The medea hypothesis : is life on earth ultimately self-destructive? / Peter Ward.

By:

Ward, Peter D. (Peter Douglas), 1949- [author.]

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Science essentials (National Academy of Sciences (U.S.))Publication details: Princeton : Princeton University Press, ©2009.Description: 1 online resource (xxii, 180 pages) : illustrationsContent type:

text

Media type:

computer

Carrier type:

online resource

ISBN:

9781400829880
1400829887
1282158228
9781282158221

Subject(s): Genre/Form:

Additional physical formats: Print version:: Medea hypothesis.DDC classification:

576.8/4 22

LOC classification:

QE721.2.E97 W375 2009eb

Online resources:

Click here to access online

Contents:

Darwinian life -- What is evolutionary "success"? -- Two hypotheses about the nature of life on earth -- Medean feedbacks and global processes -- Medean events in the history of life -- Humans as medeans -- Biomass through time as a test -- Predicted future trends of biomass -- Summation -- Environmental implications and courses of action -- What must be done.

Summary: In The Medea Hypothesis, renowned paleontologist Peter Ward proposes a revolutionary and provocative vision of life's relationship with the Earth's biosphere--one that has frightening implications for our future, yet also offers hope. Using the latest discoveries from the geological record, he argues that life might be its own worst enemy. This stands in stark contrast to James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis--the idea that life sustains habitable conditions on Earth. In answer to Gaia, which draws on the idea of the "good mother" who nurtures life, Ward invokes Medea, the mythical mother who kille.

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Includes bibliographical references (pages 157-172) and index.

In The Medea Hypothesis, renowned paleontologist Peter Ward proposes a revolutionary and provocative vision of life's relationship with the Earth's biosphere--one that has frightening implications for our future, yet also offers hope. Using the latest discoveries from the geological record, he argues that life might be its own worst enemy. This stands in stark contrast to James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis--the idea that life sustains habitable conditions on Earth. In answer to Gaia, which draws on the idea of the "good mother" who nurtures life, Ward invokes Medea, the mythical mother who kille.