J.William Schopf (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520233904
- eISBN:
- 9780520928701
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520233904.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Always a controversial and compelling topic, the origin of life on Earth was considered taboo as an area of inquiry for science as recently as the 1950s. Since then, however, scientists working in ...
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Always a controversial and compelling topic, the origin of life on Earth was considered taboo as an area of inquiry for science as recently as the 1950s. Since then, however, scientists working in this area have made remarkable progress, and an overall picture of how life emerged is coming more clearly into focus. We now know, for example, that the story of life's origin begins not on Earth, but in the interiors of distant stars. This book brings a summary of current research and ideas on life's origin to a wide audience. The contributors, all of whom received the Oparin/Urey Gold Medal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, discuss their life's work: understanding the what, when, and how of the early evolution of life on Earth.Less
Always a controversial and compelling topic, the origin of life on Earth was considered taboo as an area of inquiry for science as recently as the 1950s. Since then, however, scientists working in this area have made remarkable progress, and an overall picture of how life emerged is coming more clearly into focus. We now know, for example, that the story of life's origin begins not on Earth, but in the interiors of distant stars. This book brings a summary of current research and ideas on life's origin to a wide audience. The contributors, all of whom received the Oparin/Urey Gold Medal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, discuss their life's work: understanding the what, when, and how of the early evolution of life on Earth.
Anthony Barnosky (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520240827
- eISBN:
- 9780520930858
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520240827.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This book chronicles the discovery and analysis of animal fossils found in one of the most important paleontological sites in the world: Porcupine Cave, located at an elevation of 9,500 feet in the ...
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This book chronicles the discovery and analysis of animal fossils found in one of the most important paleontological sites in the world: Porcupine Cave, located at an elevation of 9,500 feet in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. With tens of thousands of identified specimens, this site has become the key source of information on the fauna of North America's higher elevations between approximately 1 million and 600,000 years ago, a period that saw the advance and retreat of glaciers numerous times. Until now, little has been understood about how this dramatic climate change affected life during the middle Pleistocene. In addition to presenting data from Porcupine Cave, this study also presents analysis on what the data from the site show about the evolutionary and ecological adjustments that occurred in this period, shedding light on how one of the world's most pressing environmental concerns—global climate change—can influence life on earth.Less
This book chronicles the discovery and analysis of animal fossils found in one of the most important paleontological sites in the world: Porcupine Cave, located at an elevation of 9,500 feet in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. With tens of thousands of identified specimens, this site has become the key source of information on the fauna of North America's higher elevations between approximately 1 million and 600,000 years ago, a period that saw the advance and retreat of glaciers numerous times. Until now, little has been understood about how this dramatic climate change affected life during the middle Pleistocene. In addition to presenting data from Porcupine Cave, this study also presents analysis on what the data from the site show about the evolutionary and ecological adjustments that occurred in this period, shedding light on how one of the world's most pressing environmental concerns—global climate change—can influence life on earth.
Karel Schrijver
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198799894
- eISBN:
- 9780191864865
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198799894.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Geophysics, Atmospheric and Environmental Physics, History of Physics
Illustrated with breathtaking images of the Solar System and of the Universe around it, this book explores how the discoveries within the Solar System and of distant exoplanets come together to aid ...
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Illustrated with breathtaking images of the Solar System and of the Universe around it, this book explores how the discoveries within the Solar System and of distant exoplanets come together to aid understanding of the habitability of Earth, and how this guides the search for exoplanets that could support life. The author recounts how, within two decades of the discovery of the first planets outside the Solar System in the 1990s, scientists concluded that planets are so common that most stars are orbited by them. The twelve chapters highlight what we have learned about exoplanets and how the lives of exoplanets and their stars are inextricably interwoven. Stars are the seeds around which planetary systems form. Stars provide their planets with light and warmth for as long as they shine. At the end of their lives, stars expel massive amounts of newly forged elements into deep space. That ejected material is incorporated into subsequent generations of planets. How do we learn about these distant worlds? What does the exploration of other planets tell us about the history of Earth? Can we find out what the distant future may have in store for us? What do we know about exoworlds and starbirth, and where do migrating hot Jupiters, polluted white dwarfs, and free-roaming nomad planets fit in? What does all that have to do with the habitability of Earth and the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life? And how did the globe-spanning network of the sciences begin to answer all these questions?Less
Illustrated with breathtaking images of the Solar System and of the Universe around it, this book explores how the discoveries within the Solar System and of distant exoplanets come together to aid understanding of the habitability of Earth, and how this guides the search for exoplanets that could support life. The author recounts how, within two decades of the discovery of the first planets outside the Solar System in the 1990s, scientists concluded that planets are so common that most stars are orbited by them. The twelve chapters highlight what we have learned about exoplanets and how the lives of exoplanets and their stars are inextricably interwoven. Stars are the seeds around which planetary systems form. Stars provide their planets with light and warmth for as long as they shine. At the end of their lives, stars expel massive amounts of newly forged elements into deep space. That ejected material is incorporated into subsequent generations of planets. How do we learn about these distant worlds? What does the exploration of other planets tell us about the history of Earth? Can we find out what the distant future may have in store for us? What do we know about exoworlds and starbirth, and where do migrating hot Jupiters, polluted white dwarfs, and free-roaming nomad planets fit in? What does all that have to do with the habitability of Earth and the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life? And how did the globe-spanning network of the sciences begin to answer all these questions?
Daniel B. Botkin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199913916
- eISBN:
- 9780190267919
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Discontinued
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199913916.003.0013
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter examines the impact of environmental change, especially climate change, on life on Earth. It first considers the three ways in which organisms adjust to environmental change, from ...
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This chapter examines the impact of environmental change, especially climate change, on life on Earth. It first considers the three ways in which organisms adjust to environmental change, from fastest to slowest: behaviorally, physiologically, and genetically. It then describes the effects of climate change on civilization and cultures in the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age. It also explains how salmon have persisted through various kinds of environmental changes before turning to the forecasting of the number of species that might go extinct under global warming. Finally, it discusses how actions to help solve another environmental problem can also be beneficial in reducing the undesirable effects of global warming. For example, moving away from fossil fuels toward wind and solar energy reduces the human contribution of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere while also reducing habitat destruction and air, water, and ocean pollution, thus benefiting biodiversity and human health and well-being.Less
This chapter examines the impact of environmental change, especially climate change, on life on Earth. It first considers the three ways in which organisms adjust to environmental change, from fastest to slowest: behaviorally, physiologically, and genetically. It then describes the effects of climate change on civilization and cultures in the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age. It also explains how salmon have persisted through various kinds of environmental changes before turning to the forecasting of the number of species that might go extinct under global warming. Finally, it discusses how actions to help solve another environmental problem can also be beneficial in reducing the undesirable effects of global warming. For example, moving away from fossil fuels toward wind and solar energy reduces the human contribution of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere while also reducing habitat destruction and air, water, and ocean pollution, thus benefiting biodiversity and human health and well-being.
Steven M. Cahn and Christine Vitrano
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231172400
- eISBN:
- 9780231539364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231172400.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter examines whether belief in heaven and hell determines one's morality. Even those who agree that morality stands independent of theism may harbor the thought that life on earth is ...
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This chapter examines whether belief in heaven and hell determines one's morality. Even those who agree that morality stands independent of theism may harbor the thought that life on earth is followed by an afterlife in which good people abide forever in a place of joy, while others endure everlasting suffering in a place of doom. In other words, even if God doesn't create morality, He distributes rewards and punishments in accord with moral precepts. Blaise Pascal argues that if you believe in God and God exists, then you attain heavenly bliss; if you believe in God and God doesn't exist, little is lost. On the other hand, if you don't believe in God and God exists, then you are doomed to the torments of damnation; if you don't believe in God and God doesn't exist, little is gained. Thus belief in God is the safest strategy. This chapter argues that speculation about obscure matters related to heaven and hell does not provide a reliable foundation for acting morally.Less
This chapter examines whether belief in heaven and hell determines one's morality. Even those who agree that morality stands independent of theism may harbor the thought that life on earth is followed by an afterlife in which good people abide forever in a place of joy, while others endure everlasting suffering in a place of doom. In other words, even if God doesn't create morality, He distributes rewards and punishments in accord with moral precepts. Blaise Pascal argues that if you believe in God and God exists, then you attain heavenly bliss; if you believe in God and God doesn't exist, little is lost. On the other hand, if you don't believe in God and God exists, then you are doomed to the torments of damnation; if you don't believe in God and God doesn't exist, little is gained. Thus belief in God is the safest strategy. This chapter argues that speculation about obscure matters related to heaven and hell does not provide a reliable foundation for acting morally.
