National Geographic, Washington, DC, 2010 edition. 319pp.
Earle, Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic
Society, here provides a highly readable and compelling “state of the oceans”
report. The facts and figures are all
here, but they are mixed with anecdotes and vivid descriptions of marine life
to keep the reader in the right context.
Earle argues for more protected marine reserves (they covered less than
one percent of the ocean when she wrote the book, an improved but still fragile
two percent here in 2014), better regulation of fishing, and many other
measures to halt the sharp decline in ocean productivity and biodiversity. (One of her best points is that American hunters
can take millions of ducks every year because there are enough protected
marchlands and flyways to ensure the duck population can stay healthy.) She touches on all the major groups of marine
life and describes the latest in submersibles and other technology, although
she points out there are far too few vessels, crewed or robotic, to properly explore
the oceans. Through all this runs a
thread tracing the development of marine conservation efforts, in the U.S. and
internationally. One of my heroes of
exploration and conservation, “Her Deepness” has here made a contribution that should
be read by everyone interested in marine life and conservation – which essentially
means everyone, since the Earth (as she quotes another scientists as pointing
out) IS a marine habitat.
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