Our species has amassed unprecedented knowledge of nature, which we have tried to use to seize control of life and bend the planet to our will. In A Natural History of the Future, biologist Rob Dunn argues that such efforts are futile. We may see ourselves as life’s overlords, but we are instead at its mercy. In the evolution of antibiotic resistance, the power of natural selection to create biodiversity, and even the surprising life of the London Underground, Dunn finds laws of life that no human activity can annul. When we create artificial islands of crops, dump toxic waste, or build communities, we provide new materials for old laws to shape. Life’s future flourishing is not in question. Ours is.
Loading...
Details
ISBN: 9781541619302
Physical Description:320 pages ; 24 cmprint
Edition:First edition.
Publisher:New York :Basic Books,2021.
Bibliography, etc. Note: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note: Blindsided by life -- Urban Galapagos -- The inadvertent ark -- The last escape -- The human niche -- The intelligence of crows -- Embracing diversity to balance risk -- The law of inseparability -- Humpty Dumpty and the robotic sex bees -- Living with evolution -- Not the end of nature -- Conclusion: No longer among the living.