THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS January 6, 1997
CONTACT: Vicki Aversa
(410) 296-0346
[email protected]
TO: Science/Environment Editors and Writers
FROM: The Johns Hopkins University Press
RE: Review copies of book on biodiversity available
Ten years ago, the word "biodiversity" wasn't even in our vocabulary -- let alone popular culture. Today, the word is used not only by biologists, but by talk show hosts, politicians, businessmen -- and even by schoolchildren. How did the idea of biodiversity come about? What does it mean? And what is its impact on society?
In a new book published by The Johns Hopkins University Press, "The Idea of Biodiversity: Philosophies of Paradise," California State University, Monterey, Professor David Takacs examines this relatively new and accessible definition of the natural world. Through interviews with nationally recognized conservation biologists, field work in Costa Rica and study of the work of conservation's forerunners, Takacs describes how, in response to the environmental crisis, scientists have become advocates for the natural world. In the process, scientists are re-defining both what it means to be a biologist and the boundaries of science, politics, ethics, and nature itself.
Takacs' timely exploration of the intricacies of the biodiversity movement notes that by becoming advocates for the environment, biologists risk jeopardizing the societal trust that allows them to be public spokespersons for nature in the first place. Takacs asks if scientists like Daniel Janzen should change how science is practiced. Janzen's pilot project, Costa Rica's InBio, trains residents to be "parataxonimists," who prospect, or collect, samples of invertebrates and plants for a biodiversity database that can be marketed to pharmaceutical companies. Janzen says, "It is time to seek a new kind of fine-tuned and responsive contract between tropical academic science, local human problems, and local environmental processes."
For more information or a review copy of "The Idea of Biodiversity: Philosophies of Paradise," contact Vicki Aversa at (410) 296-0346 or at [email protected]. Professor Takacs can be reached at [email protected].
###
RSS