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Life in the Balance
In Life in the Balance , Niles Eldredge argues that the Earth is confronting a disaster in the making--an ecological crisis that, if left unresolved, could ultimately lead to mass extinction on the scale of that which killed the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. Writing for general readers, he reviews compelling evidence for this "biodiversity crisis," showing that species are dying out at an unnaturally rapid rate. He demonstrates the importance of maintaining biodiversity, taking the reader on a journey that reveals the twin faces of biodiversity--over thirteen million living species and the ecosystems through which these species transform the sun's energy into life-sustaining matter. Throughout, Eldredge shows how our own fate is intricately linked with that of other species.
Eldredge, one of the world's foremost paleontologists, begins by taking us to the heart of Botswana's Okavango Delta, considered by many to be among the last "Edens" left on Earth--a place where a rich assortment of organisms exist in natural equilibrium. However, it is also a place where the results of human activity--pollution, clear-cutting, water-diversion, encroaching agriculture, disease--now pose the same ecological threats that, on a worldwide scale, put the entire planet at risk. Eldredge then leads us on a fascinating exploration of the Earth's organisms--animals, plants, fungi, the microbes that underpin all life--and of the diverse ecosystems from the tundra to the tropics in which these organisms live. It is a journey that demonstrates the inherent value of the millions of species and ecosystems on Earth, and the importance of biodiversity to the entire biosphere and to humans' continued existence.
Eldredge concludes that humans not only are responsible for the biodiversity crisis but also hold the key to preventing an impending Sixth Extinction. He argues that we must, among other strategies, pledge ourselves to sustainable development and the conservation of wild places. An eloquent and passionate account by one of today's leading scientists, Life in the Balance will draw new attention to one of the most pressing problems now facing the world. In this book, Eldredge explores the same themes that illuminate The American Museum of Natural History's new Hall of Biodiversity, for which he is Scientific Curator. The Hall is scheduled to open in spring 1998.
Eldredge, one of the world's foremost paleontologists, begins by taking us to the heart of Botswana's Okavango Delta, considered by many to be among the last "Edens" left on Earth--a place where a rich assortment of organisms exist in natural equilibrium. However, it is also a place where the results of human activity--pollution, clear-cutting, water-diversion, encroaching agriculture, disease--now pose the same ecological threats that, on a worldwide scale, put the entire planet at risk. Eldredge then leads us on a fascinating exploration of the Earth's organisms--animals, plants, fungi, the microbes that underpin all life--and of the diverse ecosystems from the tundra to the tropics in which these organisms live. It is a journey that demonstrates the inherent value of the millions of species and ecosystems on Earth, and the importance of biodiversity to the entire biosphere and to humans' continued existence.
Eldredge concludes that humans not only are responsible for the biodiversity crisis but also hold the key to preventing an impending Sixth Extinction. He argues that we must, among other strategies, pledge ourselves to sustainable development and the conservation of wild places. An eloquent and passionate account by one of today's leading scientists, Life in the Balance will draw new attention to one of the most pressing problems now facing the world. In this book, Eldredge explores the same themes that illuminate The American Museum of Natural History's new Hall of Biodiversity, for which he is Scientific Curator. The Hall is scheduled to open in spring 1998.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Niles Eldredge
51 books26 followersNiles Eldredge (born August 25, 1943) is an American biologist and paleontologist, who, along with Stephen Jay Gould, proposed the theory of punctuated equilibrium in 1972.
Eldredge began his undergraduate studies in Latin at Columbia University. Before completing his degree he switched to the study of anthropology under Norman D. Newell. It was at this time that his work at the American Museum of Natural History began, under the combined Columbia University-American Museum graduate studies program.
Eldredge graduated summa cum laude from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1965, and enrolled in the university's doctoral program while continuing his research at the museum. He completed his PhD in 1969.
In 1969, Eldredge became a curator in the Department of Invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, and subsequently a curator in the Invertebrate Paleontology section of Paleontology, a position from which he recently retired. He was also an Adjunct Professor at the City University of New York. His specialty was the evolution of mid-Paleozoic Phacopida trilobites: a group of extinct arthropods that lived between 543 and 245 million years ago.
Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould proposed punctuated equilibria in 1972. Punctuated equilibrium is a refinement to evolutionary theory. It describes patterns of descent taking place in "fits and starts" separated by long periods of stability.
Eldredge went on to develop a hierarchical vision of evolutionary and ecological systems. Around this time, he became focused on the rapid destruction of many of the world's habitats and species.
Throughout his career, he has used repeated patterns in the history of life to refine ideas on how the evolutionary process actually works. Eldredge is proponent of the importance of environment in explaining the patterns in evolution.
Eldredge is a critic of the gene-centric view of evolution. His most recent venture is the development of an alternative account to the gene-based notions of evolutionary psychology to explain human behavior.
He has published more than 160 scientific articles, books, and reviews, including Reinventing Darwin, an examination of current controversies in evolutionary biology, and Dominion, a consideration of the ecological and evolutionary past, present, and future of Homo sapiens.
Eldredge enjoys playing jazz trumpet and is an avid collector of 19th century cornets. He shares his home in Ridgewood, New Jersey with his wife and more than 500 cornets. He also has two sons, two daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren.
Eldredge possesses a chart of the historical development of cornets (the musical instruments), which he uses as a comparison with that of the development of trilobites. The differences between them are meant to highlight the failures of intelligent design by comparing a system that is definitely designed, with a system that is not designed.
Eldredge began his undergraduate studies in Latin at Columbia University. Before completing his degree he switched to the study of anthropology under Norman D. Newell. It was at this time that his work at the American Museum of Natural History began, under the combined Columbia University-American Museum graduate studies program.
Eldredge graduated summa cum laude from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1965, and enrolled in the university's doctoral program while continuing his research at the museum. He completed his PhD in 1969.
In 1969, Eldredge became a curator in the Department of Invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, and subsequently a curator in the Invertebrate Paleontology section of Paleontology, a position from which he recently retired. He was also an Adjunct Professor at the City University of New York. His specialty was the evolution of mid-Paleozoic Phacopida trilobites: a group of extinct arthropods that lived between 543 and 245 million years ago.
Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould proposed punctuated equilibria in 1972. Punctuated equilibrium is a refinement to evolutionary theory. It describes patterns of descent taking place in "fits and starts" separated by long periods of stability.
Eldredge went on to develop a hierarchical vision of evolutionary and ecological systems. Around this time, he became focused on the rapid destruction of many of the world's habitats and species.
Throughout his career, he has used repeated patterns in the history of life to refine ideas on how the evolutionary process actually works. Eldredge is proponent of the importance of environment in explaining the patterns in evolution.
Eldredge is a critic of the gene-centric view of evolution. His most recent venture is the development of an alternative account to the gene-based notions of evolutionary psychology to explain human behavior.
He has published more than 160 scientific articles, books, and reviews, including Reinventing Darwin, an examination of current controversies in evolutionary biology, and Dominion, a consideration of the ecological and evolutionary past, present, and future of Homo sapiens.
Eldredge enjoys playing jazz trumpet and is an avid collector of 19th century cornets. He shares his home in Ridgewood, New Jersey with his wife and more than 500 cornets. He also has two sons, two daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren.
Eldredge possesses a chart of the historical development of cornets (the musical instruments), which he uses as a comparison with that of the development of trilobites. The differences between them are meant to highlight the failures of intelligent design by comparing a system that is definitely designed, with a system that is not designed.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 5, 2020
Ta książka powinna być lekturą obowiązkową, może wtedy ludzie zaczęliby zauważać problem!
"Gatunek ludzki wyrządza ogromne szkody innym gatunkom, ekosystemom, glebom, wodom i atmosferze. Jesteśmy przyczyną wielkiego kryzysu środowiskowego, który zagraża nam u progu kolejnego tysiąclecia. Doprowadziliśmy do szóstej katastrofy, do masowego wymierania gatunków, którego skala dorówna zapewne skali pięciu wcześniejszych wielkich epizodów wymierań".
W obliczu tego faktu najbardziej przeraża mnie ludzka obojętność, ignorancja i zadufanie. Co jeszcze musi się wydarzyć, żeby nasz gatunek zaczął w końcu myśleć o tym, jakim jest zagrożeniem dla bioróżnorodności i biosfery w ogóle?
Nawet sobie nie zdajemy sprawy z tego, co się wokół nas dzieje, ja na przykład nie słyszałam wcześniej o problemie hodowli bydła w Botswanie. Czy może być coś złego w hodowli zwierząt? Wypasanie krów w rejonie Kalahari powoduje ogromne szkody we wspaniałych, naturalnych ekosystemach delty Okawango. Ludzie postawili ogromnej długości płoty, żeby odizolować krowy od dzikich zwierząt, ale oczywiście nikt nie przemyślał tego pod kątem ekologii i wyginęły tysiące gnu. A wiecie dlaczego - bo ogrodzenie wybudowano im na drodze ich NATURALNEJ migracji w kierunku zbiorników wody.
"Dlaczego po prostu nie pozwolić, aby szósta katastrofa biegła swoim torem? W końcu ewolucja tworzy nowe gatunki, które stają się uczestnikami gry w nowo powstałych ekosystemach. Odpowiedź jest prosta: nowe gatunki i ekosystemy tworzą się dopiero wtedy, gdy znika przyczyna zaburzeń i wymierania i sytuacja się stabilizuje. Innymi słowy, ewolucyjno-ekologiczne odrodzenie będzie mogło zacząć się dopiero wówczas, gdy Homo sapiens - albo wskutek własnej zagłady, albo dzięki przemyślanym poczynaniom - przestanie działać jako przyczyna szóstej katastrofy".
"Życie na krawędzi" bardzo dobrze pokazuje zagrożenie, jakim jesteśmy. Jeżeli ciekawi Was problem wpływu człowieka na zmniejszenie bioróżnorodności - polecam tę książkę. Nie ma w niej omówienia pozostałych pięciu epizodów, ale za to zawiera sporo informacji, które pozwalają bardziej zrozumieć problem obecnego wymierania gatunków.
8/10
"Gatunek ludzki wyrządza ogromne szkody innym gatunkom, ekosystemom, glebom, wodom i atmosferze. Jesteśmy przyczyną wielkiego kryzysu środowiskowego, który zagraża nam u progu kolejnego tysiąclecia. Doprowadziliśmy do szóstej katastrofy, do masowego wymierania gatunków, którego skala dorówna zapewne skali pięciu wcześniejszych wielkich epizodów wymierań".
W obliczu tego faktu najbardziej przeraża mnie ludzka obojętność, ignorancja i zadufanie. Co jeszcze musi się wydarzyć, żeby nasz gatunek zaczął w końcu myśleć o tym, jakim jest zagrożeniem dla bioróżnorodności i biosfery w ogóle?
Nawet sobie nie zdajemy sprawy z tego, co się wokół nas dzieje, ja na przykład nie słyszałam wcześniej o problemie hodowli bydła w Botswanie. Czy może być coś złego w hodowli zwierząt? Wypasanie krów w rejonie Kalahari powoduje ogromne szkody we wspaniałych, naturalnych ekosystemach delty Okawango. Ludzie postawili ogromnej długości płoty, żeby odizolować krowy od dzikich zwierząt, ale oczywiście nikt nie przemyślał tego pod kątem ekologii i wyginęły tysiące gnu. A wiecie dlaczego - bo ogrodzenie wybudowano im na drodze ich NATURALNEJ migracji w kierunku zbiorników wody.
"Dlaczego po prostu nie pozwolić, aby szósta katastrofa biegła swoim torem? W końcu ewolucja tworzy nowe gatunki, które stają się uczestnikami gry w nowo powstałych ekosystemach. Odpowiedź jest prosta: nowe gatunki i ekosystemy tworzą się dopiero wtedy, gdy znika przyczyna zaburzeń i wymierania i sytuacja się stabilizuje. Innymi słowy, ewolucyjno-ekologiczne odrodzenie będzie mogło zacząć się dopiero wówczas, gdy Homo sapiens - albo wskutek własnej zagłady, albo dzięki przemyślanym poczynaniom - przestanie działać jako przyczyna szóstej katastrofy".
"Życie na krawędzi" bardzo dobrze pokazuje zagrożenie, jakim jesteśmy. Jeżeli ciekawi Was problem wpływu człowieka na zmniejszenie bioróżnorodności - polecam tę książkę. Nie ma w niej omówienia pozostałych pięciu epizodów, ale za to zawiera sporo informacji, które pozwalają bardziej zrozumieć problem obecnego wymierania gatunków.
8/10
July 25, 2011
A basic yet well written introduction to ecologicial processes including descriptive overviews of the branches of life, and the different ecosystems on Earth. As the book was written pre 21st C, the sense of urgency is somewhat missing since the overarching impact of climate change on biodiversity and human ecology was not as apparent then. The latter portion dealing with threats to biodiversity and methods to achieve sustainability are less enjoyable suffering from a sense of datedness. Conversely, it can be lauded for being one of the early warnings of a global ecosystem stressed beyond carrying capacity, as only ecologists could see the big picture at the time.
September 19, 2008
A good primer for a layman about biodiversity, habitat destruction and extinction, and what to do about it. Keep in mind that the book was first published ten years ago. I'm sure if Eldredge wrote the book today there would be greater stress on climate change and the arctic region. Still, I enjoyed it and learned a few things!
February 28, 2015
I think everyone must read this. It's imperative that every single one of us understand our impact in the biodiversity and environment around us. We attribute the 6th extinction to ourselves, so understanding the mechanisms of nature and Earth will help reverse the tremendous damage done so far.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews