Before we go off into the great unknown to discover life on other planets, perhaps we should our own house in order and figure out what we have here.

According to the Fall 2000 issue of the Whole Earth Review, we only know of 5% of the estimated life on earth. In light of this dismal fact, Kevin Kelly - author and former editor and publisher of the Whole Earth Review (and I believe a former WIRED editor as well) - is trying to kick start an All Species Inventory of Planet Earth. I'm considering to somehow get involved.
 

These beautiful cover paintings are done by Isabella Kirkland and graphically illustrate 65 "Ascendant Species" and 61 "Descendent Species".

 Other than the works on the All Species Inventory, this issue has pieces on the bioregion of Hawai'i, taxonomy and nomenclature, and a nice feature on finding a shrine in a small village in India dedicated to a goddess for AIDS. 

We all have a lot of technology in our lives as well as an almost unhealthy dose of chemistry. This issue Whole Earth Review pursues better living though biology.