The Ocean of Life

Starred review from March 12, 2012
University of York marine conservationist Roberts (The Unnatural History of the Sea) offers an engrossing survey of the relationship between man and the sea for readers living through the greatest environmental changes in 65 million years. From the genesis of life four billion years ago to the increasingly empty dead zones of our planet’s waters, Roberts details the interaction between the ocean and human evolution, food supply, cities, art, science, policy, business, and waste. He skillfully intersperses jaw-dropping anecdotes (one two-pint bottle of ocean water contains four billion unique viruses, albatross feed their chicks an average of 70 pieces of plastic per meal) with the concrete effects of man’s influence on the ocean’s acid levels, species diversity, noise, and food chain. Later prescriptions on how to interact ethically with an ocean at risk walk the fine line between individual accountability and informed policy creation. Roberts’s meditation will have readers gasping aloud with wonder, even as the sobering truth of humans’ profound interdependence with the sea provokes concern. Agent: Patrick Walsh, Conville & Walsh.

April 15, 2012
Roberts (Marine Conservation/Univ. of York; The Unnatural History of the Sea, 2009) warns that "the oceans have changed more in [the] last thirty years than in all of human history before." In this follow-up to his award-winning account of man's 1,000-year exploitation of maritime resources, the author not only documents the loss of large sea animals, such as whales, sharks and turtles, the destruction of coral reefs and the broader ocean environment, but he anticipates further devastation from the onset of deep-sea mining in the near future. While environmentalists are keenly aware of the danger man poses to animal species, Roberts suggests that the oceans have always played a significant role in human survival. He writes that the view of our ancestors as a "plucky species" of big-game hunters has a "certain mythological ring to it." However, our early survival may have depended mainly on water creatures for sustenance: "Could our shift to bipedalism have been an aquatic adaptation developed by wading to gather shellfish?" While the author notes that the 1880s shift to steam power and then later to diesel "heralded the beginning of the modern era in commercial fishing," these were still just improvements on more traditional fishing methods. Not so the introduction of echo sounders and other electronic devices augmented by computers and satellites, which now allow fishermen to detect the presence of fish with an extremely high degree of precision. Roberts maintains his optimism while looking at the problems that have been compounded by global warming, pollution, the destruction of marshlands, etc., and he notes that remedial action is still possible. It is not too late, he writes, for "strategies that rebuild nature's vitality and fecundity"--e.g., protecting one-third of the ocean from direct exploitation and restricting fishing of tuna, salmon and cod. A timely wake-up call.

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April 15, 2012

Biologist and conservation activist Roberts (environment, Univ. of York, UK; The Unnatural History of the Sea) examines with clarity the relationships among fossil-fuel use, climate change, rising sea levels and ocean acidity, overfishing, and pollution from toxic chemicals, sewage, and fertilizers. He discusses the origin of the earth, oceans, and atmosphere; considers the effects of ocean currents and ocean circulation in relation to species distribution; describes fishing methods that deplete fisheries for various species; and traces the ecological dangers of offshore oil drilling. Although he paints a bleak picture of the oceans' health, as do Richard Ellis (The Empty Ocean) and Charles Clover (The End of the Line), Roberts offers solutions for preventing further degradation of our ocean planet. These include recognizing the need for change, controlling human population growth, limiting the use of artificial fertilizers, preventing chemical pollution, eliminating the use of plastic garbage bags, and controlling the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. VERDICT Appropriate for the general public as well as high school and college students, this is essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of the planet.--Judith B. Barnett, Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2012
Our oceans are changing. As they warm and become acidic, coral reefs die, exposing shores to more violent storms. Rising waters encroach on coastal cities. Algae blooms remove oxygen from the seas, leaving vast zones deadly to fauna and flora. Large populations of marine species crash in the wakes of overfishing, pollution, habitat loss, climate change, and invasive species. Yet vocal public opinion holds that the oceans covering 80 percent of our planet are inexhaustible and immune to abuse, and politicians continue to support industrial harvesting and mining in the ocean. In this follow-up to his acclaimed The Unnatural History of the Sea (2007), passionate marine conservationist Roberts documents the disturbing changes that threaten the future of marine life and proposes a natural course of conservation that may yet save us from economic crash, environmental ruin, and human suffering.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)