Our planet’s life-support system is in trouble. For centuries, we have treated the biosphere as an infinite resource. We have used its soils, forests, and waters. We have filled its air and oceans with waste. Now, the bill is coming due.
The signs are all around us. We have pushed the Earth beyond its safe operating limits (Richardson et al. 2023). The systems that kept our climate stable for millennia are beginning to break down. This is not a distant problem for future generations. It is a present reality. The window for simple fixes has closed.
My new book, Biosphere Collapse: Causes and Solutions, confronts this reality directly. It argues that we must shift our focus from preserving and restoring the past to preserving a future. The book moves beyond describing the problem. It offers a clear, structured framework for the necessary transformation of our civilization.
The framework organizes the required changes into four levels of increasing difficulty. It starts with straightforward technical solutions, like managing fisheries. It moves to restructuring entire economic sectors, like energy and agriculture. It then addresses systemic drivers like urbanization. Finally, it tackles the deepest challenge: shifting our core beliefs about progress and growth.
The book makes a pragmatic case for preparation. Profound change is difficult in times of comfort. It often takes a crisis to create the political will for action. As climate-related disasters become more common, they will create windows of opportunity. Biosphere Collapse advocates developing detailed blueprints that communities, towns, and nations can have ready to implement when those windows open.
This is a book about facing hard truths. But it is also a book about agency and hope. It outlines a path forward, one that combines technical knowledge, political strategy, and a deeper ethical relationship with the living world.
To learn more about this essential framework, please read the full executive summary on our new website page.
Bibliography
Richardson, K., et al. 2023. Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries. Science Advances 9: eadh2458.
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