What happens when vast population growth endangers the world’s food supplies? Or our water? Our energy needs, climate, or environment? Or the planet’s biodiversity? What happens if these all become critical at once? Just what is our future?What happens when vast population growth endangers the world’s food supplies? Or our water? Our energy needs, climate, or environment? Or the planet’s biodiversity? What happens if these all become critical at once? Just what is our future?In End Game, world-renowned scientists Anthony Barnosky and Elizabeth Hadly explain the growing threats to humanity as the planet edges towards a resource war for remaining space, food, oil and water. And as they show, these wars are not the nightmares of a dystopian future but are already happening today. They explore the origins of Ebola in densely populated areas of south-eastern Guinea, witness raging fires in Yellowstone and Colorado and explain how drought-induced food shortages are already causing problems in the Sudan, Gaza Strip and Iraq. Finally, they ask: at what point will inaction become the break-up of the intricate workings of the global society?The planet is in danger now, but the solutions, as Barnosky and Hadly show, are still available. We still have the chance to avoid the tipping point and to make the future better. But this window of opportunity is closing fast and will shut within ten-to-twenty years. End Game is the call we need.‘Just because we have collectively lost interest in the doom clock doesn't mean it has stopped ticking … Barnosky and Hadly are serious players … When tipping points are reached, the change can be violent as well as sudden … you cannot fault the authors' determination to try to warn us’ Newsweek‘In ‘End Game’, academics Anthony Barnosky and Elizabeth Hadly eloquently lay out the ecological perils we face, deftly showing how they might segue into food and water shortages, disease, resource wars and mass migrations … Now we know the challenges for the 21st century; we just need to act’ Fred Pearce, New ScientistProfessors Anthony D. Barnosky and Elizabeth A. Hadly have been married and working together for nearly 25 years to uncover the scientific underpinnings that will help ensure a viable future for humanity.Anthony Barnosky is the Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California. A renowned paleobiologist, he has spent 30 years conducting research related to past planetary changes, and what they mean for forecasting the changes to come on Planet Earth in the next few decades.Elizabeth Hadly is the Chair of Environmental Biology at Stanford University. She has spent more than 25 years studying environmental change in landscapes all over the world, conducting primary research on how living and fossil species can reveal the ways in which current human impacts are influencing ecological systems.- A next-generation ‘Inconvenient Truth’, ‘End Game’ is a wake-up call for the whole planet from two leading world scientists.- We are reaching tipping points in population, consumption, extreme weather, hunger, thirst, toxics, disease and, possibly, war. This book explains the catastrophes we will face if we don’t address these.- Anthony and Elizabeth’s ‘Nature’ article which outlined their arguments was picked up by the Governor of California (who runs the 8th biggest economy in the world),and made into policy: so these battles are already starting.- For readers on climate – so authors like Mark Lynas (TCM 47k), George Monbiot (117k), ‘10 Billion’ (TCM 12k) and Naomi Klein’s ‘This Changes Everything’ (TCM 13k to date). Also readers on nature – ‘H is For Hawk’ (TCM 78k) and Robert McFarlane (TCM 306k) and general political readers – fans of Owen Jones (’The Establishment’ TCM 49k).- Tony blogs regularly for the Huffington Post, and both Tony and Liz have recently filmed some curricular videos which will reach millions of high school students:http://youtu.be/z6JVmhKsHDo?list=UUdofq4hHbT3ZDzgYUqsDd1A- December 2015 sees the big COP21 climate meeting in Paris, the major UN climate meeting where it is expected countries will essentially set the future of the world either by acting to stem climate change, or continue to do little. It will be headline news.- Debates over UK flooding and contributions to the international Green Climate Fund will continue over the winter.
Pubblicato da: HarperCollins Publishers