A Natural History of the Future
What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species
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4.4 • 9 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
“An arresting vision of this relentless natural world” (New York Times) by a leading ecologist, who urges us to heed nature’s iron laws
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.
As ambitious as Edward O. Wilson’s Sociobiology and as timely as Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction, A Natural History of the Future sets a new standard for understanding the diversity and destiny of life itself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
People must have biological laws "in the front of our mind if we are to make any sense of the years ahead," warns biologist Dunn in this effective exploration of nature in the future (after Never Home Alone). To explain the probable impacts that a warming planet will have on life, Dunn focuses on such laws of nature as natural selection, the species-area law (which "allows us to predict where and when species will go extinct"), and the law of the niche, which governs where species can successfully live. He also explains "law-like biases" that people have about the natural world, such as anthropocentrism, which gives people a "false impression of the world." Life, Dunn argues, will continue, though it will likely be dramatically different from its current form, and humanity's future is far from secure, as rising temperatures will lead to increases in violence, decreases in gross domestic product, and far fewer places suited to human survival. Additionally, he posits, unless significant changes are made, within six decades 3.5 billion people will be living in environments unable to support human life. Dunn's pessimism is offset by his belief that people can help mitigate the effects of climate change by valuing "the rest of life" outside humanity, as well as heeding the lessons that other life has to teach. Thoughtful and accessible, this deserves a wide readership.
