Everyone has heard about climate change and the associated risks. Biodiversity, on the other hand, has been little talked about, even though we are probably approaching the 6th major extinction.
Of course, climate change and biodiversity are linked. But not only, and the latter must face its own problems, in which the climate plays no role: land artificialisation, water pollution, fragmentation of natural environments, etc.
But the question is vast and complex, and in order to address it, we need to ask some basic questions: what are we talking about when we talk about biodiversity? and what do we really know about it? isn’t it dangerous to worry more about the polar bear than the dung beetle? what role do micro-organisms play in the health of animals and soils? how fast does all this evolve? what makes a species disappear? and besides, how do we know if a species is endangered or not? what are the consequences, in the medium and long term? and… what can we do?
Under the apparent lightness of the design, this book covers fundamental issues, and gives an account of what we really know, as well as how we know it.
