Overview
- Combines the history and the future of the species Homo sapiens
- Contains engaging visuals and poignant bits of literary awareness
- Presents a blend of science, history, philosophy, art, and poetry
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About this book
This book presents a history which is nearing its nadir, where a species of warlike primates is destroying the delicate web of life perceived by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species, committing a war against nature and the fastest mass extinction in the history of nature, with global temperatures incinerating the biosphere by several degrees Celsius, within a lifetime. Despite of this knowledge, Homo “sapiens” is proceeding to transfer every accessible molecule of carbon from the Earth crust to the atmosphere and hydrosphere, an auto-da-fe ensues of the terrestrial biosphere. As amplifying feedbacks to global warming—including fires, methane release, ice melt, and warming oceans—are intensifying, at a pace exceeding any recorded in the geological past, societies are pouring their remaining resources into wars. These include likely nuclear wars triggered by arsenals many thousands of missiles strong, posing an equal threat to human existence and that of many other species. Humans, having mastered fire, which allowed them to survive the extreme ice ages, have emerged in the current interglacial as major civilizations coupled with major bloodsheds, called “war”, engulfing multitudes of innocent yet betrayed humans. Long suffering from illusions of omnipotence and omniscience, paranoid fears, a warlike mindset, aggression toward the animals and disrespect of females, coupled with artistic excellence and technical brilliance, humans have become victims to a tragic conflict between the mind and the heart, with fatal consequences.
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Keywords
Table of contents (13 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Andrew Y. Glikson is an Earth and paleo-climate scientist, studied geology at the University of Jerusalem and graduated at the University of Western Australia in 1968. He conducted geological surveys of the oldest geological formations in Australia, South Africa, India and Canada; studied the effects of large asteroid impacts, including consequences for the atmosphere, oceans and mass extinction of species. Since 2005 he studied the relations between climate and human evolution. He was active in communicating nuclear issues and climate change evidence to the public and parliament through papers, lectures, conferences and presentations.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Fatal Species
Book Subtitle: From Warlike Primates to Planetary Mass Extinction
Authors: Andrew Y. Glikson
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75468-6
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-75467-9Published: 25 June 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-75470-9Published: 26 June 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-75468-6Published: 24 June 2021
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 129
Number of Illustrations: 13 b/w illustrations, 71 illustrations in colour
Topics: Earth Sciences, general, Climate, general, Anthropology