"...this is a delightful book, one that every citizen, not to mention every student of ecology and environmental studies, would do well to read." -- Ecology"Like all great teachers, Slobodkin has a real gift for conveying complex information in user friendly terms" -- Ecology"...this is a delightful book, one that every citizen, not to mention every student of ecology and environmental studies, would do well to read." -- Ecology

• Acknowledgments ; INTRODUCTION ; Defining Ecology ; Changes ; Why Another Ecology Book? ; Who Are Ecologists? ; 1. THE BIG PICTURE ; Water and Energy: Life's Necessities ; The Origin of Life and of Atmospheric Oxygen ; Big Systems ; Lakes ; Lakes through the Seasons ; Oceans ; Dry Land ; How Independent Are Ecological Systems? ; 2. HOW DO SPECIES SURVIVE? ; Populations ; Individuals and Populations ; Species Diversity ; Species Extinction ; Are All Invasive Species Villains? ; 3. TWO MAJOR CURRENT PROBLEMS ; Global Warming and Endangered Species ; What Can Be Done About Global Warming? ; Protecting Endangered Species ; 4. APPLYING ECOLOGY ; Experts, Pseudoexperts, and How to Tell Them Apart ; The Importance of Being Natural and Vegetarian ; Medicine and Ecology as "Health" Sciences ; CONCLUSIONS ; Appendix ; References ; Index

"...this is a delightful book, one that every citizen, not to mention every student of ecology and environmental studies, would do well to read." -- Ecology"Like all great teachers, Slobodkin has a real gift for conveying complex information in user friendly terms" -- Ecology"...this is a delightful book, one that every citizen, not to mention every student of ecology and environmental studies, would do well to read." -- Ecology

• Acknowledgments ; INTRODUCTION ; Defining Ecology ; Changes ; Why Another Ecology Book? ; Who Are Ecologists? ; 1. THE BIG PICTURE ; Water and Energy: Life's Necessities ; The Origin of Life and of Atmospheric Oxygen ; Big Systems ; Lakes ; Lakes through the Seasons ; Oceans ; Dry Land ; How Independent Are Ecological Systems? ; 2. HOW DO SPECIES SURVIVE? ; Populations ; Individuals and Populations ; Species Diversity ; Species Extinction ; Are All Invasive Species Villains? ; 3. TWO MAJOR CURRENT PROBLEMS ; Global Warming and Endangered Species ; What Can Be Done About Global Warming? ; Protecting Endangered Species ; 4. APPLYING ECOLOGY ; Experts, Pseudoexperts, and How to Tell Them Apart ; The Importance of Being Natural and Vegetarian ; Medicine and Ecology as "Health" Sciences ; CONCLUSIONS ; Appendix ; References ; Index

"...this is a delightful book, one that every citizen, not to mention every student of ecology and environmental studies, would do well to read." -- Ecology"Like all great teachers, Slobodkin has a real gift for conveying complex information in user friendly terms" -- Ecology"...this is a delightful book, one that every citizen, not to mention every student of ecology and environmental studies, would do well to read." -- Ecology

• Acknowledgments ; INTRODUCTION ; Defining Ecology ; Changes ; Why Another Ecology Book? ; Who Are Ecologists? ; 1. THE BIG PICTURE ; Water and Energy: Life's Necessities ; The Origin of Life and of Atmospheric Oxygen ; Big Systems ; Lakes ; Lakes through the Seasons ; Oceans ; Dry Land ; How Independent Are Ecological Systems? ; 2. HOW DO SPECIES SURVIVE? ; Populations ; Individuals and Populations ; Species Diversity ; Species Extinction ; Are All Invasive Species Villains? ; 3. TWO MAJOR CURRENT PROBLEMS ; Global Warming and Endangered Species ; What Can Be Done About Global Warming? ; Protecting Endangered Species ; 4. APPLYING ECOLOGY ; Experts, Pseudoexperts, and How to Tell Them Apart ; The Importance of Being Natural and Vegetarian ; Medicine and Ecology as "Health" Sciences ; CONCLUSIONS ; Appendix ; References ; Index