ABSTRACT
The human race is poised at a time before great change. At no time in history have we been faced with a greater challenge. We have been so successful in developing our knowledge and skills that we have created untold wealth and material prosperity – prosperity that could only be dreamed of 100 years ago. The world's innovators at the time could barely glimpse the world they were contributing to build, let alone the impacts that this new world might have on the environment. The electrical and digital revolutions accelerated this progress to the point that now the human race covers much of the habitable land on the planet and harnesses resources from all its four corners. In the 21st century, we stand at a crossroads, where the size of the impacts from our global community is now rivalling the size of our home's ability to cope.
