The Future Of Life Edward O Wilson Summary

The book that I chose to read was called The Future of Life written by influential scientist Edward O. Wilson. The theme of this book by far was the emphasized importance of our Earth’s abundant biodiversity and how its loss can impact many aspects of our lives. Wilson also expertly showed the glory and beauty of many of the currently threatened and endangered species such as the sumatran rhino that can cause those with a weak heart wince at how its adorable mannerisms (such as being shy) will be lost forever. By appealing to the reader’s logic and empathy, Wilson was able to relate biodiversity as being a huge issue and result of the current environmental issues that we face but do not see such as deforestation, habitat loss, invasive species,

The book was very well written on a scientific level and also was able to communicate He made it a point to address both sides of the environmental argument before introducing his worldview of how biodiversity and the economy and the event should work. An example he made for the preservation of biodiversity was that the unique traits found in the rarer species on earth help produce so many useful pharmaceutical and scientific products that have changed the face of science such as the thermophiles found in the Geysers of Yellowstone National Park that allowed for the possibility of PCR (polymerase chain reaction). Some of the solutions that he offered included immediately salvaging the world’s hotspots, keeping intact the five remaining frontier forests, ceasing all logging of old-growth forests everywhere, letting secondary native forests recover, concentrating on lake and river systems, defining the marine hotspots in the world (such as coral reefs) and giving them as much priority as terrestrial habitats, mapping the world’s biodiversity, ensuring all the world’s ecosystems are protected, efficiently using biodiversity to benefit the world economy as a whole, initiating restoration projects, increasing the capacity of zoos and botanical gardens to ensure the survival of endangered species, preparing to clone species when all other preservation methods fail, and by supporting population planning by incorporating plans for low ecological footprints. I believe that many of the solutions that he has offered are highly optimistic, since it requires our current static society to actually participate actively to change the course of our planet. But the ones that I do believe will work especially is the one about supporting population planning by incorporating plans for low ecological footprints and the idea that we should efficiently use the world’s biodiversity to benefit local populations.