Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past and What They Can Tell Us about Our Future

Science News,  May 26, 2007  

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UNDER A GREEN SKY: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past and What They Can Tell Us about Our Future PETER D. WARD

Ward wrote this book, he explains, out of a deep fear about the future. As one of the scientists who discovered that dinosaurs went extinct when an asteroid struck Earth, he contemplates the chances of a mass extinction today. Current conditions eerily reflect those that probably accounted for other mass extinctions in Earth's history, he writes. Ward set out to examine the Permian extinction, which occurred 251 million years ago and wiped out almost 90 percent of all species. A combination of environmental factors was the cause, Ward writes. He recounts his own work and that of other scientists studying microbial biomarkers to determine the chemical composition of Earth's oceans and atmosphere during this period. They have discovered that the oceans were toxic and devoid of oxygen, while the sky was hazy with carbon dioxide and methane. If human influence on the environment continues unchecked, Earth may be due for another extinction, Ward concludes. Collins, 2007, 242 p,, hardcover, $26.95.

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