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| Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe | 
| Manufacturer: Springer
Category: EBooks
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $6.96 (41%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  106 reviews
Sales Rank: 22793
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 576.839
ASIN: B000TRK90K
Publication Date: December 10, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Amazon.com Review
"Do you feel lucky? Well do ya?" asked Dirty Harry. Paleontologist Peter Ward and astronomer Donald Brownlee think all of us should feel lucky. Their rare Earth hypothesis predicts that while simple, microbial life will be very widespread in the universe, complex animal or plant life will be extremely rare. Ward and Brownlee admit that "It is very difficult to do statistics with an N of 1. But in our defense, we have staked out a position rarely articulated but increasingly accepted by many astrobiologists." Their new science is the field of biology ratcheted up to encompass not just life on Earth but also life beyond Earth. It forces us to reconsider the life of our planet as but a single example of how life might work, rather than as the only example. The revolution in astrobiology during the 1990s was twofold. First, scientists grew to appreciate how incredibly robust microbial life can be, found in the superheated water of deep-sea vents, pools of acid, or even within the crust of the Earth itself. The chance of finding such simple life on other bodies in our solar system has never seemed more realistic. But second, scientists have begun to appreciate how many unusual factors have cooperated to make Earth a congenial home for animal life: Jupiter's stable orbit, the presence of the Moon, plate tectonics, just the right amount of water, the right position in the right sort of galaxy. Ward and Brownlee make a convincing if depressing case for their hypothesis, undermining the principle of mediocrity (or, "Earth isn't all that special") that has ruled astronomy since Copernicus. --Mary Ellen Curtin
Product Description
The sweeping diversity of complex life on Earth, Ward and Brownlee argue, evolved out of an extraordinary set of physical conditions and chance events that would be extremely hard to duplicate- though not impossible. Many planets throughout the vastness of the Universe may be teeming with microbial life, but advancement beyond this stage is very rare. Everyone with an interest in the possible extent of life in the Universe and the nature of life's evolution on our own planet will be fascinated by RARE EARTH. "...likely to cause a revolution in thinking..." The New York Times "...[the book] has hit the world of astrobiologists like a killer asteroid..." Newsday (New York) "...a sobering and valuable perspective..." Science "...a startling new hypothesis..." Library Journal "...Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee offer a powerful argument..." The Economist "...provocative, significant, and sweeping..." Northwest Science & Technology "...a stellar example of clear writing..." American Scientist
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| Customer Reviews: Read 101 more reviews...
Who knows? November 23, 2008
While this book is well written and very informative, what they authors have to say could be said in a dozen pages. I beleive thier conclusions are sound.
 Awesome in its implications, even more awesome if the authors are correct March 30, 2008
"Rare Earth" examines the possibility that our planet Earth, far from being a common type of planet around an average star, is instead a very great rarity in numerous ways. The authors conclude that various traits of our planet, Solar System, and position in the Galaxy, are uncommonly fortunate for the development of complex life forms. While the authors believe that there are no doubt other planets somewhere where this fortunate confluence has also occurred, they conclude that multi-cellular life is rare in the universe, and that for all intents and purposes mankind may be essentially alone and nearly unique.
The authors make a case. They show that our Solar System is particularly well-positioned in its orbit within the Galaxy for life, as our star is largely on the outer periphery of the Galaxy where it is spared the lethal effects of novas and other cosmic catastrophes that are more common nearer the core of the Galaxy. Further, the authors note that our own Solar System is uncommon in that the gas giant planets are confined to the outer reaches of the System, where they do not interfere much with the orbits of the inner planets, i.e. Earth, and in fact act as meteor shields, reducing the number of catastrophic meteor strikes which can, and have, caused most complex species to become extinct.
The authors also note that even throughout most of Earth's history life was single-celled and species were few, until the Cambrian Explosion of speciation. This event, in order to take place, required numerous fortunate circumstances all to occur, and the authors make a case that such a fortunate confluence of conditions cannot be common in the universe. They may be right.
Or they may not. The problem, of course, is that we are really dealing with a sample of one -- at this juncture we have discovered life nowhere but on our own planet, and our ability to explore the conditions that exist on planets outside our own Solar System (or even inside it) is greatly limited. What makes this book worth reading is the importance of its topic, for surely there can be no more profound question than "Are We Alone?..."
Some of the science in this book becomes a little hard to follow for non-scientists, but mostly the authors present their case with clarity, and certainly even the layman can follow the main threads of the authors' arguments throughout the piece. This is a fascinating and important work that should appeal to many.
Even rarer insight March 10, 2008
The authors, Ward and Brownlee, present compelling evidence that Earth is truly a rare planet. Too much use of the word - evolution, perhaps a satisfactory substitute would be adaptation or acclimatization. Good arguments, in mathematical terms, for the existence of complex life on earth alone.
Detailed February 10, 2008
For a layman's book this is fairly dense which is a good thing. I agree mostly with the arguments presented but the jury's still out on tidally locked planets located in the habitable zones of their stars. The authors' contend that the tidal locking excludes any evolution of complex metazoans but the Gliese 581 system may present more definitive answers in the coming decades. To me that's the most dynamic issue raised by this book and I'm very excited about the outcome. For instance: Can any of these planets hold an atmosphere? Do any of them have liquid water and if any how much? From my own research 581C may be more like Venus than Earth but 581D which is on the outer periphery may host microbial life and in time as the planet warms, more complex life. It could be another earth in the making but most likely not. I find myself picking this book up quite often. It's well written and well argued mostly from the viewpoint of what can be extrapolated from life's early complex evolution on planet earth. So many issues to consider but it really does not look like complex plants and animals are easy or fast to achieve even on earthlike planets which may be interspersed at an average of 5000 light year increments in a 15,000 light year habitable zone which would not include the center or edge areas of the galaxy. There really isn't enough data yet but that is the suspician of the authors'. That should be a sobering thought.
Tectonic plates balance Greenhouse gases August 31, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Earth is the only planet with tectonic plates. Earth possesses water, the universal solvent and indispensable for life. Earth's mountains occur in chains. The giant mountains are Mars were created by volcanos. There is no equivalent to the Rockies, the Andes, the Himalyas, or the score of linear mountain chains. The process, the movement of planetary crust across the surface of the planet, is found in our solar system only on Earth.
Tectonic plates provide a wide range of biodiversity. The defense against mass extinction is diversity. Second, the tectonic plates provide our global thermostat by recycling chemical crucial to keeping the volume of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere relatively uniform. Third, plate tectonics is the dominate force that cause changes in sea levels, which in turn, are vital to the formation of minerals that keep the level of global carbon dioxide in check. Fourth, plate tectonics create continents on the earth. And finally, plate tectonics make possible the earth's magnetic field, the protection against cosmic radiation.
All the continents are masses of relatively low-density rock embedded in ground mass of more dense material. The low density rock have the average composition of granites, whereas, the higher density rocks that make up the ocean crust are basaltic in composition. Because granite is less dense than basalt, the granite rich continents float on a thin bed of basalt. The earth inner core is radioactive and generates heat deep inside the earth. As this heat rise toward the surface, it creates gigantic cells of hot, liquid rock in the mantle. The mantle rises, moves parallel with the surface for great distance, and then, cooled, settles back down into the depths. The upper mantle has a convection behavior. The mantle convects in the manner of liquid because the movement is so slow, and the temperatures so high, that the individual crystals have time to deform in response to stress.
Volcanos occur along subduction zones. The total are of the oceanic plates have decreased over time and the area of the continental plates has grown. The ocean crust can sink and be remelted back to magma. Whereas, the lighter continental crust remains afloat like a cork on the sea.
Plate tectonics promote environmental complexity and thus increase biodiversity. "Changes in continental position would affect ocean currents, temperature, seasonal rainfall patterns and fluctuations, the distribution of nutrients, and patterns of biological productivity." 2/3 of all animal species live on land. There are between 3 and 30 million plant and animal species alive today.
Volcanos recycle CO2 into the atmosphere. CO2 is stored in Limestone at the bottom of the ocean. The Limestone moves into subduction channels and is recycle through volcanic activity into the atmosphere. A temperature of 4-40 C is suitable for life and must be maintained. Greenhouse gases include: H20, O3, CO2, CH4 and are capable of capturing infrared energy from the earth's surface, in so doing, warm the planet. Oxygen and Nitrogen do not capture energy. However, suppose the oceans froze, this would cause an insufficient amount of CO2 generated for life to exist. CO2 constitutes on 0.035% of the atmosphere. Plate tectonics play an important role in maintaining levels of greenhouse gases. The water on the earth is .05% by weight. The maintenance of liquid water is controlled by global temperatures. The temperature of the earth is controlled by the amount of energy coming from the sun and how much energy is absorbed by the planet and how fast the greenhouse gases are replenished. If the green house gases are not replenished the earth will grow colder. "On a planet with volcanism there is usually an abundance of greenhouse gases, too much in some cases" - from both active and dormant volcanos.
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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