We live in apocalyptic times. Global greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb, putting the Earth on track for a catastrophic 3ºC rise above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century if policy continues at its current level. At the same time, we are hacking down, digging up, paving over and polluting more and more of the natural systems upon which we depend. It is not surprising that species extinction rates have leaped to levels not seen for millions of years, with many scientists concluding that the Earth’s sixth mass extinction is now underway.
Meanwhile, the human population is expected to swell to 9.7 billion by 2050. It is not clear that a world of 3ºC heating and irreversible species loss could support anything like that number. Even if humanity is not a casualty of the mass extinction, we seem certain to face a period of miserable retrenchment if we do not change course radically in the next few years.
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