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| The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth | 
| Author: Edward O. Wilson
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy New: $9.91
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New (5) from $9.91
Avg. Customer Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 590678
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8
Dewey Decimal Number: 333.9516
ASIN: B001717522
Publication Date: September 5, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new book
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 41-45 of 45 | | « PREV 1 ... | | |
 One long appeal October 3, 2006
38 out of 44 found this review helpful
When Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species" he declared it to be "one long argument". Today, less than 150 years later, Edward O. Wilson explains that the one species omitted [except for one sentence] from the "argument" is devastating the life of the planet. In one long appeal to a fictional Baptist pastor, Wilson describes what is clear to all but a few dedicated die-hards - life on this planet is in deep trouble. The die-hards are firmly identified in the opening passages; Christians in the US who regard themselves as "biblical literalists". Such folk expect the Apocalypse soon and saving the environment is of little concern.
Wilson clearly knows his potential audience and addresses it. He understands the opinions his readers hold and addresses them in language familiar to them. "Biology" he contends, "now leads in reconstructing the human self-image". That means that biology can explain what is happening to the life around us and how we are dealing with it. He carefully allows the potential for a deity to have a role, but it isn't one dealing with the current situation. Because it is humanity stripping the rainforests, causing the oceans to warm and destroying life in them, or filling the atmosphere with chemicals it cannot absorb, it is up to people to take the steps necessary to halt these degradations.
In showing his "pastor" the interconnectivity of all life, the author utilises clear, undemanding prose. Whether one believes a god plays a role in this network is immaterial. People and their actions are unweaving that network. Species extinction is forever, and whatever biology can explain, it hasn't had the time or opportunity to assess the impact of what is occurring. The job, he says, is clearly too vast, and the relationships are too intricate. That, however, doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Nor does it mean that lack of knowledge renders the problem something we can dismiss. We ignore the result of our actions at our peril.
Going a step further in his analysis, Wilson notes the planet's rash of environmental "hotspots" that need immediate solutions addressed to them. He's even able to put a price on healing the afflicted areas. He proposes forms of "protective umbrellas" that can be applied to areas like the Amazon and Congolian basins and others. These saving mechanisms would require "one payment of about US$30 billion". That's about 15 weeks of current expenditure on Iraq's occupation at the latest rates. He further shows how the subsidies given the fishing industry in the US alone, if redirected to a programme of oceanic reserves, would allow fish stocks to recover. To ensure the survival of countless threatened species, it's a minimal expence. If humans can set themselves up as gods in destroying the environment, they can act creatively to preserve it.
Wilson's "letter" may seem a bit lengthy at 170 pages, but as "one long appeal" to his audience, it's not overmuch to take up. Take it up and read it. Then have your children read it - they are the ones confronting the future Wilson describes. The offer it to the pastor nearest you. Religious leaders have whole flocks who should hear what Wilson has to say. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Raising a Naturalist September 24, 2006
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is a very readable book that goes beyond just Dr. Wilson's comments on saving the creation. There's a very good section on top-down teaching methods that can be applied to any subject. There's also an interesting discussion of how to make children more aware of the natural world, going far beyond teaching them facts. The result could be a generation that's much more aware of the world around them beyond TV and video games.
The problem with the book is the way the author approaches the discussion of evolution and intelligent design. Dr. Wilson assumes that people on the side of creationism understand basic biology and the scientific method as he states the "facts" of evolution. His mistake is that most people don't understand those basic facts and readily discount them. His hope may be that he can retrain the past couple of generations as amateur naturalists and this book may be a good start.
To make Science and Religion work together to save the Planet September 20, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
One of the most renowned scientists in the world E.O. Wilson makes an effort to reach across the great divide of our Culture, and bring Science and Religion together in common effort. Raised as a Southern Baptist himself, and an enthusiastic devotee of 'television preachers' he makes his appeal in the form of letters to an Evangelical preacher. His aim is to enlist the religious world in the task of saving the threatened planet.
Wilson says that by 2050 there could be the loss of one- quarter of living species. He points to other kinds of losses which could add to that including pollution, habitat destruction, human overpopulation and overharvesting.
Wilson is also greatly alarmed by the environmental disaster which is coming to the world's water supply, and could leave in the next century forty percent of mankind without a good source of drinking water.
He points out a whole host of other dangers and indicates ways of acting against them.
Wilson is not interested in debating abstract principles or fundamental philosophy in regard to the creation or nature of life, but rather in enlisting and important political constituency in the battle to preserve the Nature he loves, and has given his life to studying and understanding.
Saving Earth with Spirit and Science September 9, 2006
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
E.O. Wilson once again has used his significant scientific expertise and his great passion for the well-being of Earth and the biotic community to stimulate care for (the) creation. By suggesting that Christians and secular scientists "meet on the near side of metaphysics," Wilson extends a hand to all who are concerned about environmental degradation, and engaged (or open to being engaged) in environmental restoration, suggesting that people of diverse views should work together to "save life on Earth." This is a most important work, which offers a vision, hope, a challenge, and an invitation to become engaged in practical projects that concretize biophilia. As a Christian, a university prof, and an active environmentalist, I have long appreciated E.O. Wilson's expertise and dedication. "The Creation" deepens that appreciation.
excellent short introduction to the great challenge of the 21st century September 6, 2006
23 out of 25 found this review helpful
Wilson makes a short plea here for science and religion to join forces in defending the natural world from the increasingly destructive human race. Some of his points are wonderfully telling, such as the speech that he invents to justify our bad behaviors- and the response he crafts to explain why such justifications are nonsense. Yes, the laws of nature still apply to humans as well as Dodos. This is an important book from a prophet of science. I like his term "biophilia"- the love of living things.
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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