Forces of Change: A New View of Nature

by Daniel B. Botkin

Forces of Change takes readers on an unforgettable tour of truly global proportions. In this single volume, more than 20 of the world's most innovative and visionary scientists, writers, and scholars -- including Stephen Jay Gould, John McPhee, Lynn Margulis, Daniel Botkin, and David Quammen -- illuminate the forces that define and continue to profoundly transform our planet and all of its inhabitants. Taken together, these essays represent a dramatic range of new views and understandings about nature that have emerged over the last century. Developed by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society, Forces of Change brings together for the first time the matchless resources of two world-renowned institutions in order to present a bold new vision of the world, which stresses the diversity, interrelatedness, and interdependence of all natural phenomena. In this vision the Earth can be viewed as a grand network of life-supporting forces operating within a single dynamic system. Powerfully punctuated by epic photographs, eloquent illustrations, and a wonderfully dynamic design, Forces of Change is at once highly accessible and deeply thought-provoking. Full of sidebars that lucidly unpack the latest field research, the essays take readers around the world -- from the peaks of the Himalaya to the mysterious depths of the sea, and from the Ladakh cultures of northern India to the A'ani and Assiniboine tribes of Montana. Published in conjunction with a new permanent exhibit program at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Forces of Change is a timely and vitally important consideration of science and fate at the dawn of the 21st century.

Genres: Science, Reference

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2000

About the author

Daniel Botkin is a scientist, biologist, ecologist, physicist, professor, author and journalist. Renowned for his scientific contributions in ecology and environment, he has also worked as a professional journalist and has degrees in physics, biology, and literature. He is best known for the development of the first successful computer simulation in ecology, a computer model of forest growth that has developed into a sub-discipline in this field, with more than 50 versions in use worldwide. Botkin has also been a pioneer in the study of ecosystems and wilderness and the application of advanced technology to ecology. He has helped develop major national programs in ecology, including the National Science Foundation’s Long-term Ecological Research Program and NASA’s Mission to Earth. He has directed research on wilderness and natural parks around the world and is a leader in the application of environmental sciences to solve complex environmental problems.

Botkin has been a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara since 1979. Currently, he is Professor Emeritus, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been President and Founder of The Center for the Study of the Environment, a non-profit research and educational corporation. He serves on the board of the Environmental Literacy Council, the Board of Trustees of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has also been a fellow at the Rockefeller Bellagio Institute in Italy and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Among his awards are the The 2012 The Honorable John C. Pritzlaff Conservation Award; Astor Lectureship, Oxford University; The 2004 Tex and Academic Authors Association Texty Award for best textbook of 2003; The Fernow Award for Outstanding Contributions in International Forestry; and the Mitchell International Prize for Sustainable Development.

For more information visit www.danielbotkin.com or follow him on Twitter @danielbotkin.

Reviews

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't actually finish this :)
It was a good read, very interesting.