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socraticgadfly's review
4.0
A nice, lighthearted romp through the possible future of homo sapiens, as well as the rest of life on Planet Earth, primarily in the light of climate change, and with a nice riff on the whole idea of "a natural history of ..." books.
Dunn notes that evolution in less-than-stable ecological niches favored brained animals. He cites corvids vs migratory shorebirds as one example, then looks at humans.
He also notes that, contra Linnaeus the Swede, that zoological and botanical diversity is greatest in the tropics, namely rain forest like climates, especially at the edges of the tropics.
He applies this pair of observations to climate change and ... the natural history of the future.
For humans, he notes an academic friend of his has predictions of what US cities will be like in 60 years with either moderate 4.5F warming or high 8.5 F. It's fun to check, but also of limited value, as rainfall patterns in different parts of the US and world and their changes with climate change are less certain. For instance, will Dallas be more like San Antonio or more like Corpus Christi in the future. It's still uncertain where the dividing line between wetter and drier futures will be in the US.
One good part of this book is that, contra the likes of Bill McKibben, he notes that climate change, to the degree it affects humans and some of their domesticates, won't wreck nature in general. The cockroaches, stereotypically radiation-resistant in Opus, will still be here. So will the army ants, termites, etc.
That said, this is an overview type book; there's not a lot of depth.
Dunn notes that evolution in less-than-stable ecological niches favored brained animals. He cites corvids vs migratory shorebirds as one example, then looks at humans.
He also notes that, contra Linnaeus the Swede, that zoological and botanical diversity is greatest in the tropics, namely rain forest like climates, especially at the edges of the tropics.
He applies this pair of observations to climate change and ... the natural history of the future.
For humans, he notes an academic friend of his has predictions of what US cities will be like in 60 years with either moderate 4.5F warming or high 8.5 F. It's fun to check, but also of limited value, as rainfall patterns in different parts of the US and world and their changes with climate change are less certain. For instance, will Dallas be more like San Antonio or more like Corpus Christi in the future. It's still uncertain where the dividing line between wetter and drier futures will be in the US.
One good part of this book is that, contra the likes of Bill McKibben, he notes that climate change, to the degree it affects humans and some of their domesticates, won't wreck nature in general. The cockroaches, stereotypically radiation-resistant in Opus, will still be here. So will the army ants, termites, etc.
That said, this is an overview type book; there's not a lot of depth.
rcollins1701's review
3.0
The prose is superb, and the examples are thought-provoking. However, while reading about the possible evolution of species beyond and in tandem with human experience, Bad Religion lyrics kept running through my head:
"Headed for eternity and destined for nothing
The future isn't difficult to see
It's easy to confuse grand design with life's repercussions
Lament not your vanquished fantasy
It's only destiny"
"Headed for eternity and destined for nothing
The future isn't difficult to see
It's easy to confuse grand design with life's repercussions
Lament not your vanquished fantasy
It's only destiny"
smokeyshouse's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Highly readable; somehow able to deliver dire, depressing facts and information without a sense of despair.