My Latest Book Review > Nowhere Left to Go: How Climate Change is Driving Species to the Ends of the Earth
Book Review
Nowhere Left to Go: How Climate Change is Driving Species to the Ends of the Earth, by Benjamin von Brackel, The Experiment, New York, 2022, 278 pp. ISBN: 978-1-61519-861-0 (Translated by Ayça Türkoğlu).
One of the nine components of the
scientifically based planetary boundaries framework* is the loss of biosphere integrity (biodiversity
losses and extinction).
Biodiversity is all the living
things on our planet – from the smallest bacteria to the largest plants and
animals…. Biodiversity on Earth is the result of four billion years of
evolution.
The Royal Society
Relatively recently, a new
scientific field of research has emerged ̶ movement
ecology or climate change-induced migration of flora and fauna. Placed within such
context, this book, originally published in Germany (2021) under the title Die Natur auf der Flucht, reports numerous
examples of how the biodiversity threshold of our world is being overstepped.
Update on Tipping Points:
(Science): Exceeding 1.5°C global warming could trigger multiple climate tipping points
Freshwater Boundary Exceeds Safe Limits (Stockholm Resilience Ctr):
Book Review > The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science
Book Review
The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science, by Paul Behrens, London, Indigo Press, 2020, 346 pp. ISBN: 978-1-911648-09-3.
Deeply researched, remarkably accessible and comprehensive, The Best of Times is a treatise of the deteriorating social and physical systems of our world. Particularly critical structures include climate, racism, politics, energy, economies, food, information, and the media. Uniquely qualified to address the cross-disciplinary threads of our planetary crises, Behrens categorizes a bundle of wicked problems now facing the human race. Providing context and perspective, this book points to several examples of where inequality has led to collapse of civilizations. A vast set of complex objectives are set out which we must meet in a crucially brief and shrinking timespan. As the author has stated on social media, he emphatically provides no “sugar coating.”
Book Review > Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet:
BOOK REVIEW
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet, by Johan Rockström and
Owen Gaffney, New York, New York, DK, 2021, 227 pp. ISBN: 978-0-7440-2813-3.
What is our destiny? As we look forward to COP26 (Glasgow) in the fall, this book makes clear what must be achieved. Our planet is in crisis. But we’re not only experiencing a climate emergency, we face massive ecological disasters on many fronts. Breaking Boundaries builds upon collaborative research, specifically highly cited scientific papers (2009, 2009, 2015, 2019) which introduced the novel concept of “planetary boundaries” ̶ irreversible and abrupt tipping points (non-linear changes) in our Earth’s systems. Not only has this ground breaking approach catalyzed a new area of academic research, over recent years, Rockström has clarified this model to a widening audience via TED Talks and other public formats (including a recent Netflix documentary).