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Contents:

Introduction; 1 - The big picture; 2 - How do species survive?; 3 - Two major current problems; 4 - Applying ecology.

Review:

There are numerous texts dealing with ecology as these review pages testify. Less common is the ecology text aimed at a particular reader. These were popular in the 1980s but have been less common recently. This book aims to redress the balance by putting together an ecological knowledge base focussed on the lay person's need of ecological science.

A quite lengthy introduction sets out the ideas of the author. The basic idea is that people need an ecological awareness but that this needs to be tempered with a realistic understanding of what we are doing so as to steer a path between those at either end of the spectrum who advocate either none, or total, action to deal with ecological issues of public concern. To this extent the book is a personal perspective of the development of certain ecological ideas. Chapter one starts with the argument that water and energy are the two fundamentals of ecological systems. Having established this and shown its utility, Slobodkin continues with a discussion of the ecological ideas of Thoreau, oceans and dry lands. The overall effect is to demonstrate how linkages can be seen in different systems. Chapter two is an exploration of how species numbers and distributions can change. Species occupy niches and these niches are subject to population dynamics. From this point, species might diversify or become extinct; there's also the impact of alien species. Thus we are given an idea of constant change in terms of the overall ideas of demography and speciation. Chapter three looks at two current problems - global warming and endangered species and gives a brief account of each from an ecological perspective. The final chapter considers what we can do about the problem. The sub-title, ' experts, pseudoexperts and how to tell them apart' gives an idea of the focus. It is an exploration of the use and misuse of knowledge and how we can best use it to find a 'solution'. As such the chapter is very much a discussion on the nature of ecology-as-policy and the implications of this.

There is much of interest here. The book is not, as the title suggests, an ecological text useful for the lay person, but one person's view of the role and position of ecology in a range of contexts. It takes from a diverse range of topics within the subject and draws together a range of conclusions but without the comprehensive approach seen in some other texts. Whereas this might not be a text for straightforward ecology courses it would be a very good title to use in the philosophy of ecology.