update: A TOP ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTER/EDITOR COMMENTS:: ''Or at least tell us why they made that decision. I suspect THE LOWERCASE is used often.''
Let's hope Bill can ask his editors to rectify this glaring gaffe in the paperback edition.
Bill?
Bill" Can you do anything about this? Your editors do not answer my emails or tweets. It's a wonderful book, I loved reading it, but hey, Mr 350.0RG, our home planet should be capped in first letter E, as in Earth. The New York Times Climate Desk (and the entire newspaper itself) also has a problem with lowercasing the word EARTH, and of all people, YOU BILL should stand up for the Earth and demand that your editors fix the gaffe in the paperback edition. Or at least issue an apology or an explanation for lowercasing the word all through the text.
EXAMPLES:
Page 4
Did you know we had more breweries per capita than any place on earth?
Please fix to read:
Did you know we had more breweries per capita than any place on Earth?
Page 96
''In 1777, while still an indepedent republic, Vermont became the first sovereign state on earth to constitutionally outlaw slavery...''
Please fix to read:
''In 1777, while still an indepedent republic, Vermont became the first sovereign state on Earth to constitutionally outlaw slavery...''
Page 97
''...that would make America the the most democratically educated place on earth....''
Please fix to read:
''...that would make America the the most democratically educated place on Earth....''
Page 2
But funny, Bill on page 2 this sentence caps the word earth as ''Earth,'' the only time in the entire book that this is allowed. The lowecasing of the name of our home planet Earth (lowercased as ''earth'' each time) occurs through the book, almost 34,513 times....
WAKE UP, BILL, and I know you are awake, very awake, so wake up your editors and proofreaders for the paperback edition, or at least make an attempt to wake them up, and while you are at it, try to wake up the New York Times editors the Climate Desk, too. They lowercase earth every time. Go look!
BUT: Our home planet deserves a cap E, yes or no?
SEE: page 2:
''The other 34,513 Starbucks scatttered across the planet Earth and aboard our...''
see also
http://northwardho.blogspot.com/2016/10/nytbr-in-which-nyt-changes-longstanding.html
Or at least tell us why they made that decision. I suspect it is used often.
ReplyDeleteHi Dan:
ReplyDeleteI'll reply to you but I won't subscribe to the blog in order to leave a remark. I think it's ridiculous to spell Earth without the capital "E". Look how stupid jupiter, saturn and pluto look without caps - even my spellcheck wants to change them. The word earth is fine if you're digging the stuff in your garden, but Earth as a planet requires capitalization. The editor isn't qualified to be one...
Tom
David de la Hunty says--"If it's used as a proper noun (naming a planet) it's capitalised. Otherwise, not. Why is this complicated?''
ReplyDeleteSome replies coming in. One cli-fi novelist in Colorado says: ''Dan, I think it is a bit complicated. The Chicago Manual of Style says: "In nontechnical contexts the word earth, in the sense of our planet, is usually lowercased when preceded by the or in such idioms as "down to earth" . . . When used as the proper name of our planet, especially in context with other planets, it is capitalized and the is usually omitted."
ReplyDeleteSo, I guess it depends on how the word is used. There doesn't appear to be an across-the-board rule. I'd follow the Chicago Manual.''
Glenn Albrecht in Australia commments - "Earth Emotions, not earth emotions!'' He was referring there to his new book coming out in 2019 titled ''Earth Emotions''
ReplyDelete