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Countdown Our Last Best Hope for a Future on Earth? Alan Weisman 0884565111858 Books

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Countdown Our Last Best Hope for a Future on Earth? Alan Weisman 0884565111858 Books

Being totally confused by the climate debate, I’ve found this book by Weisman a very refreshing and comprehensive survey of the earth’s environmental problems. It’s always been a puzzle to me that the climate debate fixates on the use of fossil fuels, which are after all, are a secondary or dependent process. Its people that create greenhouse gases, and fossil fuels are just one issue. Weisman understands this dynamic very well and explores it fully in Countdown. Population growth leads to depletion of resources and pollution: The more people that populate the earth, the bigger the problem.
Weisman also explains the futile cycle whereby the successes of science lead to population growth that ultimately saturate the availability of food & water, which propels further advances in science which leads to further population growth… And science leads to its own unique problems: Some of the world’s most important crops depend on a single seed type. But recall Ireland’s potato famine—a single seed type leaves the crop vulnerable to widespread infestation. Also, modern day soil management can lead to a depletion in fertility, as has occurred in the Indian Punjab. But these are just a few of the examples Weisman covers in this book. The point is that controlling carbon emissions will not by itself save the planet: Environmental problems are much more complicated, and a full appreciation of the problems requires a more comprehensive discussion.
Readers will find much this book illuminating, along with much that can be disputed. I recommend further reading:

The Ecology of Commerce Revised Edition: A Declaration of Sustainability by Paul Hawken
Cadillac Desert, the American West and its Disappearing Water, by Marc Reisner.
Though Scorned by Colleagues, a Climate-Change Skeptic Is Unbowed by Michael Wines July 15, 2014, the New York Times
How to Talk about Climate Change so People Will Listen, by Charles C. Mann, September 2014, The Atlantic, page 86.


Tags : Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth? [Alan Weisman] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <strong>A powerful investigation into the chances for humanity's future from the author of the bestseller <em>The World Without Us</em>. </strong>In his bestselling book <em>The World Without Us</em>,Alan Weisman,Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?,Back Bay Books,0316097748,Environmental Conservation & Protection - General,Future Studies,Public Policy - Environmental Policy,Human influence on nature.,Nature - Effect of human beings on,Nature;Effect of human beings on.,Overpopulation,Overpopulation.,Population ecology,Central government policies,ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY,Ecology,Effect of human beings on,GENERAL,General Adult,HISTORY Civilization,HistoryCivilization,NATURE Ecology,NATURE Environmental Conservation & Protection,Nature,NatureEcology,NatureEnvironmental Conservation & Protection - General,Non-Fiction,POLITICAL SCIENCE Public Policy Environmental Policy,Political Science,PoliticsInternational Relations,PoliticsIntl Relations,SOCIAL SCIENCE Future Studies,Social ScienceFuture Studies,Social ScienceHuman Geography,TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING Social Aspects,Technology & EngineeringSocial Aspects,Ecology,HISTORY Civilization,HistoryCivilization,NATURE Ecology,NATURE Environmental Conservation & Protection,NatureEcology,NatureEnvironmental Conservation & Protection - General,POLITICAL SCIENCE Public Policy Environmental Policy,SOCIAL SCIENCE Future Studies,Social ScienceFuture Studies,Social ScienceHuman Geography,TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING Social Aspects,Technology & EngineeringSocial Aspects,Effect of human beings on,Nature,Environmental Policy,Political Science,PoliticsInternational Relations,Central government policies

Countdown Our Last Best Hope for a Future on Earth? Alan Weisman 0884565111858 Books Reviews

I read this book and was filled with dread. The underlying issue with almost every global event can be traced to the over population of the human race. until that is solved, nothing else; climate change, wars, famine, extinction can be resolved. This was a tough book to read. Beautifully written, great story telling and amazing facts. I loved it!
Very well written and full of very scary big picture facts. Although there are instances where the author gets into a side bar of a side bar of a side bar, it only highlights how intertwined the biodiverssity of this planet is. When we need to feed too many hungry mouths and we clear forest land to do it, we create a multitude of new problems., when the original problem is too many mouths to feed.
This fantastic book relates the problems of overpopulation in relation to how our present numbers, in its quest for the "good life," are destroying Earth's biosphere, using it as a resource for the "things" of our modern age. It describes the looming perfect storm of global warming, resource and water shortages, species extinction, and what they mean to an over-populated world. While many nations have managed to lower their birthrate, and many organizations are developing "eco-friendly" industry and living habits, the truth is that it is too little too late. Weisman admits that the only way out of this mess is to lower human population numbers. The ideal? What it was in the 1930s - two billion!
This book is a phenomenal collection of information on the science, history, conferences, people, agronomics, academics and politics of Earth Policy this century. Early on in the book you will see why the darkness of collapse and chaos is gaining power. This is information is all non-fiction and critical for everyone who has a family to hear.
The book is dense--so packed with facts gleaned in 21 countries--that felicitous language is often absent. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the research and the argument that persuades us to pay attention to population growth, ecological harm, women's sovereignty, affordable and accessible contraception worldwide, and to proven practices in Thailand and Iran leading to a reduction in population.
Forget horror movies or the supernatural thriller. For a true fright, you need look no further than the real world revealed in this book. The author travels the earth and the decades, covering how humanity has so thoroughly soiled its nest.

He doesn't just cover the environmental and social disasters. He also shows the solutions that have been tried and are still being worked on, from family planning to conservation, plant genetics to education.

Read this book and finally see what's around you. Or else wait for the reality version of a zombie apocalypse.
I loved the style and content of this book as it explored human population and the impact upon ecosystems through story telling. However, the author simply wrote off the role of consumption by basically saying that there's nothing we can do about how much and how people consume. He suggests we have a population of 2 billion so that people can live first world lives and we don't have to worry about consumption. While I want fewer people on the planet and have chosen to only have one child for this reason, I have also greatly altered my patterns of consumption, my home, and my work to try to address the environmental crisis we are facing. To do otherwise right now, knowing what we know, is grossly irresponsible and selfish.
Being totally confused by the climate debate, I’ve found this book by Weisman a very refreshing and comprehensive survey of the earth’s environmental problems. It’s always been a puzzle to me that the climate debate fixates on the use of fossil fuels, which are after all, are a secondary or dependent process. Its people that create greenhouse gases, and fossil fuels are just one issue. Weisman understands this dynamic very well and explores it fully in Countdown. Population growth leads to depletion of resources and pollution The more people that populate the earth, the bigger the problem.
Weisman also explains the futile cycle whereby the successes of science lead to population growth that ultimately saturate the availability of food & water, which propels further advances in science which leads to further population growth… And science leads to its own unique problems Some of the world’s most important crops depend on a single seed type. But recall Ireland’s potato famine—a single seed type leaves the crop vulnerable to widespread infestation. Also, modern day soil management can lead to a depletion in fertility, as has occurred in the Indian Punjab. But these are just a few of the examples Weisman covers in this book. The point is that controlling carbon emissions will not by itself save the planet Environmental problems are much more complicated, and a full appreciation of the problems requires a more comprehensive discussion.
Readers will find much this book illuminating, along with much that can be disputed. I recommend further reading

The Ecology of Commerce Revised Edition A Declaration of Sustainability by Paul Hawken
Cadillac Desert, the American West and its Disappearing Water, by Marc Reisner.
Though Scorned by Colleagues, a Climate-Change Skeptic Is Unbowed by Michael Wines July 15, 2014, the New York Times
How to Talk about Climate Change so People Will Listen, by Charles C. Mann, September 2014, The Atlantic, page 86.