Mass Extinctions- Medea Hypothesis 19MAY09

Peter Ward on mass extinctions
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/peter_ward_on_mass_extinctions.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lYN_lXU9PA

Speakers Peter Ward: Paleontologist
http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/peter_ward.html

The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive? by Peter Ward
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8855.htmlhttp://press.princeton.edu/titles/8855.html#TOC“

Using the latest discoveries from the geological record, he argues that life might be its own worst enemy.”

“According to the Medea hypothesis, it does. Ward demonstrates that all but one of the mass extinctions that have struck Earth were caused by life itself. He looks at our planet's history in a new way, revealing an Earth that is witnessing an alarming decline of diversity and biomass--a decline brought on by life's own "biocidal" tendencies.”