Overview

We all know our planet is in crisis, and that it is largely our fault. But all too often the full picture of change is obstructed by dense data sets and particular catastrophes. Struggling with this obscurity in her role as an editor at Nature, Gaia Vince decided to travel the world and see for herself what life is really like for people on the frontline of this new reality. What she found was a number people doing the most extraordinary things. During her journey she finds a man who is making artificial glaciers in Nepal along with an individual who is painting mountains white to attract snowfall; take the electrified reefs of the Maldives; or the man who's making islands out of rubbish in the Caribbean. These are ordinary people who are solving severe crises in crazy, ingenious, effective ways. While Vince does not mince words regarding the challenging position our species is in, these wonderful stories, combined with the new science that underpins Gaia's expertise and research, make for a persuasive, illuminating--and strangely hopeful--read on what the Anthropocene means for our future.

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9781571313584

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Reviews

Winner of the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books 2015 A fascinating tour of the human side of climate change, complete with its perils, and the inspired efforts ordinary people are nonetheless finding to adapt and survive with grace. Diane Ackerman, author of The Human Age A highly readable take of the planet s pulse. Star Tribune [An]impressive book, encyclopedic in its scope and relentless in its gumshoe derring-do. An emporium of fascinating information. American Scholar Celebrates the wonders of nature and reminds us that we are a superbly adaptive species. Booklist, Starred Review A well-documented, upbeat alternative to doom-and-gloom prognostications. Kirkus, Starred Review Vince has produced a book, simultaneously deeply depressing and thoroughly uplifting, that is all but impossible to put down. Publishers Weekly, Starred Review With its engaging, thought-provoking narratives, this volume will expand, or perhaps fundamentally change, readers' views about the planet's emerging future. Highly recommended. All readers. CHOICE Our species has exploded into a new kind of forceone species able to alter the physical, chemical and biological properties of the planet on a geological scale. Gaia Vince s important book provides the evolutionary, temporal and biophysical context to show with clarity the stunning speed and magnitude of the human footprint on the planet. She manages to inspire with hope while conveying a cry of urgency. David Suzuki, author of The Sacred Balance A fine and timely book. Gaia Vince shows us how to stay steady and cheerful despite the ever intensifying drama of the Anthropocene James Lovelock, author of Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth A beautifully written book that raises the most profound question of our time: How should we live? In the past this has been primarily a personal question, but now it has become the central question for us as a speciesand the fate of nearly every species on our planet (including our own) rests on our answer. Ken Caldeira, Stanford University Gaia's remarkable journey is a unique inventory of life on earth, both wild and human, at this important moment in our history. Bill Oddie This is a remarkable journey from a remarkable journalist... The Anthropocene era she documents emerges as something richer, more vital and more interesting than any previous era. In her eyes people are heroes rather than villains. Read this and you can believe in the future. Fred Pearce, author of When the Rivers Run Dry Have you seen the state of our planet? Gaia Vince has. She travelled the globe for two years to investigate what we are doing to it, and this heroic feat of reporting is the result. She, and her readers, are left wiser, sometimes sadder, but still holding on to a core optimism about possible futures for our world. Jon Turney, author of The Rough Guide to the Future

Shortlisted for the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books 2015 A highly readable take of the planet s pulse. Star Tribune [An]impressive book, encyclopedic in its scope and relentless in its gumshoe derring-do. An emporium of fascinating information. American Scholar A fascinating tour of the human side of climate change, complete with its perils, and the inspired efforts ordinary people are nonetheless finding to adapt and survive with grace. Diane Ackerman, author of The Human Age Celebrates the wonders of nature and reminds us that we are a superbly adaptive species. Booklist, Starred Review A well-documented, upbeat alternative to doom-and-gloom prognostications. Kirkus, Starred Review Vince has produced a book, simultaneously deeply depressing and thoroughly uplifting, that is all but impossible to put down. Publishers Weekly, Starred Review With its engaging, thought-provoking narratives, this volume will expand, or perhaps fundamentally change, readers' views about the planet's emerging future. Highly recommended. All readers. CHOICE Our species has exploded into a new kind of forceone species able to alter the physical, chemical and biological properties of the planet on a geological scale. Gaia Vince s important book provides the evolutionary, temporal and biophysical context to show with clarity the stunning speed and magnitude of the human footprint on the planet. She manages to inspire with hope while conveying a cry of urgency. David Suzuki, author of The Sacred Balance A fine and timely book. Gaia Vince shows us how to stay steady and cheerful despite the ever intensifying drama of the Anthropocene James Lovelock, author of Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth A beautifully written book that raises the most profound question of our time: How should we live? In the past this has been primarily a personal question, but now it has become the central question for us as a speciesand the fate of nearly every species on our planet (including our own) rests on our answer. Ken Caldeira, Stanford University Gaia's remarkable journey is a unique inventory of life on earth, both wild and human, at this important moment in our history. Bill Oddie This is a remarkable journey from a remarkable journalist... The Anthropocene era she documents emerges as something richer, more vital and more interesting than any previous era. In her eyes people are heroes rather than villains. Read this and you can believe in the future. Fred Pearce, author of When the Rivers Run Dry Have you seen the state of our planet? Gaia Vince has. She travelled the globe for two years to investigate what we are doing to it, and this heroic feat of reporting is the result. She, and her readers, are left wiser, sometimes sadder, but still holding on to a core optimism about possible futures for our world. Jon Turney, author of The Rough Guide to the Future

Winner of the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books 2015 A fascinating tour of the human side of climate change, complete with its perils, and the inspired efforts ordinary people are nonetheless finding to adapt and survive with grace. --Diane Ackerman, author of The Human Age A highly readable take of the planet's pulse. --Star Tribune [An]impressive book, encyclopedic in its scope and relentless in its gumshoe derring-do. An emporium of fascinating information. --American Scholar Celebrates the wonders of nature and reminds us that we are a superbly adaptive species. --Booklist, Starred Review A well-documented, upbeat alternative to doom-and-gloom prognostications. --Kirkus, Starred Review Vince has produced a book, simultaneously deeply depressing and thoroughly uplifting, that is all but impossible to put down. --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review With its engaging, thought-provoking narratives, this volume will expand, or perhaps fundamentally change, readers' views about the planet's emerging future. Highly recommended. All readers. --CHOICE Our species has exploded into a new kind of force--one species able to alter the physical, chemical and biological properties of the planet on a geological scale. Gaia Vince's important book provides the evolutionary, temporal and biophysical context to show with clarity the stunning speed and magnitude of the human footprint on the planet. She manages to inspire with hope while conveying a cry of urgency. --David Suzuki, author of The Sacred Balance A fine and timely book. Gaia Vince shows us how to stay steady and cheerful despite the ever intensifying drama of the Anthropocene --James Lovelock, author of Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth A beautifully written book that raises the most profound question of our time: 'How should we live?' In the past this has been primarily a personal question, but now it has become the central question for us as a species--and the fate of nearly every species on our planet (including our own) rests on our answer. --Ken Caldeira, Stanford University Gaia's remarkable journey is a unique inventory of life on earth, both wild and human, at this important moment in our history. --Bill Oddie This is a remarkable journey from a remarkable journalist... The Anthropocene era she documents emerges as something richer, more vital and more interesting than any previous era. In her eyes people are heroes rather than villains. Read this and you can believe in the future. --Fred Pearce, author of When the Rivers Run Dry Have you seen the state of our planet? Gaia Vince has. She travelled the globe for two years to investigate what we are doing to it, and this heroic feat of reporting is the result. She, and her readers, are left wiser, sometimes sadder, but still holding on to a core optimism about possible futures for our world. --Jon Turney, author of The Rough Guide to the Future

Author Information

Gaia Vince is a journalist and broadcaster specializing in science and the environment. She has been the editor of the journal Nature Climate Change, the news editor of Nature and online editor of New Scientist. Her broadcast journalism has been featured on the BBC, and her writing has been published in the Guardian, Scientific American, and the Times, among many others. Currently, she writes a weekly online column about the natural world and our place in it for the American Scholar. A native of Australia, she resides in London.

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