| Edition |
1st Smithsonian Books ed. |
| Description |
xiv, 242 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Welcome to the revolution! -- The overlooked extinction -- The mother of all extinctions -- The misinterpreted extinction -- A new paradigm for mass extinctions -- The driver of extinction -- Bridging deep past with near past -- The oncoming extinction of winter -- Back to the Eocene. |
| Summary |
More than 200 million years ago, a cataclysm known as the Permian extinction destroyed nearly 97 percent of all living things. Its origins have long been a puzzle. Paleontologist Ward, fresh from helping prove that an asteroid had killed the dinosaurs, turned to the Permian problem, and he has come to a stunning conclusion: that the near-total devastation at the end of the Permian period was caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide leading to climate change. The story of the discovery makes for a globe-spanning adventure. Here, Ward explains how the Permian extinction as well as four others happened, and describes the freakish oceans--belching poisonous gas--and sky--slightly green and always hazy--that would have attended them. Those ancient upheavals demonstrate that the threat of climate change cannot be ignored, lest the world's life today--ourselves included--face the same dire fate.--From publisher description. |
| Subject |
Extinction (Biology)
|
|
Paleoclimatology.
|
|
Global warming.
|
| ISBN |
9780061137914 |
|
006113791X |
|
9780061137921 (pbk.) |
|
0061137928 (pbk.) |
| Standard No. |
YDXCP 2462437 |
|
NZ1 11106597 |
|
NZ1 12499811 |
|
AU@ 000043353384 |
|
AU@ 000041057143 |
|
