relentless expansion and limitless appetites of human beings. The new science of 'biodiversity',presented clearly and cogently by Leakey and Lewin,combines insights from palaeontology,biology,ecology and even economics.It integrates the role of Darwenian evolution with the increasingly recognised importance of external and unpredictable forces.
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Publisher:
Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
Published:
1996
Language:
English
Alibris ID:
12555386443
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. 8vo. vii, 271pp, index, notes, bw ills. Or card covers. There have been at least five occasions when nearly 2/3 of living species diappeared from the face of the earth. These were natural disasters but now homo sapiens pssesses the ability to destroy entire species at will-to trigger the sixth extinction at will. If we continue to destroy the environemnt the author believes half the world's species will become extinct in this century.
