Reviewed by Natalie Jeremijenko
Climate change, perhaps the most far-reaching and significant issue of this century, is no stranger to the bestseller list, the red carpet, the floor of the Senate, or the corporate agenda. But another realm has also been involved in the dialogue—contemporary art.
The book Burning Ice: Art and Climate Change […] Read More »
A single pound of dried shark fin can retail for US$300-400. Most fins end up in shark-fin soup or traditional medicines. It’s a growing, multibillion-dollar industry; by some estimates, 100 million sharks are killed annually for their fins.Hong Kong handles 50 to 85 percent of the world’s imports. Although sharks are finned all around the […] Read More »
Edited by Sarah Simpson July-September 2007 / Vol. 8 No. 3
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Discussion Questions
Each of the ten short essays puts forth a single idea (“solution”) to promote conservation of marine ecosystems. In your own words, summarize the central idea of each essay in a single sentence.
Do you find yourself […] Read More »
By Natasha Loder
July-September 2007 / Vol. 8 No. 3
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Discussion Questions
Under current conditions, what do you predict would be the implications for elephant populations of a complete removal of the ban on the ivory trade?
Do you think legal harvesting of elephant ivory should be allowed in areas where […] Read More »
By Scott Weidensaul
July-September 2007 / Vol. 8 No. 3
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Discussion Questions
What is the basic dilemma that Weidensaul is posing? Should we bring back the Barbary lion? Why or why not?
Captive breeding and reintroduction of a huge, nearly extinct carnivore may seem to be tilting at windmills, but is […] Read More »
By Eric Wagner
July-September 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)
Perhaps you remember the curious tale of Razza, the rat.
It began a couple of years ago, when James Russell and colleagues from the University of Auckland in New Zealand tagged a Norway rat and set it loose on a small, rat-free island. Their aim […] Read More »
July-September 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)
No Two Sides to This Story
I was pleased to see the cover story of the April-June issue devoted to the important issue of invasive species, but disappointed in the overall depth of coverage and dismayed by the factual inaccuracies in Sagoff’s assessment. In asserting that the harmfulness of […] Read More »
Books
Most books reviewed in our book review section are available through Amazon.com. To make your purchase easier we have included a link when available. When you purchase a book through this service on our website Conservation receives a portion of the purchase price.
Book Reviews
July-September 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)
REVIEWS
Burning Ice: […] Read More »
©Nancy Nehring/istockphoto.com
By Robin Meadows
July-September 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)
Feeley, K.J. et al. 2007. Decelerating growth in tropical forest trees. Ecology Letters 10(6):461-469.
Not all forests are responding to climate change in the same way. In the Amazon, trees are growing faster. But new research shows that trees in Panama and Malaysia […] Read More »
By Nick Atkinson
July-September 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)
Mikkelson G.M., A. Gonzalez, and G.D. Peterson. 2007. Economic inequality predicts biodiversity loss. PLoS ONE 2(5): e444. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0000444
An interdisciplinary group of McGill University scientists has discovered a somewhat unsettling link between economic inequality and biodiversity loss. Writing in PLoS ONE, Gregory Mikkelson and […] Read More »
© Katseyephoto/Dreamstime.com
By Robin Meadows
July-September 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)
Myers, R.A. et al. 2007. Cascading effects of the loss of apex predatory sharks from a coastal ocean. Science 315:1846-1850.
After decades of heavy fishing, it’s no surprise that great sharks have virtually disappeared from the U.S. Atlantic seaboard. But it is surprising […] Read More »
©Robert Kyllo/istockphoto.com
By Nick Atkinson
July-September 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)
Takasuka, A., Y. Oozeki, and I. Aoki. 2007. Optimal growth temperature hypothesis: Why do anchovy flourish and sardine collapse or vice versa under the same ocean regime? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 64(5):768-776.
Anchovy and sardine fisheries are famous for their […] Read More »
©Leslie Banks/istockphoto.com
By Robin Meadows
July-September 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)
Weir, J.T. and D. Schluter. The latitudinal gradient in recent speciation and extinction rates of birds and mammals. Science 315:1574-1576.
Just as breaking into a crowded market can be tough, it turns out that fewer species arise in the biodiversity-rich tropics. But alternative […] Read More »
© Paul Prescott/istockphoto.com
By Robin MeadowsJuly-September 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)
Fuller, R.A. et al. 2007. Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity. Biology Letters 3(4):390-394.
We already knew that greenery was good for us, relieving stress and even speeding recovery times after surgery. But a new study in Biology Letters goes further by […] Read More »
©Glenn Bartley/istockphoto.com
By Robin Meadows
July-September 2007 (Vol. 8, No. 3)
Daly, G.L. et al. 2007. Accumulation of current-use pesticides in neotropical montane forests. Environmental Science and Technology 41(4):1118-1123.
Massive amphibian die-offs in Central America have been hard to explain because they are more common at higher elevations, where habitats seem more pristine. But […] Read More »
