Kindle electronic edition now available at Amazon.com
From the Publisher’s Weekly Review, Amazon Website, Spring, 2022
As a sequel to “Notes from a Dying Planet, 2004-2006,” Brown’s eye-opening and often terrifying survey explores what has happened to Earth regarding overpopulation, mass extinction, and climate change in the last two decades.
Aiming to provoke action, Brown painstakingly– and unstintingly– lays out the evidence, drawn from hundreds of articles and studies, of what he calls the “planetary death,” detailing the uptick in extreme weather and climate-related catastrophes, the warning signs that too often languish unheeded, and the likely increasingly horrific disasters we can expect in the future. While he never sugarcoats anything, Brown also offers guidance to steps that readers can take to mitigate these compounding dangers — if we as a species really do want to continue living on the planet we call home.
Brown’s core message — that we have very little time to make massive, life-altering changes in order to save life on the planet as we know it — is delivered alongside copious links covering topics that range from media misinformation to political movements. He never shies away from his fears that we have gone too far as a species to be able to reign in the incredible damage already done, which means the book may prove too wrenching for readers who prefer a sunnier outlook.
Brown sounds a resonant alarm about what’s likely to come if immediate action is not taken, and his advice about alternative personal habits and choices that any of us can make are welcome, though some of the recommendations are challenging. Brown suggests humans stop procreating, arguing “there will be enough younger people to carry on due to accidental pregnancies and births,” and he advises an immediate end to mass tourism that results in unaffordable ecological damage. His writing will spark a fear for the future, but readers will walk away empowered to make personal changes to thwart some of the most dire consequences of resource waste and pollution.
Takeaway: A stark analysis of the threats to our planet, with a provocative call to action for environmentally aware readers.
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REFERENCE~ “NOTES FROM A DEAD PLANET: Please Prove Me Wrong,” by Paul Brown, PhD
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Strong winds this week could lead to explosive fire growth in Colorado, the West ~ The Associated Press, Colorado Sun, April 21, 2022
Hundreds of people have been evacuated because of wildfires burning in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. Popular lakes and national monuments have been closed — some because fire has moved directly over them.
https://coloradosun.com/2022/04/21/colorado-winds-fire-danger-west/
Colorado finds “forever chemicals” PFAS in 100% of fish sampled in three big counties, Michael Booth, Colorado Sun, April 22, 2022
In another alarming report about the spread of the toxic waterproofing chemicals, the state says all fish sampled in El Paso, Adams and Jefferson counties were contaminated. Is any level of human consumption safe?
https://coloradosun.com/2022/04/22/forever-chemicals-colorado-fish-samples-pfas/
Half the planet should be set aside for wildlife – to save ourselves
By Michael Le Page, New Scientist, Sept. 13, 2018
We need to protect more land from development
If we want to avoid mass extinctions and preserve the ecosystems all plants and animals depend on, governments should protect a third of the oceans and land by 2030 and half by 2050, with a focus on areas of high biodiversity. So say leading biologists in an editorial in the journal Science this week.
It’s not just about saving wildlife, says Jonathan Baillie of the National Geographic Society, one of the authors. It’s also about saving ourselves.
“We are learning more and more that the large areas that remain are important for providing services for all life,” he says. “The forests, for example, are critical for absorbing and storing carbon.”
At present, just 3.6 per cent of the planet’s oceans and 14.7 per cent of the land is protected by law.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2179499-half-the-planet-should-be-set-aside-for-wildlife-to-save-ourselves/
Notes from a Dead Planet has a premise and a challenge.
The premise: Humans, like all living things, have a built-in drive to reproduce and consume resources beyond the ability of nature to support them. Unfortunately, we’ve evolved the ability to override the natural controls that keep other species from destroying their habitats, so that now we’ve caused a global collapse of Earth’s life support system. Corporations own our governments, and they fight all attempts to rein in our consumption. That’s why international efforts to address climate change and mass extinction have failed utterly. In a nutshell, we are programmed to self-destruct.
The challenge: Please prove Brown wrong by taking decisive action today, to stop global collapse. If the world makes the necessary commitment to a single-minded effort to rescue the web of life we depend on, we just might survive. Notes from a Dead Planet offers the solutions; it’s up to readers to apply them.
This is our last chance.
Notes from a Dead Planet is intended to be a living document. For a preview of the book, newslinks, and additions and revisions, do visit … https://www.deadplanet.org
Climate scientists try to stay optimistic – Denver Post
“With climate change, “we have to kind of hold hope and grief at the same time, like they’re kind of twins that we’re cradling,” Maine’s Gill said. “We have to both understand and witness what has happened and what we’ve lost. And then fiercely commit to protecting what remains. And I don’t think you can do that from a place of hopelessness.””
https://denverpost-co.newsmemory.com/?publink=06ec88e7e_1348481&vanity&fbclid=IwAR3PYVVmX8gtoxOD5ARrsDF-zQVz-g95Ji6lECUuUA0yjUH4GG4n4istMS4#.Ynmuu90lk24.facebook