| DRIVEN TO EXTINCTION The Impact of Climate Change on Biodiversity Richard Pearson, Ph.D. New York: Sterling, March 2011 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-1-4027-7223-8 | ||||
| ISBN-10 1-4027-7223-8 | 263pp. | HC/FCI | $22.95 | |
| Pages 51-2: | "...the Norwich team estimates that two types of commercially important fishes—blue whiting and redfishes—may retract completely from the North Sea by the 2050s." |
| I'm not sure "retract" is the best word here; perhaps "retreat" would serve better. |
| Page 51: | "The researchers scoured archives for old photographs of landscapes dominated by Quiver trees, then traveled to where the photos were taken and took exact, modern-day replicates." |
| Although this word used as a noun is new to me, the usage is correct. |
| Page 62: | "The activities that are most demanding for a species—laying eggs, feeding young, producing pollen are best undertaken when conditions are optimal." |
| Missing m-dash: S/B "pollen—are". |
| Page 86: | "...shifts in the intensity of the trade winds trigger a sequence of events that affect rainfall patterns and ocean temperatures." |
| Number error: S/B "affects". |
| Page 88: | "...when carbon dioxide reacts with water, it produces carbonic acid, meaning that the world's oceans are gradually turning acidic." |
| Wording: S/B "more acidic". |
| Page 175: | "...and Suttle honed in on one of these—the Angelo Coast Range Reserve..." |
| Word choice: S/B "homed in". |
| Page 181: | "With a bit of luck, the bears will find an alternative food source to feed on." |
| And an alternate source of drink to drink from? Redundant wording: S/B "food source". |
| Page 183: | "However, in the rest of this chapter, we will hone in on a number of general concepts..." |
| Word choice: S/B "home in on". |
| Page 188: | "The landscape in the area is breathtaking, if inhospitable, with the plot itself being roughly 7 kilometers from the dusty hamlet of Portal, whose single store (speaking from experience) provides a limited, yet crucial, selection of beer for visiting ecologists." |
| I think he's tryng to emulate Peter D. Ward here. |
| Page 191: | "The stereotyped scientist—complete with lab coat, sandals, and socks—is not to be argued with." |
| Footware choice: Sandals and socks? |
| Page 197: | "As Revkin's reporting ably demonstrates, the ongoing challenge is to communicate the state of knowledge concisely and accurately, avoiding exaggeration and hyperbole." |
| Does he mean this is what Revkin is doing, or that Revkin fails to do it and thus demonstrates the difficulty? I think he and I have differing views on that. |
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