Endangered Earth

In seven articles, written from 2000 to 2003 and compiled by Scientific American magazine, leading experts discuss threats to life on Earth as we know it. Topics include how the current extinction rate compares with past ones, how biotechnology and cloning might offer the best ways to keep some endangered species from extinction, the rate of Antarctica's ice melt and rising sea levels, and how rising temperatures are transforming polar landscapes and global epidemiology. Other articles explain some changing views on green consumerism, how inadequate access to contraceptives could severely impact environment and health in coming years, and how global warming may be affecting diseases.