Here is the statement from the back cover of this amazing book: ‘We still have a chance to live better than ever on Planet Earth. But, as humans become ever more powerful, how can we avoid blundering into disaster?’

And this book does its level best to answer that question with positive ideas, suggestions, and examples.

Anyone who’s been alive for the past forty years and has avoided burying their head in the sand must know by now that we are in trouble, serious trouble. Greed, selfishness, division, vested interest, and inexcusable ignorance (given the amount of information available) have allowed the destroyers to overwhelm the creators and carers. But this hopeful, constructive, sensible, and brilliantly researched book has re-ignited the optimist in me. There is a chance, small and only briefly available, for us to change things in such a way that we might not only survive but actually render the world a better place in which all of us can live. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Given the current state of the world as it now operates, under rules well past their sell-by dates, ruled as it is by charlatans, narcissists, dictators, and greedy, self-serving opportunists with more money than sense, it is easy to become deeply pessimistic. But we can change things. It is possible. What those people don’t understand is that they will be every bit as susceptible to the irresistible destructive power of the climate emergency that lurks just around the corner as the rest of us. Wealth and power will make absolutely no difference to their chances of survival when the disaster occurs.

But we can do something to prevent that disaster. And that is what this book is all about. The suggestions are written in a style that’s accessible, intelligent, and informed, but lacking in the arrogance so often associated with books that give advice. The references and the glossary of research sources give credence to everything the author mentions here. The book is believable simply because it is obviously true.

There is a brief introduction to the first edition (I read the updated version). The book then tackles the growing threats and their possible solutions under the following headings: Food, Climate and Environment, Energy, Travel and Transport, Growth Money and Metrics, People and Work, Business and Technology, Values Truth and Trust, Thinking Skills for Today’s World, Protest, Big-Picture Summary, and What Can I Do? Each section gives examples of the causes of our current problems, possible solutions, and sources of information for further reading. The language makes often complex systems and situations readily understood without in any way being patronising.

There follows a comprehensive section dealing with Climate Emergency Basics, and another headed Alphabetical Quick Tour. ‘Endnotes’ details the sources for the numbered items in each chapter, and these are extensive. Finally, there is a useful Index.

If you are growing increasingly concerned for the future of the planet, please give this book a read. If you are still in the mindset of the denier, please give this book a read. And then see what parts of it you can adopt in your own life, what you can actually do to make a difference and help create a much better future than the one we are currently running full pelt toward. That cliff we will all otherwise plummet down is too steep and high to survive. But, if we can adopt the ideas and suggestions so wisely presented in this book, there’s a real chance we may at least endure and maybe even thrive in a world we can make so much better than that we currently occupy.

Mike Berners-Lee is the son of mathematicians and computer scientists and brother of Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the internet.

[Any review is a personal opinion. No reviewer can represent the view of anyone else. The best we can manage is an honest reaction to any given book.]

You’ll find a useful resource here: Toolkit
And, should you discover a sudden concern for the world population, take a look here.