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Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life
A vivid account of a major shift in how we understand Earth, from an exceptionally talented new voice. Earth is not simply an inanimate planet on which life evolved, but rather a planet that came to life.
The notion of a living world is one of humanity’s oldest beliefs. Though once scorned by many scientists, the concept of Earth as a vast interconnected living system has gained acceptance in recent decades. Life not only adapts to its surroundings—it also shapes them in dramatic and enduring ways. Over billions of years, life transformed a lump of orbiting rock into our cosmic oasis, breathing oxygen into the atmosphere, concocting the modern oceans, and turning rock into fertile soil. Life is intertwined with Earth’s capacity to regulate its climate and maintain balance.
To reveal life’s profound influence on the planet, Jabr transports the reader to such extraordinary places as an observatory halfway between the treetops and clouds, an experimental nature reserve in Siberia, and a former gold mine nearly one mile underground. We learn how microbes may have played a role in forming the continents. We discover how plants help keep oxygen levels high enough to support complex life, but not so high that Earth becomes disastrously flammable. We see how termites, elephants, and other animals sculpt the planet’s landmasses; how kelp forests and coral reefs store carbon and buffer ocean acidity; and how bacteria change the weather.
Humans are one of the most extreme examples of life changing Earth. Through fossil fuel consumption, agriculture, and pollution, humans have radically altered more aspects of the planet in less time than any other species, pushing Earth into a crisis. But we are also in a unique position to understand and protect the planet’s wondrous ecology and self-stabilizing processes. Jabr introduces us to a diverse cast of fascinating characters doing exactly that. Through compelling narrative, evocative descriptions, and lucid explanations, he shows us how Earth became the world we’ve known, how it is rapidly becoming a very different world, and how we will determine what kind of Earth our descendants inherit for millennia to come.
The notion of a living world is one of humanity’s oldest beliefs. Though once scorned by many scientists, the concept of Earth as a vast interconnected living system has gained acceptance in recent decades. Life not only adapts to its surroundings—it also shapes them in dramatic and enduring ways. Over billions of years, life transformed a lump of orbiting rock into our cosmic oasis, breathing oxygen into the atmosphere, concocting the modern oceans, and turning rock into fertile soil. Life is intertwined with Earth’s capacity to regulate its climate and maintain balance.
To reveal life’s profound influence on the planet, Jabr transports the reader to such extraordinary places as an observatory halfway between the treetops and clouds, an experimental nature reserve in Siberia, and a former gold mine nearly one mile underground. We learn how microbes may have played a role in forming the continents. We discover how plants help keep oxygen levels high enough to support complex life, but not so high that Earth becomes disastrously flammable. We see how termites, elephants, and other animals sculpt the planet’s landmasses; how kelp forests and coral reefs store carbon and buffer ocean acidity; and how bacteria change the weather.
Humans are one of the most extreme examples of life changing Earth. Through fossil fuel consumption, agriculture, and pollution, humans have radically altered more aspects of the planet in less time than any other species, pushing Earth into a crisis. But we are also in a unique position to understand and protect the planet’s wondrous ecology and self-stabilizing processes. Jabr introduces us to a diverse cast of fascinating characters doing exactly that. Through compelling narrative, evocative descriptions, and lucid explanations, he shows us how Earth became the world we’ve known, how it is rapidly becoming a very different world, and how we will determine what kind of Earth our descendants inherit for millennia to come.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 25, 2024
About the author
Ferris Jabr
2 books40 followersFerris Jabr is the author of Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life and a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and Scientific American. He has also written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, National Geographic, Wired, Outside, Lapham’s Quarterly, McSweeney’s, and The Los Angeles Review of Books, among other publications.
He is the recipient of a Whiting Foundation Creative Nonfiction Grant, as well as fellowships from UC Berkeley and the MIT Knight Science Journalism Program. His work has been anthologized in several editions of The Best American Science and Nature Writing series.
He lives in Portland, Oregon with his partner, Ryan, their dog, Jack, and more plants than they can count.
He is the recipient of a Whiting Foundation Creative Nonfiction Grant, as well as fellowships from UC Berkeley and the MIT Knight Science Journalism Program. His work has been anthologized in several editions of The Best American Science and Nature Writing series.
He lives in Portland, Oregon with his partner, Ryan, their dog, Jack, and more plants than they can count.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
July 30, 2024
If you consider deep-earth microbes, soil organisms, plankton, seaweeds/algae, and plants to be humble parts of our world, Ferris Jabr may change your mind! Microbes provided the grease that got plate tectonics moving and continents growing. Without the complex orchestra of soil organisms, nothing would grow and those continents would be barren wastelands. The amazing bulk of plankton in our oceans provide the majority of the oxygen we breathe and influence our weather in addition to feeding a plethora of creatures up to the size of baleen whales.
“[T]he vast majority of chalk and limestone formations on Earth, including large sections of the Alps, are the remains of plankton, corals, shellfish, and other calcereous creatures. Every impossible edifice that humans have constructed with limestone, including the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Colosseum, Notre Dame, and the Empire State Building, is a secret monument to ancient ocean life.”
We are used to centering the narrative on humans (we're hubristic that way) and we have definitely made a mark on our planet, not in dreadfully positive ways. Unfortunately, we have thrown the carbon cycle of the planet way out of whack. One of the best things we could do at this point would be to break our addiction to plastics. Micro- and nano-plastics are found everywhere on Earth now. Eventually there will be a natural process to deal with them, but probably not until we are as extinct as Australopithecus.
If the plastic situation was dismal, I gained encouragement from Jabr's discussions of soil management and fire regimes. Healthy soils and forests are fabulous at sequestering carbon, exactly what we need. I could wish that we could get everyone moving in the same direction, but these things never seem to be easy. People are resistant to change, even sensible changes. At least we have some options. Preservation of grasslands, forests, bogs, swamps, bayous, and peatlands looks like one of our best paths forward. Here in Western Canada, we have lived through several catastrophic fire seasons now, and I hope that our governments can finally admit that fire suppression sets us up for these major events. Controlled burning, using the expertise of our aboriginal peoples, would seem to be a good future path. As a bonus, healthy oceans and forests can create beneficial weather, a good cycle to get going.
We need to readjust our focus—quit only considering ourselves and look to the health of microbes, plankton, algae, fungi, and plants. Invest in renewables, sequester carbon dioxide, plant trees, protect land, farm smarter. Everyone will benefit. So, the meek shall certainly inherit the Earth. In fact, they seem to have orchestrated Earth as we know it and will be around to rehabilitate it when we quit making a mess of it.
“[T]he vast majority of chalk and limestone formations on Earth, including large sections of the Alps, are the remains of plankton, corals, shellfish, and other calcereous creatures. Every impossible edifice that humans have constructed with limestone, including the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Colosseum, Notre Dame, and the Empire State Building, is a secret monument to ancient ocean life.”
We are used to centering the narrative on humans (we're hubristic that way) and we have definitely made a mark on our planet, not in dreadfully positive ways. Unfortunately, we have thrown the carbon cycle of the planet way out of whack. One of the best things we could do at this point would be to break our addiction to plastics. Micro- and nano-plastics are found everywhere on Earth now. Eventually there will be a natural process to deal with them, but probably not until we are as extinct as Australopithecus.
If the plastic situation was dismal, I gained encouragement from Jabr's discussions of soil management and fire regimes. Healthy soils and forests are fabulous at sequestering carbon, exactly what we need. I could wish that we could get everyone moving in the same direction, but these things never seem to be easy. People are resistant to change, even sensible changes. At least we have some options. Preservation of grasslands, forests, bogs, swamps, bayous, and peatlands looks like one of our best paths forward. Here in Western Canada, we have lived through several catastrophic fire seasons now, and I hope that our governments can finally admit that fire suppression sets us up for these major events. Controlled burning, using the expertise of our aboriginal peoples, would seem to be a good future path. As a bonus, healthy oceans and forests can create beneficial weather, a good cycle to get going.
We need to readjust our focus—quit only considering ourselves and look to the health of microbes, plankton, algae, fungi, and plants. Invest in renewables, sequester carbon dioxide, plant trees, protect land, farm smarter. Everyone will benefit. So, the meek shall certainly inherit the Earth. In fact, they seem to have orchestrated Earth as we know it and will be around to rehabilitate it when we quit making a mess of it.
July 7, 2024
Something that is a must for me with non-fiction is a good balance of accessibility. Too little, and you barely learn anything, too much and nothing gets truly comprehended. This book really struck the perfect balance between the two.
January 4, 2024
Becoming Earth by Ferris Jabr is an intriguing comprehensive study of the dynamic nature of earth. Central to Mr. Jabr's message is the Gaia hypothesis from the 1970's that postulates that life transforms earth, including non-living elements of earth in a self-regulating symbiotic cooperative process. Because of this relationship, changes to all forms of life have significant impacts on the inert components of earth. Becoming Earth is organized into three sections: Rock, Water and Air. Each section has 3 chapters that cover the original microorganisms, the impact of more complex organisms and finally the consequences of dramatic changes in recent history.
Mr. Jabr impressively covers a vast body of knowledge with clarity and conciseness. For a scientific book, the writing is very accessible, and I recommend this book to those interested in a well-researched and broad exploration of the complex relationship between the earth and all life forms from simple unicellular microorganisms to plants to humans. Becoming Earth covers a wide spectrum of ecosystems from agriculture to wetlands.
While I appreciate the conciseness and ease of reading of this book, I often felt that some of the points were supported by anecdotal evidence. I felt that the arguments could have been stronger with more examples. However, I recognize that including many more examples would make it nearly impossible to achieve the conciseness that allows this book to be so accessible. I have studied climate change for many years so my desire to delve into more detail may not be reflective of the typical reader. I highly recommend this fascinating book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Mr. Jabr impressively covers a vast body of knowledge with clarity and conciseness. For a scientific book, the writing is very accessible, and I recommend this book to those interested in a well-researched and broad exploration of the complex relationship between the earth and all life forms from simple unicellular microorganisms to plants to humans. Becoming Earth covers a wide spectrum of ecosystems from agriculture to wetlands.
While I appreciate the conciseness and ease of reading of this book, I often felt that some of the points were supported by anecdotal evidence. I felt that the arguments could have been stronger with more examples. However, I recognize that including many more examples would make it nearly impossible to achieve the conciseness that allows this book to be so accessible. I have studied climate change for many years so my desire to delve into more detail may not be reflective of the typical reader. I highly recommend this fascinating book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 7, 2024
In this nonfiction, the author proffers the idea that our world is alive. He walks us through how, over billions of years, our planet has evolved into a living and breathing being. The book is laid out in three parts - rock, water and air - for ease of structure. The author presents insights into the interconnectedness and interdependence of all living things, including the planet we call Earth. From plankton to seaweed, soil to plants, oxygen to water, wildfires to controlled burning, we get a swath of insights into why the earth could be considered a living being. We traverse the world for these insights - from 5,000 feet below the earth’s crust in South Dakota, to Wrangel Island off the coast of Russia, to Massawa in Eritrea and the Sahel in Africa, and back to Hawaii, Catalina Island off southern Calfornia, Rhode Island , to his own garden in Portland, Oregon in the U.S., and much more. Overall, this was an interesting and intriguing read. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
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March 31, 2024Becoming Earth by Ferris Jabr is an impressively concise book describing the interconnectedness of Earth, life, and everything in between. The book is broken down into three sections: Rock, Water and Air. Jabr postulates that each of these three components have fundamentally transformed Earth as we know it, both bringing Earth to life and life to Earth. Each section transports us to new locations, introduces us to new individuals, and uses evidence, both empirical and anecdotal, to justify Jabr’s claims.
Jabr’s writing is clearly written and should be easily consumed by most audiences. When items might be complex, he elaborates and explains as appropriate. There are many facts within this book that I highlighted or noted externally to reference back later. I also made notes of many adjacent subjects and individuals that piqued my interest and hope to learn more about. To these points, I give Jabr credit for introducing so much unique information in such a short book.
I would recommend this to my friends and family looking to further their knowledge of Earth, the Gaia hypothesis, and the interconnectedness of rocks, water, air, and life.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Jabr’s writing is clearly written and should be easily consumed by most audiences. When items might be complex, he elaborates and explains as appropriate. There are many facts within this book that I highlighted or noted externally to reference back later. I also made notes of many adjacent subjects and individuals that piqued my interest and hope to learn more about. To these points, I give Jabr credit for introducing so much unique information in such a short book.
I would recommend this to my friends and family looking to further their knowledge of Earth, the Gaia hypothesis, and the interconnectedness of rocks, water, air, and life.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 24, 2024
Loved. Scientific and educational while also speaking to my philosophical heart.
June 10, 2024
Fascinating. Jabr rehabilitates the Gaia "hypothesis", effectively in my opinion, but I'm not well versed in the science so take that for what it's worth. The author, through his own researches and extensive interactions with specialists in the various earth sciences, makes a compelling argument for the interconnectedness of all things. From the very beginning!
Thanks Goodreads for the free advanced copy.
Thanks Goodreads for the free advanced copy.
August 13, 2024
Published in 2024, this book is the author's update on James Lovelock's Gaia theory (Earth as an organism) and modified by Lynn Margulis to Earth as an ecosystem (see her 1998 book, Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution). Our scientific understanding of life's relationship to the planet has been undergoing a major reformation for some time now. For starters, it's worth knowing that use of the word Gaia has fallen into disfavor. Nowadays, when the Gaia concept comes up, the word Earth is used, instead.
Contrary to long standing maxims, life has been a formidable geological force through out Earth's history, often matching or surpassing the power of glaciers, earthquakes, and volcanos. Come to find out, life orchestrates its various environments and participates in its own evolution.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with their environment. As you know, the living human body is a remarkable ecosystem. Further up the remarkable scale, Earth too, can be seen as a single, huge ecosystem due to the interconnectedness of all living organisms and their physical surroundings.
Are you familiar with intraterrestrial microbes? Apparently, around 90 percent of all living microbes reside deep underground (> the soil horizon) and make up a large part of the Planet's biosphere. As an example we exploit deep, subsurface geological sedimentary beds rich in coal seams as a source of methane or natural gas. This methane gas accumulates beneath the pressure of groundwater for millions of years as a waste product of carbon feeding bacteria.
Microbes affect dissolution, transformation, and formation of minerals through metabolic activities. So, don't expect an interesting array of minerals like here on Earth during your future exploration of dead planets, moons, and asteroids. Biogeo chemistry concepts are becoming a standard part of the curriculum in Natural Science degree programs.
Did you know, soil is the most complex biomaterial on Earth? As I understand it, by maximizing the use of core conservation agriculture principles enough carbon dioxide can be sequestered from the atmosphere to pre industrial levels by the turn of the next century. Beyond solving the climate crisis, conservation agriculture practiced at any scale has other benefits. Although, it's a huge cultural and societal change in behavior, I actually see this relatively low cost transition happening.
Forests of giant kelp captures (from CO2 dissolved in seawater) and sequesters (through sedimentation on the seafloor) carbon at a faster rate than land forests.
Did you know there are beaches, including eastern Hawaii, where plastic trash regularly stacks up 4 feet + high even when it's periodically removed using heavy equipment?
Rain is seeded by fungi and specific bacteria species. Life doesn't just receive rain, it summons it. The Amazon Rainforest by exhaling huge amounts of water vapor, itself, generates half of its rainfall and contributes to rainfall as far away as Manitoba, Canada.
More known is that earthworms and beavers change the topography and climate of the continents. And, as you know, people collectively are a geophysical force.
The author explains the long time relationship between fire and the biosphere. This relationship, strangely, has evolved into being symbiotic.
The author quotes the American science fiction writer, Kim Stanley Robinson:
"The distances between here and any truly habitable planets are too great. That's why we aren't hearing from anyone out there. That's why the great silence persists.
There are many other living intelligences out there, no doubt. But they can't leave their home planet anymore than we can, because life is a planetary expression and can only survive on its home planet."
Is it possible that Earth by using its people, way off in the future, will reproduce itself, with people functioning as its gametes? Well ..many things are possible. And zillions of things are impossible.
Contrary to long standing maxims, life has been a formidable geological force through out Earth's history, often matching or surpassing the power of glaciers, earthquakes, and volcanos. Come to find out, life orchestrates its various environments and participates in its own evolution.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with their environment. As you know, the living human body is a remarkable ecosystem. Further up the remarkable scale, Earth too, can be seen as a single, huge ecosystem due to the interconnectedness of all living organisms and their physical surroundings.
Are you familiar with intraterrestrial microbes? Apparently, around 90 percent of all living microbes reside deep underground (> the soil horizon) and make up a large part of the Planet's biosphere. As an example we exploit deep, subsurface geological sedimentary beds rich in coal seams as a source of methane or natural gas. This methane gas accumulates beneath the pressure of groundwater for millions of years as a waste product of carbon feeding bacteria.
Microbes affect dissolution, transformation, and formation of minerals through metabolic activities. So, don't expect an interesting array of minerals like here on Earth during your future exploration of dead planets, moons, and asteroids. Biogeo chemistry concepts are becoming a standard part of the curriculum in Natural Science degree programs.
Did you know, soil is the most complex biomaterial on Earth? As I understand it, by maximizing the use of core conservation agriculture principles enough carbon dioxide can be sequestered from the atmosphere to pre industrial levels by the turn of the next century. Beyond solving the climate crisis, conservation agriculture practiced at any scale has other benefits. Although, it's a huge cultural and societal change in behavior, I actually see this relatively low cost transition happening.
Forests of giant kelp captures (from CO2 dissolved in seawater) and sequesters (through sedimentation on the seafloor) carbon at a faster rate than land forests.
Did you know there are beaches, including eastern Hawaii, where plastic trash regularly stacks up 4 feet + high even when it's periodically removed using heavy equipment?
Rain is seeded by fungi and specific bacteria species. Life doesn't just receive rain, it summons it. The Amazon Rainforest by exhaling huge amounts of water vapor, itself, generates half of its rainfall and contributes to rainfall as far away as Manitoba, Canada.
More known is that earthworms and beavers change the topography and climate of the continents. And, as you know, people collectively are a geophysical force.
The author explains the long time relationship between fire and the biosphere. This relationship, strangely, has evolved into being symbiotic.
The author quotes the American science fiction writer, Kim Stanley Robinson:
"The distances between here and any truly habitable planets are too great. That's why we aren't hearing from anyone out there. That's why the great silence persists.
There are many other living intelligences out there, no doubt. But they can't leave their home planet anymore than we can, because life is a planetary expression and can only survive on its home planet."
Is it possible that Earth by using its people, way off in the future, will reproduce itself, with people functioning as its gametes? Well ..many things are possible. And zillions of things are impossible.
July 17, 2024
Loved this! Each section talks about how our planet is connected and works together. Did you know most rain drops form around bacteria in the sky?! Or that reintroducing large herbivores to the tundra is helping the permafrost stay frozen?!
Fascinating. Rereadable.
Fascinating. Rereadable.
June 16, 2024
Combining science and history, Jabr explores how the earth became the planet we have today. It is told through a climate change lens, but isn’t all doom and gloom. There is some, particularly the chapter on ocean plastic, but there is also a lot of focus on what we can still do. Every chapter features a scientist or researcher and the work they are trying to do to turn back the clock. I especially enjoyed the chapter detailing controlled burning and how indigenous peoples all over the world have been practicing this long before recorded history. This chapter ends with a great quote by Frank Lake, the scientist at the heart of that chapter:
“The trees can’t do it by themselves. The forests can’t do it by themselves. We can’t do it by ourselves. When are we going to see that we’re a part of a mutualistic process of climate adaptation and resilience? When are we going to accept that the only way to survive is together?”
“The trees can’t do it by themselves. The forests can’t do it by themselves. We can’t do it by ourselves. When are we going to see that we’re a part of a mutualistic process of climate adaptation and resilience? When are we going to accept that the only way to survive is together?”
August 22, 2024
Earth is alive. Jabr manages to convey no less to the reader of this book in an incredibly clever way. A series of interesting examples show how the Earth is buzzing with life from deep in its crust to high up in the sky. But these examples add up to more than the sum of the parts and clearly convey that there is no life ón Earth but that Earth and life are inextricably linked. Life is shaped by the environment, but the environment is just as much shaped by life in the ultimate process of coevolution.
An incredible read that really needed to be written and I feel lucky that it was written so well.
An incredible read that really needed to be written and I feel lucky that it was written so well.
September 15, 2024
outstanding. fantastic writing, fantastic narration, fascinating subject matter and organization of it. i’m going to have to buy a copy and reread, and also lend to the gardeners in my life for ch. 3 if not the rest. frankly knocked me all the way over!
September 5, 2024
An Exhilarating and truly moving work of art! Ok, absolutely no insults meant here, but I went into this book expecting textbook style, heavy on the scientific jargon type of read. And yes, there is a bit of that sprinkled through, but what makes this a remarkable read is the interplay of Indiana Jones style breathtaking adventures balancing out the easy-to-digest and super interesting scientific explanations. I wish I had read this in my early teens, as I am certain this would have influenced me into a different career. Someone get this into our educational curriculum! “It felt as though I’d been trapped in a drop of pond water on a microscope slide, confusing a strand of algae for a jungle, and was only now switching places with the eye behind the lens.” Bravo to the highest order!!!
August 26, 2024
i checked out this book after reading the first chapter in the NYT mag. i was fascinated by the case on subterranean microbes studied in the remnants of the Homestake gold mine, near where I grew up in South Dakota. Jabr's writing is also really compelling, seeking to challenge how we think of life's planet-altering history. i was charmed by the opening framing of Lovelock's Gaia theory -- a vitalism i do not personally subscribe to, but which here was used effectively. ultimately the other chapters were well trod territory for me (aside from the cloud seeding bacteria a la ice-9): Pleistocene park, soil composition, Indigenous fire management, plastic rocks, carbon sequestration. the Lovelockianism veers towards a grating naivete by the end, though an acquaintance Leah Aronowsky's more critical work on Lovelock does get at least some recognition.
September 5, 2024
A fascinating look at the role of living things in shaping our planet.
May 19, 2024
Becoming Earth by Ferris Jabr is a fantastically written nonfiction book about Earth, specifically the elemental parts of it. It goes through different parts of the Earth, such as the soil, water, air, etc. and how these basic parts of our Earth have changed drastically over time.
I would like to preface this review by saying that I am not typically a nonfiction reader, especially when it comes to reading digital books. I would rather listen to a nonfiction book, or actually hold the book in my hands because I think it helps me focus more. This book, however, captivated my interest despite it’s format. I felt it was well-written and had a great mix of personal anecdotes and scientific information.
One of the things I did notice pretty early on is that this book uses a lot of jargon that may be difficult for someone who is entirely disconnected from the sciences to understand. I am currently working towards a STEM major in college and had absolutely no issue, but when I looked back on some of the words, I realized I may not have known them in high school. Apart from this, I really have no complaints and loved the book.
Overall, I would give this book 3.25/5 stars. It was enjoyable and I feel like I learned a lot from it, giving me a better understanding about how our world got to where it is today environmentally. It also goes into how this impacts us on a larger scale. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys nonfiction and would like something a little science-y.
I would like to preface this review by saying that I am not typically a nonfiction reader, especially when it comes to reading digital books. I would rather listen to a nonfiction book, or actually hold the book in my hands because I think it helps me focus more. This book, however, captivated my interest despite it’s format. I felt it was well-written and had a great mix of personal anecdotes and scientific information.
One of the things I did notice pretty early on is that this book uses a lot of jargon that may be difficult for someone who is entirely disconnected from the sciences to understand. I am currently working towards a STEM major in college and had absolutely no issue, but when I looked back on some of the words, I realized I may not have known them in high school. Apart from this, I really have no complaints and loved the book.
Overall, I would give this book 3.25/5 stars. It was enjoyable and I feel like I learned a lot from it, giving me a better understanding about how our world got to where it is today environmentally. It also goes into how this impacts us on a larger scale. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys nonfiction and would like something a little science-y.
July 17, 2024
Becoming Earth, How Our Planet Came To Life, Ferris Jabr, 2024
In the twenty-first century we as a human society will have to come to terms with our impact on the climate and ecosystems of planet Earth. In this regard politics and science have intersected in a way where the electorate to make intelligent choices must have a basic understanding of how the earth’s living, ecological and geological systems work and interact. Ferris Jabr’s new book is an excellent choice to come to a basic understanding of the science and the choices now before us. The book is divided into three sections; rock, water, Air. Most people at least have an awareness of terrestrial plant and animal kingdoms but how the ocean’s ecosystems work, no. To most of us it is an alien world even though oceans cover over 70% of the earth’ surface and are a critical determining factor in the livability of the planet.
When we look at the ocean, we do not see the creatures that support the oceanic ecosystem because most of them are microscopic and represent the descendants of the most ancient of all of earth’s life. Look in a microscope at a single drop of seawater and you will see tens of thousands of tiny creatures swimming around. What you are seeing are Phytoplankton which are the predominate plant life in the ocean system, they breath in CO2 and exhale oxygen and form the very basis of the oceanic ecosystem which nourishes other microscopic creatures such as zooplankton and krill which feed all the creatures, we are familiar with such as penguins, fish, whales. What is critical is the fact that most plankton have exoskeletons of calcium carbonate, they not only inhale CO2 but they sequester the carbon in their shells. Those that are not eaten, when they die, sink to the ocean floor where the carbon is sequestered, and though geologic processes returned to the earth. The irony is that the earth through heat and pressure turn the carbon into oil and gas. When we drill into the earth to tap into these reserves, we are retrieving carbon from microscopic creatures that died tens of millions of years ago. When we burn these fossil fuels, we are not only increasing the CO2 gases in the atmosphere but most of the gases are dissolved back into the ocean which increases the acidity of the ocean. This process if continued will increase the acidity to such an extent that the carbonate shells of the phytoplankton will dissolve and threaten the very creatures that created the fossil fuels in the first place. As Jabr says: “Plankton nourish all other marine life; corals alone support 25% of marine diversity. If global warming and ocean acidification proceed at their current pace, populations of calcifying plankton around the world will deteriorate and disappear; tropical reefs as we know them will likely collapse before the end of the century.... international stocks of salmon, tuna, mackerel, cod, herring, crab, lobster, shrimp, oyster, mussel, scallop and clam will decline; and the global ocean ecosystem may shrivel to a thin and sickly version of its former self – a comparatively desolate expanse unlike anything in the past 60 million years, Even if all carbon emissions ceased by 2100, it would likely take somewhere between tens to hundreds of thousands of years for ocean chemistry to restabilize and for life to recover.” Without plankton, the modern ocean ecosystem- the very idea of the ocean as we understand it- would collapse.”
We all know the importance of the Amazon rainforest. It has been referred to as the lungs of the planet. Just becoming known however is its importance in the water cycle of the planet. The tallest man-made structure in South America? In northern Brazil, deep amid the Amazon rainforest is a 1066-foot-tall tower called the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory the purpose of which is to collect airborne, particles and gases at different altitudes above the forest, to study how the rainforest influences both local ecology and global climate. What the research has uncovered is that bacteria play a vital role in forming rain drops and precipitating rain. The forest itself absorbs water from the ground and exhales huge quantities of water, a flow greater than that of the Amazon River itself, into the atmosphere through the stomata on the bottom of leaves. “The atmospheric river produced by the Amazon rain forest, teeming with microbes, spores, and biological exudates, does not remain in place. Some of it travels with air currents to distant cities, farms, and ecosystems, especially in the southern part of the continent, including regions that might otherwise dry out. Through complex chain reactions in the atmosphere, the Amazon supplies precipitation to regions in North America, too, such as the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and Canada.... Since 1970, humans have destroyed at least 18% of the Amazon rainforest – an area larger than France – primarily to clear space for cattle farms.... Scientists have determined that deforestation of the Amazon has likely exacerbated some of South America’s worst droughts, including water shortages in Sao Paulo. One study calculated that, were the Amazon to be obliterated, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada could decrease by 50%, with disastrous consequences for agriculture in Californias Central Valley and thus for the U.S. food supply.”
After ascending the tower, Jabr looked out over the jungle. “Gazing skyward I recalled the alternate view of the forest from more than a thousand feet in the air: mile after mile of pristine rain forest receding to a thin gray line on the horizon. By volume, every mature tree in a forest is mostly dead tissue: a pillar of lifeless wood laced with thin layers of active cells, frocked with leaves, and sheathed in symbiotic microbes. Yet no scientist disputes that a tree is alive. Perhaps a forest, with its intricate tangle of the animate and the inanimate is not so different. Most people, I’d venture, would not hesitate to describe a forest as alive. It seems untruthful to claim otherwise, especially now that science has attested the fundamental interdependency detailed how forests generate much of the rain that falls on their canopies; and revealed vast underground networks of roots and fungi through which trees and other plants exchange resources and information. The concept of a living planet goes one step further. It’s not that Earth is akin to an ant colony, but rather that the planet is the largest known living system – the confluence of all other ecosystems – with structures, rhythms and self-regulating processes that resemble those of its smaller constituent life forms. Life rhymes at every scale.
I would describe this book as a beautiful paean to the beautiful, interconnected miracle of life on this planet and a warning as to the imminent danger we have unleashed through our proliferate exploitation of fossil fuels. Most of us when we get into our car are not aware of profligate consumption of energy we are about to unleash. “...a single gallon of gasoline represents one hundred tons of ancient life, roughly equivalent to twenty adult elephants. Every sedan with a typical 15-gallon gas tank demands the equivalent of three hundred elephants simply to keep running. Fossil fuels are not just conveniently concentrated forms of energy – they are outrageously extravagant. A fossil fuel is essentially an ecosystem in an urn.” What has been the consequence of our profligate burning of fossil fuels? “Since preindustrial times human activity has released close to 2.5 trillion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. That invisible mass of CO2 suspended in the sky is more than twice as heavy as the entire collection of living creatures on the planet... Humans now emit between 60and 120 times more carbon dioxide each year than all the earths volcanoes combined.”
In this political moment in 2024 we face an almost existential choice: Do we ignore definitive and undisputable science and proceed with further exploitation of fossil fuels resulting in the unleashing of more billions of tons of CO2 or do we embark on an all-hands-on deck massive transformation of our energy systems. When a politician tells you that the danger of global warming is a hoax or not proven, that politician is either ignorant, stupid, or corrupt. There is no other conclusion. A book such as this if widely read would undoubtably change people’s perceptions and hopefully to have an educated voice in this choice. JACK
In the twenty-first century we as a human society will have to come to terms with our impact on the climate and ecosystems of planet Earth. In this regard politics and science have intersected in a way where the electorate to make intelligent choices must have a basic understanding of how the earth’s living, ecological and geological systems work and interact. Ferris Jabr’s new book is an excellent choice to come to a basic understanding of the science and the choices now before us. The book is divided into three sections; rock, water, Air. Most people at least have an awareness of terrestrial plant and animal kingdoms but how the ocean’s ecosystems work, no. To most of us it is an alien world even though oceans cover over 70% of the earth’ surface and are a critical determining factor in the livability of the planet.
When we look at the ocean, we do not see the creatures that support the oceanic ecosystem because most of them are microscopic and represent the descendants of the most ancient of all of earth’s life. Look in a microscope at a single drop of seawater and you will see tens of thousands of tiny creatures swimming around. What you are seeing are Phytoplankton which are the predominate plant life in the ocean system, they breath in CO2 and exhale oxygen and form the very basis of the oceanic ecosystem which nourishes other microscopic creatures such as zooplankton and krill which feed all the creatures, we are familiar with such as penguins, fish, whales. What is critical is the fact that most plankton have exoskeletons of calcium carbonate, they not only inhale CO2 but they sequester the carbon in their shells. Those that are not eaten, when they die, sink to the ocean floor where the carbon is sequestered, and though geologic processes returned to the earth. The irony is that the earth through heat and pressure turn the carbon into oil and gas. When we drill into the earth to tap into these reserves, we are retrieving carbon from microscopic creatures that died tens of millions of years ago. When we burn these fossil fuels, we are not only increasing the CO2 gases in the atmosphere but most of the gases are dissolved back into the ocean which increases the acidity of the ocean. This process if continued will increase the acidity to such an extent that the carbonate shells of the phytoplankton will dissolve and threaten the very creatures that created the fossil fuels in the first place. As Jabr says: “Plankton nourish all other marine life; corals alone support 25% of marine diversity. If global warming and ocean acidification proceed at their current pace, populations of calcifying plankton around the world will deteriorate and disappear; tropical reefs as we know them will likely collapse before the end of the century.... international stocks of salmon, tuna, mackerel, cod, herring, crab, lobster, shrimp, oyster, mussel, scallop and clam will decline; and the global ocean ecosystem may shrivel to a thin and sickly version of its former self – a comparatively desolate expanse unlike anything in the past 60 million years, Even if all carbon emissions ceased by 2100, it would likely take somewhere between tens to hundreds of thousands of years for ocean chemistry to restabilize and for life to recover.” Without plankton, the modern ocean ecosystem- the very idea of the ocean as we understand it- would collapse.”
We all know the importance of the Amazon rainforest. It has been referred to as the lungs of the planet. Just becoming known however is its importance in the water cycle of the planet. The tallest man-made structure in South America? In northern Brazil, deep amid the Amazon rainforest is a 1066-foot-tall tower called the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory the purpose of which is to collect airborne, particles and gases at different altitudes above the forest, to study how the rainforest influences both local ecology and global climate. What the research has uncovered is that bacteria play a vital role in forming rain drops and precipitating rain. The forest itself absorbs water from the ground and exhales huge quantities of water, a flow greater than that of the Amazon River itself, into the atmosphere through the stomata on the bottom of leaves. “The atmospheric river produced by the Amazon rain forest, teeming with microbes, spores, and biological exudates, does not remain in place. Some of it travels with air currents to distant cities, farms, and ecosystems, especially in the southern part of the continent, including regions that might otherwise dry out. Through complex chain reactions in the atmosphere, the Amazon supplies precipitation to regions in North America, too, such as the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and Canada.... Since 1970, humans have destroyed at least 18% of the Amazon rainforest – an area larger than France – primarily to clear space for cattle farms.... Scientists have determined that deforestation of the Amazon has likely exacerbated some of South America’s worst droughts, including water shortages in Sao Paulo. One study calculated that, were the Amazon to be obliterated, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada could decrease by 50%, with disastrous consequences for agriculture in Californias Central Valley and thus for the U.S. food supply.”
After ascending the tower, Jabr looked out over the jungle. “Gazing skyward I recalled the alternate view of the forest from more than a thousand feet in the air: mile after mile of pristine rain forest receding to a thin gray line on the horizon. By volume, every mature tree in a forest is mostly dead tissue: a pillar of lifeless wood laced with thin layers of active cells, frocked with leaves, and sheathed in symbiotic microbes. Yet no scientist disputes that a tree is alive. Perhaps a forest, with its intricate tangle of the animate and the inanimate is not so different. Most people, I’d venture, would not hesitate to describe a forest as alive. It seems untruthful to claim otherwise, especially now that science has attested the fundamental interdependency detailed how forests generate much of the rain that falls on their canopies; and revealed vast underground networks of roots and fungi through which trees and other plants exchange resources and information. The concept of a living planet goes one step further. It’s not that Earth is akin to an ant colony, but rather that the planet is the largest known living system – the confluence of all other ecosystems – with structures, rhythms and self-regulating processes that resemble those of its smaller constituent life forms. Life rhymes at every scale.
I would describe this book as a beautiful paean to the beautiful, interconnected miracle of life on this planet and a warning as to the imminent danger we have unleashed through our proliferate exploitation of fossil fuels. Most of us when we get into our car are not aware of profligate consumption of energy we are about to unleash. “...a single gallon of gasoline represents one hundred tons of ancient life, roughly equivalent to twenty adult elephants. Every sedan with a typical 15-gallon gas tank demands the equivalent of three hundred elephants simply to keep running. Fossil fuels are not just conveniently concentrated forms of energy – they are outrageously extravagant. A fossil fuel is essentially an ecosystem in an urn.” What has been the consequence of our profligate burning of fossil fuels? “Since preindustrial times human activity has released close to 2.5 trillion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. That invisible mass of CO2 suspended in the sky is more than twice as heavy as the entire collection of living creatures on the planet... Humans now emit between 60and 120 times more carbon dioxide each year than all the earths volcanoes combined.”
In this political moment in 2024 we face an almost existential choice: Do we ignore definitive and undisputable science and proceed with further exploitation of fossil fuels resulting in the unleashing of more billions of tons of CO2 or do we embark on an all-hands-on deck massive transformation of our energy systems. When a politician tells you that the danger of global warming is a hoax or not proven, that politician is either ignorant, stupid, or corrupt. There is no other conclusion. A book such as this if widely read would undoubtably change people’s perceptions and hopefully to have an educated voice in this choice. JACK
August 17, 2024
Ferris Jabr does a terrific job introducing and explaining scientific concepts related to the Earth as an interwoven living system.
July 16, 2024
A book unlike any other. So wonderfully written, level-headed, scary, and reassuring.
This should be required reading for all of humanity. And thank the high heavens for scientists
This should be required reading for all of humanity. And thank the high heavens for scientists
July 3, 2024
The last sentence: " I breathed out and, Earth breathed in."
Jabar does a wonderful job of making the case that James Lovelock's Gaia idea was not as far-fetched as most believed. He presents his findings so that lay folk can comprehend
I highly recommend it.
Jabar does a wonderful job of making the case that James Lovelock's Gaia idea was not as far-fetched as most believed. He presents his findings so that lay folk can comprehend
I highly recommend it.
July 6, 2024
When the right sequence of notes is played, when it is combined with other sequences in just the right way, we no longer hear mere sounds- we experience music. Likewise, the living entity we call Earth emerges from a highly complex set of interactions; the mutual transformation of organisms and their environments.
For the first half billion years of its existence, the planet was a purely geological construct. As the first living creatures adapted to the planet’s primordial features and rhythms, they began to play upon them too, each changing the other. Since then, biology and geology, the animate and the inanimate, have been locked in a perpetual and increasingly elaborate duet. Over the eons, despite perennial tumult, Earth and its life forms discovered profound harmonies: they regulated global climate, calibrated the chemistry of the atmosphere and ocean, and kept water, air and vital nutrients cycling through the planet’s many players…in new forms of ecological consonance.
What a beautiful, everything book! A journalist with a deep love for our planet describes the new paradigm of understanding life on this one earth we live on and threads the story into ways we are trying to restore and prevent even more damage. The origins of our planet are complex, and it is hard to recite them, or want to even, but the author does amazing things with it to make it feel alive. I learned so much on a topic I thought I was well read on and love the new perspectives.
Some years ago, I learned a startling fact that completely changed the way I think about weather and ultimately altered my perception of the planet as a whole- a fact that returned me to a sense of awe and possibility I had rarely felt since childhood. What I learned is this: in many cases, life does not simply receive rain- it summons it. Consider the Amazon rainforest. Every year, the Amazon is drenched in about eight feet of rain. In some part of the forest, the annual rainfall is closer to fourteen feet-more than five times the average precipitation across the contiguous United States. This deluge is partly a consequence of geographic serendipity; intense equatorial sunlight speeds the evaporation of water from sea and land to sky, trade winds bring moisture from the ocean, and bordering mountains force incoming air to rise, cool, and condense. Rainforests happen where it happens to rain.
But that is only half of the story. Within the forest floor, vast symbiotic networks of plant roots and filamentous fungi pull water from the soil into trunk, stems, and leaves. As the nearly 400 billion trees in the Amazon drink their fill, they release excess moisture, saturating the air with 20 billion tons of water vapor every day. The wind sweeps bacteria, pollen grains, and bits of leaves and bark into the atmosphere. The wet breath of the forest creates the ideal conditions for rain.
The idea of the Amazon rainforest as a garden that watered itself obsessed me. If that were true for an ecosystem as massive as the Amazon, I wondered, might it be true on an even larger scale? In what ways, and to what extent, has life changed the planet throughout its history?
Contrary to longstanding maxims, life has been a formidable geological force throughout Earth’s history, often matching or surpassing the power of glaciers, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Over the past several billion years, all manner of life forms, from microbes to mammoths, have transformed the continents, ocean, and atmosphere, turning a lump of orbiting rock into the world as we’ve known it. Living creatures are not simply products of inexorable evolutionary processes of their particular habitats; they are orchestrators of their environments and participants in their own evolution. We and other living creatures are more than inhabitants of Earth, we ARE Earth- an outgrowth of its physical structure and an engine of its global cycles.
Historically, evolution has been depicted as linear and branching, like a tree, or cross-linked, like a web. Although those metaphors certainly capture many evolutionary processes, others are much more sinuous, even circular. Again and again, life and environment alter each other through feedback loops. Through their behaviors and byproducts, living creatures make lasting changes to their surroundings that partly determine the fate of their descendants and of other species. Microbes can seed clouds. Forests on one continent can make it rain on another. Breath can sway a planet.
The sheer complexity and staggering diversity of our living planet are also reasons for hope, courage, and perseverance, because it is precisely this intricacy that makes Earth so resilient. As the geological record reveals, the world’s ecosystems are replete with possibility, even when they’re on the precipice of obliteration. If our species finally learns to work with Earth’s ecosystems, as PART of them, instead of trying to subdue them- if we address the source of our current crisis by fundamentally changing our relationship with the planet, rather than clinging to industrial and economic systems that were never sustainable- we will avert total calamity in the decades to come, minimize suffering, and ultimately create a better world. It won’t be exactly like the earth we’ve known, but it will be a world where spring is still full of song, snowmelt still feeds mountain streams, and forest still soar though the sea.
For the first half billion years of its existence, the planet was a purely geological construct. As the first living creatures adapted to the planet’s primordial features and rhythms, they began to play upon them too, each changing the other. Since then, biology and geology, the animate and the inanimate, have been locked in a perpetual and increasingly elaborate duet. Over the eons, despite perennial tumult, Earth and its life forms discovered profound harmonies: they regulated global climate, calibrated the chemistry of the atmosphere and ocean, and kept water, air and vital nutrients cycling through the planet’s many players…in new forms of ecological consonance.
What a beautiful, everything book! A journalist with a deep love for our planet describes the new paradigm of understanding life on this one earth we live on and threads the story into ways we are trying to restore and prevent even more damage. The origins of our planet are complex, and it is hard to recite them, or want to even, but the author does amazing things with it to make it feel alive. I learned so much on a topic I thought I was well read on and love the new perspectives.
Some years ago, I learned a startling fact that completely changed the way I think about weather and ultimately altered my perception of the planet as a whole- a fact that returned me to a sense of awe and possibility I had rarely felt since childhood. What I learned is this: in many cases, life does not simply receive rain- it summons it. Consider the Amazon rainforest. Every year, the Amazon is drenched in about eight feet of rain. In some part of the forest, the annual rainfall is closer to fourteen feet-more than five times the average precipitation across the contiguous United States. This deluge is partly a consequence of geographic serendipity; intense equatorial sunlight speeds the evaporation of water from sea and land to sky, trade winds bring moisture from the ocean, and bordering mountains force incoming air to rise, cool, and condense. Rainforests happen where it happens to rain.
But that is only half of the story. Within the forest floor, vast symbiotic networks of plant roots and filamentous fungi pull water from the soil into trunk, stems, and leaves. As the nearly 400 billion trees in the Amazon drink their fill, they release excess moisture, saturating the air with 20 billion tons of water vapor every day. The wind sweeps bacteria, pollen grains, and bits of leaves and bark into the atmosphere. The wet breath of the forest creates the ideal conditions for rain.
The idea of the Amazon rainforest as a garden that watered itself obsessed me. If that were true for an ecosystem as massive as the Amazon, I wondered, might it be true on an even larger scale? In what ways, and to what extent, has life changed the planet throughout its history?
Contrary to longstanding maxims, life has been a formidable geological force throughout Earth’s history, often matching or surpassing the power of glaciers, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Over the past several billion years, all manner of life forms, from microbes to mammoths, have transformed the continents, ocean, and atmosphere, turning a lump of orbiting rock into the world as we’ve known it. Living creatures are not simply products of inexorable evolutionary processes of their particular habitats; they are orchestrators of their environments and participants in their own evolution. We and other living creatures are more than inhabitants of Earth, we ARE Earth- an outgrowth of its physical structure and an engine of its global cycles.
Historically, evolution has been depicted as linear and branching, like a tree, or cross-linked, like a web. Although those metaphors certainly capture many evolutionary processes, others are much more sinuous, even circular. Again and again, life and environment alter each other through feedback loops. Through their behaviors and byproducts, living creatures make lasting changes to their surroundings that partly determine the fate of their descendants and of other species. Microbes can seed clouds. Forests on one continent can make it rain on another. Breath can sway a planet.
The sheer complexity and staggering diversity of our living planet are also reasons for hope, courage, and perseverance, because it is precisely this intricacy that makes Earth so resilient. As the geological record reveals, the world’s ecosystems are replete with possibility, even when they’re on the precipice of obliteration. If our species finally learns to work with Earth’s ecosystems, as PART of them, instead of trying to subdue them- if we address the source of our current crisis by fundamentally changing our relationship with the planet, rather than clinging to industrial and economic systems that were never sustainable- we will avert total calamity in the decades to come, minimize suffering, and ultimately create a better world. It won’t be exactly like the earth we’ve known, but it will be a world where spring is still full of song, snowmelt still feeds mountain streams, and forest still soar though the sea.
September 16, 2024
There’s a resonant passage that comes early in Jabr’s debut full-length work, a modern retelling of James Lovelock’s Gaia Hypothesis, one where the planet is seen as a living organism shaping and in turn is shaped by the beings that call it home:
From random phenomena to symphonic harmony, this epiphany strikes me as close as one can get to describing how life engages with its surroundings to co-create patterns that are infinitely complex, and to my sensibilities, endlessly awe-inspiring. I found myself drawn to this most central of Becoming Earth's ambitions: To reframe life as more verb and less noun, more fluid in form and less rigid in definition, as a self-organizing, system-regulating force that has become part and parcel of this planet; and how without life, Earth would be no different than so many of celestial neighbours—inert, sterile, simplified.
What does it mean for an entire planet to be alive? Throughout its pages, Becoming Earth challenges readers to reconsider their assumptions concerning the living and non-living. What is subject and what is object if complex minerals are forged from the metabolic fires of rock-devouring microbes? Who is nourishing whom when weather systems and rainfall patterns are governed by the breath and chemistries of rainforests? Why must we separate natural histories from geologic ones when they have inextricably shaped one another across the expanse of deep time?
Such a radical reorientation from life on Earth to life as Earth requires a skilled guide to navigate. Luckily, Jabr is up to the task. Readers of popular science books craving adventure are treated to a whirlwind journey across the globe as the seasoned journalist delves into abandoned mines, snorkels through kelp forests, and scales above jungle canopies to bring back examples of how life engages in reciprocal cycles with earth, water, and air. Speaking with dozens of scientists, conservationists, and entrepreneurs, Jabr conveys the latest findings through the lens of modern earth system science, which seeks to study “the living and nonliving components of the planet as an integrated whole.”
Through Jabr’s melding of reportage, science communication, and philosophical musing, each account in Becoming Earth serves to reinforce how change perpetuated by life and living is constant and inevitable. Yet while the forces of nature can be sweeping and transformative, they are not governed by intention. Early versions of the Gaia hypothesis were criticized for granting the earth too much agency, promoting the misconception that the planet acts towards an ideal end-state. But we now know that the capability to define and strive towards is ours and arguably ours alone. For as Jabr writes, “Our species is unique in its ability to study the Earth system as a whole and deliberately alter it.” Becoming Earth reminds readers that while bacteria may be able to sculpt rocks, absorb carbon, and seed snow, only we can envision and work towards a future of our choosing. Ideally, it would be one more resilient against the impacts of climate change, one less inundated by the plastic detritus that marks the modern age, and one that allows for the flourishing of both human and non-human life.
In order to achieve this, Jabr argues that the actions we take be tempered with humility, arguing that “we must simultaneously acknowledge our disproportionate influence on the planet and accept the limitations of our abilities.” It is this measured approach that he uses to explore the various geoengineering solutions that are emerging to combat the climate crisis. Kelp farms and carbon capture facilities are mentioned as having potential roles in the overall suite of solutions, but Jabr stresses that the biggest difference will come from phasing out fossil fuels while simultaneously protecting, restoring, and enhancing existing ecosystems. From forest and wetlands to seagrasses and coral reefs, these complex environments have demonstrated their abilities to stabilize and regulate conditions on a planetary scale. Life, if we afford it the opportunity, appears to be able to find a way.
Given this context, humanity’s role may be to leverage our understanding to help facilitate a path towards a more life-sustaining future. It will not be the same as our past, Jabr muses, but it will hopefully be one where “spring is still full of song, snowmelt still feeds mountain streams, and forests still soar through the sea.” Becoming Earth proposes a vision of a planet still steeped in complexity and possibilities, where our role will be its wiser agents of its changing, its growers and builders, its thinkers and teachers.
“Perhaps there is no perfect metaphor, but in the course of writing this book, I have found one that is both useful and complementary to the concept of a living Earth: music.”
From random phenomena to symphonic harmony, this epiphany strikes me as close as one can get to describing how life engages with its surroundings to co-create patterns that are infinitely complex, and to my sensibilities, endlessly awe-inspiring. I found myself drawn to this most central of Becoming Earth's ambitions: To reframe life as more verb and less noun, more fluid in form and less rigid in definition, as a self-organizing, system-regulating force that has become part and parcel of this planet; and how without life, Earth would be no different than so many of celestial neighbours—inert, sterile, simplified.
What does it mean for an entire planet to be alive? Throughout its pages, Becoming Earth challenges readers to reconsider their assumptions concerning the living and non-living. What is subject and what is object if complex minerals are forged from the metabolic fires of rock-devouring microbes? Who is nourishing whom when weather systems and rainfall patterns are governed by the breath and chemistries of rainforests? Why must we separate natural histories from geologic ones when they have inextricably shaped one another across the expanse of deep time?
Such a radical reorientation from life on Earth to life as Earth requires a skilled guide to navigate. Luckily, Jabr is up to the task. Readers of popular science books craving adventure are treated to a whirlwind journey across the globe as the seasoned journalist delves into abandoned mines, snorkels through kelp forests, and scales above jungle canopies to bring back examples of how life engages in reciprocal cycles with earth, water, and air. Speaking with dozens of scientists, conservationists, and entrepreneurs, Jabr conveys the latest findings through the lens of modern earth system science, which seeks to study “the living and nonliving components of the planet as an integrated whole.”
Through Jabr’s melding of reportage, science communication, and philosophical musing, each account in Becoming Earth serves to reinforce how change perpetuated by life and living is constant and inevitable. Yet while the forces of nature can be sweeping and transformative, they are not governed by intention. Early versions of the Gaia hypothesis were criticized for granting the earth too much agency, promoting the misconception that the planet acts towards an ideal end-state. But we now know that the capability to define and strive towards is ours and arguably ours alone. For as Jabr writes, “Our species is unique in its ability to study the Earth system as a whole and deliberately alter it.” Becoming Earth reminds readers that while bacteria may be able to sculpt rocks, absorb carbon, and seed snow, only we can envision and work towards a future of our choosing. Ideally, it would be one more resilient against the impacts of climate change, one less inundated by the plastic detritus that marks the modern age, and one that allows for the flourishing of both human and non-human life.
In order to achieve this, Jabr argues that the actions we take be tempered with humility, arguing that “we must simultaneously acknowledge our disproportionate influence on the planet and accept the limitations of our abilities.” It is this measured approach that he uses to explore the various geoengineering solutions that are emerging to combat the climate crisis. Kelp farms and carbon capture facilities are mentioned as having potential roles in the overall suite of solutions, but Jabr stresses that the biggest difference will come from phasing out fossil fuels while simultaneously protecting, restoring, and enhancing existing ecosystems. From forest and wetlands to seagrasses and coral reefs, these complex environments have demonstrated their abilities to stabilize and regulate conditions on a planetary scale. Life, if we afford it the opportunity, appears to be able to find a way.
Given this context, humanity’s role may be to leverage our understanding to help facilitate a path towards a more life-sustaining future. It will not be the same as our past, Jabr muses, but it will hopefully be one where “spring is still full of song, snowmelt still feeds mountain streams, and forests still soar through the sea.” Becoming Earth proposes a vision of a planet still steeped in complexity and possibilities, where our role will be its wiser agents of its changing, its growers and builders, its thinkers and teachers.
June 23, 2024
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Becoming Earth is a fascinating monograph about the emergence of planet earth and how the interconnected systems of life came to be by Ferris Jabr. Due out 25th June 2024 from Random House, it's 304 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is a layman accessible, concise, and well written book on the vast and interdependent systems of our planet. The author writes well and understandably about the Gaia hypothesis, and shows effectively, step-by-step how changes in one part of the system can and do have profound effects on other remote parts of the system.
The book is split into three main sections: rock, water, and air. Each of the areas are divided into thematic subjects, from surface microbes, to larger animals plants & macro-forms both terrestrial and acquatic, breathable air, combustibility, and climate/weather patterns (and how changes can have catastrophic effects on everything else).
It's a surprisingly upbeat book, and the author's sense of wonder is palpable. I found myself smiling often and nodding along. It's a rare talent to be able to explain often really complex physics/chemistry/biology in a manner which is accessible and really understandable to the average layperson, and Mr. Jabr manages very well. Additionally, with many layman level nonfiction books, readers with specialized knowledge of the subjects will find it oversimplified; that isn't the case here. The scope is broad enough that even the most advanced geophysicist will likely find interesting tidbits to takeaway in the microbiology or botany sections.
Five stars. Well written and interesting. A good choice for public or secondary/post-secondary school library acquisition, home use, or gift giving.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Becoming Earth is a fascinating monograph about the emergence of planet earth and how the interconnected systems of life came to be by Ferris Jabr. Due out 25th June 2024 from Random House, it's 304 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is a layman accessible, concise, and well written book on the vast and interdependent systems of our planet. The author writes well and understandably about the Gaia hypothesis, and shows effectively, step-by-step how changes in one part of the system can and do have profound effects on other remote parts of the system.
The book is split into three main sections: rock, water, and air. Each of the areas are divided into thematic subjects, from surface microbes, to larger animals plants & macro-forms both terrestrial and acquatic, breathable air, combustibility, and climate/weather patterns (and how changes can have catastrophic effects on everything else).
It's a surprisingly upbeat book, and the author's sense of wonder is palpable. I found myself smiling often and nodding along. It's a rare talent to be able to explain often really complex physics/chemistry/biology in a manner which is accessible and really understandable to the average layperson, and Mr. Jabr manages very well. Additionally, with many layman level nonfiction books, readers with specialized knowledge of the subjects will find it oversimplified; that isn't the case here. The scope is broad enough that even the most advanced geophysicist will likely find interesting tidbits to takeaway in the microbiology or botany sections.
Five stars. Well written and interesting. A good choice for public or secondary/post-secondary school library acquisition, home use, or gift giving.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
August 7, 2024
Well researched, well written book on the co-evolution of living and non-living organisms on earth. Our third rock from the Sun is indeed a system that is in a delicate balance of change and survival. It is unclear if the system adapts to its participants or the participants adapt to the system. Humans have been here a very short time on the time scale of the cosmos, and it remains unclear if our usage of finite resources is consistent with long term survival. Clearly there are no other examples of this working on other stars.
The book is divided into 3 major sections discussing the environments of rock, water, and air. Each sections contains numerous (perhaps too many) examples of how co-evolution works. Earthworms, plankton, and microorganisms change their environment, and in return the environment changes the organism and adjacent biomes.
My issue with the book is personal, not anything to do with the book. I found the first person personal accounts hard to digest. The art of telling a story just did not work for me. I would rather have bullet points, that I can expand if needed.
How microorganisms are all around us affecting their environment above them reminded me of a quote from the Gospel of Thomas. “The Kingdom of God is inside you and all around you. Not a mansion of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood and I am there. Lift a stone and you will find me”
The book is divided into 3 major sections discussing the environments of rock, water, and air. Each sections contains numerous (perhaps too many) examples of how co-evolution works. Earthworms, plankton, and microorganisms change their environment, and in return the environment changes the organism and adjacent biomes.
My issue with the book is personal, not anything to do with the book. I found the first person personal accounts hard to digest. The art of telling a story just did not work for me. I would rather have bullet points, that I can expand if needed.
How microorganisms are all around us affecting their environment above them reminded me of a quote from the Gospel of Thomas. “The Kingdom of God is inside you and all around you. Not a mansion of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood and I am there. Lift a stone and you will find me”
July 27, 2024
A must read! The concept that the earth is one "living" organism where everything is interrelated makes a ton of sense. Earth being a living organism not be technically true based on the definitions but viewing it as 1 interrelated complex system is very logical. I can see it being super helpful but much harder from a scientific/research perspective to view it that way. This book was a fascinating read and very well-written and engaging. A mind-expanding book! One of my favorites this year so far.
You can't read this book and not feel passionate about us needing to tread more gently on this planet. There are 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic that cover 620k square miles of garbage in the Pacific Ocean and you can't make a statement that that does not have a negative impact on the complex but beautiful ecosystem that we are lucky to be part of.
You can't read this book and not feel passionate about us needing to tread more gently on this planet. There are 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic that cover 620k square miles of garbage in the Pacific Ocean and you can't make a statement that that does not have a negative impact on the complex but beautiful ecosystem that we are lucky to be part of.
September 18, 2024
In-depth, professional and personal; yet a bit selective
Becoming Earth is a blend of in-depth information on a selected (limited) number of topics. If these are new to you or are subjects on which you’re less informed (check the Table of Contents), then you’ll find the chapter a readable, well-researched review (e.g., deep-earth organisms, ocean plastics in my case). If your already familiar with a topic (example, wind energy), then you’ll find the treatment an interesting personal narrative of the one or more professionals in the field interviewed, but not an in-depth treatment of the subject. Concluding chapter provides an overview of Earth’s possible futures if we do or don’t make IPCC targets, with added thoughts on intelligent life elsewhere.
Becoming Earth is a blend of in-depth information on a selected (limited) number of topics. If these are new to you or are subjects on which you’re less informed (check the Table of Contents), then you’ll find the chapter a readable, well-researched review (e.g., deep-earth organisms, ocean plastics in my case). If your already familiar with a topic (example, wind energy), then you’ll find the treatment an interesting personal narrative of the one or more professionals in the field interviewed, but not an in-depth treatment of the subject. Concluding chapter provides an overview of Earth’s possible futures if we do or don’t make IPCC targets, with added thoughts on intelligent life elsewhere.
July 11, 2024
In some ways, the gives us some very deep material in this book. And sometimes there are words and labels that are difficult to understand. Some of the material is very interesting. But some of the material seems to the material that you need to understand words at the highest level.
There are five chapters: "Rock, Water, Air, Roots of Fire, and Winds of Change." Each part has smaller pikeces as chapters. For examle, in Rock" has three chapters: " Ntraterrestrial, The Mammoth Steppe and the Elephant's Footprint," and "A Garden in the Void."
At times I was working in material that I could not understand.
There are five chapters: "Rock, Water, Air, Roots of Fire, and Winds of Change." Each part has smaller pikeces as chapters. For examle, in Rock" has three chapters: " Ntraterrestrial, The Mammoth Steppe and the Elephant's Footprint," and "A Garden in the Void."
At times I was working in material that I could not understand.
June 9, 2024
This book unveils the profound symbiosis between life and our planet. It’s fascinating and informative, engrossing and easy to read. Join a journey to extraordinary places, from treetop observatories to a Siberian nature reserve. Explore how microbes formed continents, plants regulate oxygen, and animals sculpt landmasses. Learn how humans have radically altered the planet and how we can protect its wondrous ecology for future generations.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
July 21, 2024
Earth, Sea, and Air Explained
St. Francis of Assisi loved Mother Earth. Ferris Jabr explains Mother Earth. His well researched, quite descriptive language engages the reader to live within the planet as it evolved. The future is thought out and given for our perusal. Much in the book inspired me to find analogies in my own life. I have always believed in humanity being one expression of the living world. Mr. Fabr places us as part of the fabric.
St. Francis of Assisi loved Mother Earth. Ferris Jabr explains Mother Earth. His well researched, quite descriptive language engages the reader to live within the planet as it evolved. The future is thought out and given for our perusal. Much in the book inspired me to find analogies in my own life. I have always believed in humanity being one expression of the living world. Mr. Fabr places us as part of the fabric.
August 6, 2024
I had the privilege of blurbing Ferris's wonderful book; here's what I wrote: "Becoming Earth is a remarkable achievement: a loving homage to our glorious planet that's at once as thematically vast as the ocean, and as precise on the page as a fungal filament. Ferris Jabr, a science writer with a poet’s soul, is among the few scribes worthy of serving as biographer for the life-encrusted rock we call home."
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