Chris Thomas’s “Inheritors of the Earth” has left me feeling a bit torn. On the one hand, he has provided me with a surprising amount of optimism where my climate anxiety has gotten fairly severe. He shows quite a few examples of how in this changing world, animals and plants alike are proving to be more resilience in the face of climate change and other challenges than many are giving them credit for by physically moving to new habitats, finding new niches in human-made environments, and in some some places even experiencing accelerated evolution in the face of human development, to name a few of the covered adaptations. I also appreciated Thomas’s big picture of how this is not at all the first time that a mass extinction event has occurred, and that species coming and going is simply a fact of life.

However, I found that there was only so far that he could take me with his arguments. The trends and phenomena that he described did not feel like they were fully equal matches to the various factors that are leading to the worldwide decline of species. Several of his examples felt a bit lacking, and seemed more anecdotal than anything. I didn’t find myself fully convinced that a major nature-wide decimation isn’t going to leave us all the poorer very soon. I also found his embrace of the changes that many species are undergoing as a result of humans to be a little over the top. The tone felt almost celebratory at times, and a bit disconnected from the very real ongoing ecological crises.

So I guess in the end, I would say that I’m not fully sold on Thomas’s vision. However, I do find myself convinced that the current and fast-fluctuating situation for the animal and plant life of the world, is not as dire as I have been fearing, and that there is sizable cause for hope.

A great book on the expanded view of the "sixth extinction". I appreciate its clear-headed approach to understanding human impact on the modern ecosystem without the usual hysteria associated with the subject. Yes, mankind is negatively affecting many species, but it has been doing so since the cave-dwelling days, and it actually positively contributed to the prosperity of many others. Inheritors of the Earth is a more optimistic look on what is happening in our world, and it takes into consideration many facts that a lot of politically-motivated conservationists decide to avoid. Not to say the the author is trying to hide his head in the sand - quite opposite, he does not take away from the attempts to save endangered species, - but he does an excellent job reminding us that the situation is more complicated than it appears in media.

An interesting premise that focuses not on the negative effects of human acts on nature, but on those species that are adapting to survive. I have to admit that the amount of information is overwhelming and it took me longer to read than usual. This book is certainly not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

I really hoped this book would bring some new ideas to the table, but it comes across as nothing more than a fluffed up tabloid newspaper article.
I really wish I had something more positive to say, but the book is dull, poorly edited, and lacking in much real evidence (a few isolated species case studies does not support an idea of this magnitude).
It makes the rather stupid mistake of looking at individual species in isolation without any real consideration of their place in wider ecological systems.
My own thought on the issue.....
If mankind keeps kicking bricks out of natures wall of biodiversity at an unnatural and accelerated rate, ecosystems will eventually crumble.
Furthermore it essentially doesn’t matter how many new bricks we stick on top of the wall in order to make up all the losses, we are not the designers of the wall; and so essentially we have no real clue what we are building for the future!

I was thrilled to see a title that might offer hope amidst the gloom of extinctions (As I write this, the common bumblebee has just made the Endangered Species List). Chris Thomas is an environmental scientist, and his claims are evidence-based. He travels the world and sees all kinds of rare species. He researches where they came from and how they got there, and what effect they’ve had. All good.

The book has four sections, all dealing with biodiversity and Man’s destruction (or not) of it. They are 1) the outright wiping out of species, 2) habitat destruction, 3) climate change, and 4) species invasion. Thomas says these are the biggest reasons for species extinction under Man’s management. But it’s all good.

Man and his domesticated animals account for 97% of vertebrate biomass. From Thomas’ standpoint, they are the inheritors who will survive, as long as we’re here to promote them. And he wants us to think this is a good thing. He positively celebrates that we haven’t killed off everything. (I’m not making this up.) And all of these things have a result of increasing diversity. Bottom line: we’re making Earth great again.

Thomas is crystal clear that Man has changed everything and it cannot revert: “This sense of a wild world without humans is a mirage. We have transformed the whole planet. … There is no longer any such thing as human-free nature …. The harmonious coexistence of humans and the rest of nature in the distant past is a romanticized and largely fictional notion.” But that’s all okay, because new hybrids are appearing, and species are spreading where they’ve never been before thanks to us. Of the 12,000 invasive species now thriving in Europe, none is going to disappear no matter what. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

In his book [[ASIN:1631490826 Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life]], E.O. Wilson rails against scientists who defend the pathetic state of the planet damaged by Man. To avoid long explanations In my review, I called them Anthropocene Apologists (AA). Chris Thomas is an AA, the first I have read. He might even be THE AA Wilson writes about – the points are so close. The AA argument is:

-Some species are more successful than others, and a boost from Man is not a negative.
-We should welcome the invasive species as adding to or making up for what little diversity remains.
-We should celebrate their success outcompeting the natives.
-Only a tiny percentage of invasives cause local extinctions.
-Since Man has upset the balance (wiping out most large mammals for example), there’s nothing we can do about it, so we should just keep going.
-Man is in charge, and as a part of Nature, everything he does is ultimately beneficial.
-Nature and evolution will correct for Man’s sins, and flourish.

This is precisely what Wilson cannot abide, and can barely believe scientists would say. Thomas, on the other hand is excited that Man continues introducing non-native species all over the world, creating a new Pangea where everything can mix. How all the species will evolve in their new homelands is quite magical to him. He even says “evolutionary acceleration is starting to gather pace” because of these acts. He doesn’t say, but Thomas must be positively euphoric over the possibilities from genetically modified organisms being released into the biosphere.

In the Epilogue, Thomas doubles down and calls for active transportation of pretty much every living thing from continent to continent, so that everywhere on Earth has the same stock, and everything can mix and thrive and evolve its own way. His idea is that unprecedented diversity will develop over the next thousand years. Fortunately, I won’t be around to see it.

David Wineberg