ABSTRACT
In this urgent time, World on the Edge calls out the pivotal environmental issues and how to solve them now. We are in a race between political and natural tipping points. Can we close coal-fired power plants fast enough to save the Greenland ice sheet and avoid catastrophic sea level rise? Can we raise water productivity fast enough to halt the depletion of aquifers and avoid water-driven food shortages? Can we cope with peak water and peak oil at the same time? These are some of the issues Lester R. Brown skilfully distils in World on the Edge. Bringing decades of research and analysis into play, he provides the responses needed to reclaim our future.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |16 pages
On the Edge
part |37 pages
A Deteriorating Foundation
chapter |13 pages
Falling Water Tables and Shrinking Harvests
chapter |11 pages
Eroding Soils and Expanding Deserts
chapter |11 pages
Rising Temperatures, Melting Ice, and Food Security
part |37 pages
The Consequences
chapter |13 pages
The Emerging Politics of Food Scarcity
chapter |12 pages
Environmental Refugees: The Rising Tide
chapter |10 pages
Mounting Stresses, Failing States
part |86 pages
The Response:Plan B
chapter |17 pages
Building an Energy-Efficient Global Economy
chapter |20 pages
Harnessing Wind, Solar, and Geothermal Energy
chapter |15 pages
Restoring the Economy's Natural Support Systems
chapter |16 pages
Feeding Eight Billion
part |22 pages
Watching the Clock