Life As a Geological Force: Dynamics of the Earth (Commonwealth Fund Book Program)

Looks at how humans have affected geological change and how geological change has influenced our use of nature

Skipping from Florida Keys lagoons to the peat bogs of his native Netherlands, Westbroek offers a highly personal, delightfully informal introduction to the science of modern geology at the nexus of biology and environmental concern. A small but growing number of geologists now view the earth and its life-forms as a unified whole; rocks, tides, air and organisms are seen as part of an interactive global system instead of a haphazard interplay of forces. Geologist Westbroek gauges these scientists' work against James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, which regards our planet as one huge living organism. Although he finds Gaia a "rather fuzzy" theory, interconnectedness is the keynote of this report, encompassing volcanoes in Java, plankton blooms, shifting tectonic plates and a green Scottish valley forred aeons ago when Scotland was part of North America. Illustrations.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book addresses two separate themes: the influence of living organisms on particular geological systems and the different holistic models of the Earth. Discussing the first theme are chapters about the human-made environment of the Netherlands, dune ecology on the island of Vlieland, and the importance of microorganisms to the formation of limestone. The second theme is covered by chapters on plate tectonics, Robert Garrels's model of the Earth as a chemical flux, and James Lovelock's gaia hypothesis. Unfortunately, the relationship between these themes is not particularly well developed. With its quantity of diagrams and the author's compact writing style, this book seems more like a set of textbook examples than a popular explanation of the role of life as a geological force. For larger science collections.
- Amy Brunvand, Fort Lewis Coll., Durango, Col.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.