---A fifty-fifty book! Fifty per cent (or more) is (very readable) science and policy-based discussion with rational observations made by the author about the potential boundaries or tipping points (covering humankind's impact on the natural world) with each boundary given a separate chapter: the biodiversity boundary; the climate change boundary; the nitrogen boundary; the land use boundary; the freshwater boundary; the toxics boundary; the aerosols boundary; the ocean acidification boundary; and the ozone layer boundary.
---Lynas writes, 'Based on the pioneering work of the 29 scientists making up the planetary boundaries expert group, this book has made the case that the Earth system has inherent ecological limits within it...' (p. 234). This general coverage of the boundaries is very good indeed, concise and touches upon all those themes and issues one hears about in the news but perhaps does not really fully understand. Lynas explains the tipping points expertly and clearly.
---But the other fifty per cent of the book (or less) is argument and recommendations based upon the author's current views of how we might survive best on Earth. Lynas discusses possible solutions to the tipping points noted above. Some are logical and doable, for example, his idea that '...each country adds half a per cent to Value Added Tax (VAT) with the proceeds raised specifically safeguarded for the ecosystem and habitat restoration ("rewilding")' (p. 133). Other recommendations are more challenging, for instance, he supports plant biotechnology: 'Creating new strains of rice, wheat and corn that fix their own nitrogen,' (p. 109); he speaks of urban living for the masses (as this will have less impact on the natural environment) (pp. 134-137); increased use of nuclear energy (as the only serious alternative to fossil fuels) (pp. 167-182).
---Lynas is indeed a plausible and knowledgeable writer, but you need to decide about some of his recommendations. The argument of the book is complex, yet, I feel that Lynas is looking at mainstream society and the dominant neoliberal-capitalist model and trying to accommodate these as best possible with the boundaries of the ecosystem (and vice versa): this is both the strength and the weakness of his book. ( )

Didn't realise until I got into this book that it was from 2011 - much of the info was well out of date and there are more current environmental books out there. ( )

A thought-provoking book. It's a useful infodump of facts and recent research on human-caused global changes. But it also attacks the assumptions of many environmentalists that GE and nuclear power are bad, and challenges them to accept the science on these topics as thoroughly as they insist others do with global warming. Lynas explores a crack running through the modern environmental movement where some of its ideology conflicts with scientific evidence; nothing to do with global warming, just the idea that moral austerity is a necessary part of making global changes. He forces the reader to examine how serious one's own commitment to saving the planet is, and how much of it might be adherence to a social movement to make one feel better about living in the West. Why are we so repulsed by the possibility that everyone could have a decent standard of living and have children if they want them? What if that were actually possible? Instead we act like all must suffer, all sacrifice, all turn down our thermostats and mortify the flesh by shivering. ( )

shelved in HT Green Library - by Reception - Monograph Library (R)