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A NEW SCIENTIST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022
'A fascinating read for anyone interested in the future of the planet' Adam Hart, author and BBC science presenter
Our planet hasn't seen the current rate of extinction since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, and global conservation efforts are failing to halt this. As a society, we face choices which will determine the fate of Earth's estimated 8.7 million species, including humans. As wildlife declines, conservation needs to make trade-offs. But what should we conserve and why?
Are we wrong to love bees and hate wasps? Are native species more valuable than newcomers (aka invasives)? Should some animals be culled to protect others, and what do we want the 'natural world' to look like? There are many surprising answers in Rebecca Nesbit's lively, stimulating book, which sows the seeds of a debate we urgently need to have.
About the author
Rebecca Nesbit is an ecologist and author, writing on science and the ethical questions it raises, in particular in relation to conservation. She is the author of Is that Fish in your Tomato?, which explored the benefits and the risks of genetically modified foods. After graduating from Durham University, she worked in scientific research, chiefly on butterfly migrations, before working on a program training honeybees to detect explosives. She has worked for the Royal Society of Biology and Nobel, and is a contributor to Scientific American, The Biologist and Popular Science.
Summary
A popular science title about conservation. What should we conserve and why in this age of extinctions? Who should get tickets for the ark?
Foreword
A popular science title about conservation. What should we conserve and why in this age of extinctions? Who should get tickets for the ark?
Report
Thought-provoking and topical ... an illuminating analysis of where human efforts may best be directed Observer
