There Is No Planet B
A Handbook for the Make or Break Years
by Mike Berners-Lee
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Pub Date Mar 04 2019 | Archive Date Mar 04 2019
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Description
Feeding the world, climate change, biodiversity, antibiotics, plastics – the list of concerns seems endless.
But what is most pressing, what are the knock-on effects of our actions, and what should we do first? Do we all need to become vegetarian? How can we fly in a low-carbon world? Should we frack? How can we take control of technology? Does it all come down to population? And, given the global nature of the challenges we now face, what on Earth can any of us do?
Fortunately, Mike Berners-Lee has crunched the numbers and plotted a course of action that is practical and even enjoyable. There is No Planet B maps it out in an accessible and entertaining way, filled with astonishing facts and analysis. For the first time you'll find big-picture perspective on the environmental and economic challenges of the day laid out in one place, and traced through to the underlying roots - questions of how we live and think.
This book will shock you, surprise you - and then make you laugh. And you'll find practical and even inspiring ideas for what you can actually do to help humanity thrive on this – our only – planet.
Advance Praise
"Mike has created a wonderfully abundant buffet-table of knowledge about sustainability and you can enjoy it all at one sitting or benefit from visiting for bite-size chunks. Either way, you’ll come away wiser, healthier and also entertained. In our household, we noticed people couldn’t resist picking up a draft copy for a quick look and dipping in for far longer than they’d expected. Mike doesn’t preach, instead he shares his insights with warmth and wit, and his book could not be more timely." David Shukman, BBC Science Editor
"If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the scale of the global challenges we face, then read this book. There Is No Planet B is full of practical guidance, evidence-based and robust, yet completely accessible, and sets out the difference any one of us can make. In an increasingly complex and confusing world, this book stands out as a beacon of common sense, clarity and - crucially - hope." Caroline Lucas, Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion
"This is a massively entertaining compendium of bite-sized facts … It’s also massively important, given the current state of the planet." Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
"A much-needed, critically important, straight-talking handbook for absolutely everyone on our long-suffering planet. We ignore it at our peril." Mark Carwardine, co-author (with Douglas Adams) of Last Chance to See
"Mike Berners-Lee has a unique ability to communicate vital information on some of the world’s most pressing challenges. In this highly readable book, he shows how severe our problems are, but also what we can do to reduce the threats we face." Chris Goodall, author of Ten Technologies to Fix Energy and Climate and The Switch: How Solar, Storage and New Tech Means Cheap Power for All
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781108439589 |
| PRICE | $12.95 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Joseph S, Reviewer
There Is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years by Mike Berners-Lee is a critical look at the demands on the environment made by man and humanity's growing energy demands. Berners-Lee is a leading expert in carbon footprinting. He is the director, and principal consultant at Small World Consulting and author of How Bad are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything.
Berners-Lee gives a very accurate look at the demands humanity puts on the environment and clears up several myths and misrepresentations that are now commonplace. We have all heard about deforestation for the expansion of soybeans. What we are not informed about is that the soybeans that are grown are not for human consumption but to feed livestock. Livestock are poor converters of plant protein to animal protein. Give up meat completely? No there is no need grass-fed, and free range can use land that is unproductive for farming. Alternative energy sources such as solar can easily meet our current energy demands, but our increased demand for energy will require every square mile of land to meet our requirements by 2100. Of course, efficiency and technology will improve over time, but efficiency seems to create even higher demand. People get the idea that increased efficiency means you can use it more. If my new car gets 35mpg and my old car only got 17 mpg I can use it twice as much or buy another vehicle.
Berners-Lee finds the loopholes that many people miss when talking about food production or energy use. Is nuclear power too dirty to use? Is my electric car really a coal-burning vehicle (coal is used to produce electricity that powers the vehicle)? And is it worse than an oil-powered vehicle? Is fracking safe? Is wealth disparages hurting things overall? There is No Planet B offers a thought proking and sometimes scary outlook for the future. It is not a smooth read all the way through and can easily be read by topic and skipped through. The subject matter is compartmentalized and can be easily jumped through to the issues of interest. There Is No Planet B is a well-done and realistic critique of man versus the planet.
Available March 4, 2019
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