ABSTRACT
As we have seen in Chapter 3, the state of the planet in 2010 is far from satisfactory. Not only is there ample evidence of a deteriorating environment, we also see weaknesses of governance, problems with the global economy and a spreading culture of consumerism that means that globally we use more natural resources per year than the planet can sustainably produce. In the recent past, society has responded through partial solutions to specific problems without a systematic and careful consideration of impacts, or effectiveness with respect to an integrative approach to the inherent coupling between human and environmental systems.
Phase-out of fossil fuel CO2 emissions by mid-century as global energy demand doubles or triples is the engineering challenge of the century; but doable in principle.
Marty Hoffert