Eugene Linden

Eugene Linden is a contributing writer on science and technology for Time magazine and the author of The Parrot’s Lament and other books. In the following viewpoint, he analyzes the preliminary results of a massive United Nations (U.N.) study on the world’s ecosystems. Linden writes that the study, called Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems (PAGE), brought together 175 scientists from different countries and specialties. They concluded that the five major types of ecosystems—forests, freshwater systems, coastal/marine habitats, grasslands, and agricultural lands—are all showing significant signs of deterioration in many parts of the world. Many important ecological processes, such as the carbon cycle and water cycle, have been damaged by pollution. Linden concludes that humanity faces difficult choices in maintaining the planet’s ability to support life.

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