Dying Planet

Is life on earth facing a new period of mass extinction like those that have destroyed billions of species in the past? In "Dying Planet", science writer Jon Erickson tells the story of history's great episodes of plant and animal extinction and speculates on how modern man's continued destruction of large ecosystems around the globe could have a similar impact on life in the centuries to come. After reviewing prevailing theories on the creation and evolution of life, Erickson explores the possible causes and tangible effects of mass extinctions form the Precambrian period to the disappearance of Cro-Magnon man. Readers learn how such phenomena as volcanic eruptions, continental drift, magnetic reversals, climatic change, and comet impacts might have lead to the decline of many species. Finally, Erickson discusses today's ecological problems and how overpopulation, pollution, deforestation and overcultivation are responsible for the loss of more than 100 species every day - indicating that at least half the planet's known species will vanish in the next 50 years.