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English
Oxford University Press
20 January 2011
The Earth that sustains us today was born out of a few remarkable, near-catastrophic revolutions, started by biological innovations and marked by global environmental consequences. The revolutions have certain features in common, such as an increase in complexity, energy utilization, and information processing by life. This book describes these revolutions, showing the fundamental interdependence of the evolution of life and its non-living environment. We would not exist unless these upheavals had led eventually to 'successful' outcomes - meaning that after each one, at length, a new stable world emerged.

The current planet-reshaping activities of our species may be the start of another great Earth system revolution, but there is no guarantee that this one will be successful. The book explains what a successful transition through it might look like, if we are wise enough to steer such a course.

This book places humanity in context as part of the Earth system, using a new scientific synthesis to illustrate our debt to the deep past and our potential for the future.
By:   , ,
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 241mm,  Width: 164mm,  Spine: 31mm
Weight:   904g
ISBN:   9780199587049
ISBN 10:   0199587043
Pages:   440
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Preface Part I - Introduction 1: Origins 2: Carbon and oxygen 3: Russion dolls 4: The revolutions Part II - Theory 5: The anthropic Earth 6: The critical steps 7: Playing Gaia Part III - The oygen revolution 8: Photosynthesis 9: The trial of the oxygen poisoners 10: The great oxidation Part IV - The complexity revolution 11: Life gets an upgrade 12: When did eukaryotes evolve? 13: The not-so-boring billion 14: The Neoproterozoic Part V - Interlude 15: Animals and oxygen 16: The grand recycling coalition 17: Rolls of the dice Part VI - A new revolution? 18: Climate wobbles 19: The origins of us 20: Review 21: Where next?

Reviews for Revolutions that Made the Earth

Lenton and Watson have written a remarkable and timely book which is both entertaining and impeccably researched from the beginning I felt both engaged and enlightened... With its academic rigour and, at the same time, its accessibility, the authors have clearly succeeded in their aim of writing scholarly popular science. As such, it should inspire us to learn from how the Earth system has evolved in the past and face up to the final question: Are we as yet sufficiently grown up to take responsibility for a whole planet? One thing is for sure: Over the nextcentury we will find out. Peter Horton, Chemistry World Worth close study for anyone with more than a passing interest in the Earth sciences, from geology to climatology, and for anyone curious about why this planet is alive whilst all the other ones we know about are dead. Mark Lynas fascinating book . Oliver Morton, The Economist Lenton and Watson's thought-provoking book is the latest in a distinguished line of works that have altered our perception of the planet. Wolfgang Lucht, Nature This book is a stimulating read that involves its audience and challenges us to enlarge our awareness of many branches of human knowledge. It embraces the ethical question of how we can overcome our selfish genes to co-operate with our fellow human beings and recognise our symbiotic relationship with the Earth ecosystem that sustains us. Susan Jappie, A World to Win


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