Chemodiversity and the Ecological Crisis by Adi Wolfson, 2020
This book covers the origins, transformations, and interactions of matter—from atoms and molecules to complex biological and composite materials—across abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic systems. It offers a unique chronological narrative, tracing the evolution of #chemodiversity from the Big Bang to the present, and explores how these material changes underpin the ecological crises of our time.
2/
The book frames the ecological crisis through three interlinked dimensions: the chemical crisis (pollution), the biological crisis (biodiversity loss), and the physical crisis (climate change). These are analyzed both microscopically—at the level of atomic and molecular interactions—and macroscopically, through phenomena such as air and ocean pollution, global warming, and ecosystem degradation.
#pollution
#biodiversity
#ClimateChange
#GlobalWarming
#ecosystems
#Springer
3/
Through detailed chapters, the book examines elemental formation, ecosystem structure and function, and provides a critical analysis of the #anthroposphere, highlighting how human activity has reshaped Earth’s systems and accelerated environmental decline. It critically addresses sustainability, resource management, and the systemic challenges posed by the current human-environment crisis.
4/
Designed for researchers, scholars, and advanced students in environmental science, geochemistry, and systems ecology, this work provides a robust conceptual and analytical framework. It is an essential reference for those seeking to understand the material basis of life and the complex interdependencies that define our planet’s future.
#books
#nonfiction
#EnvironmentalScience
#geochemistry
#SystemsEcology
#Springer
5/
Preface
The world we live in is made up of innumerable particles: elementary particles, atoms and molecules, and a multitude of substances with different and diverse properties: natural and synthetic substances, organic and inorganic compounds, and pure and composite materials. All of these are found in outer space and on Earth, in the air, in water sources, and on land, as well as in plants (“flora”) and animals (“fauna”).
6/
These particles and substances are constantly moving and changing their states and shapes, decomposing, and being created by means of a variety of physical processes and chemical reactions—as part of #biogeochemical cycles, while absorbing and emitting energy in various forms.
8/
This is equally true in the #biotic environment (the “#biosphere”), consisting of microorganisms, plants, animals, and the human body; in #abiotic (lifeless) environments, such as the #geosphere, the #lithosphere, the #hydrosphere, and the #atmosphere; and in the entire #ecosphere, comprising ecosystems composed of biotic and abiotic elements in complex interrelationships. Such ecosystems, large and small, for all their components, also interact in intricate mutual relationships.
9/
Moreover, this chemical diversity (“#chemodiversity”) indicates the richness of the spatial and temporal variations and changes—the amounts, types, and states of all the particles and substances in Nature—from elements and atoms, through molecules and compounds, to composite mixtures, solutions, and materials.
earthling