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This book is all about demographics. What happens as people have fewer children, live longer, move more? David Foot, author of Boom, Bust, and Echo argued that two-thirds of everything can be explained by demographics, and that's what Pearce sets out to prove in The Coming Population Crash.
Pearce starts with a review of demographic thinking, starting with the 18th-century scholar Malthus and working his way forward. Pearce is at his strongest, I think, when he describes how generations of political scientists, economists, and demographers took Malthus to heart and unwittingly engineered Malthusian crises which they described as "inevitable." One poignant example was the Irish famine, wherein rich (British) landowners exported food from the island while their Irish tenants starved, all while arguing that the problem was Irish fertility. A similar rhetoric is happening even now in Kenya. Malthus influenced -- directly or indirectly -- eugenics movements and xenophobic thinking that continue today.
I was also impressed with Pearce's analysis of today's world. Travelling from Italy to Bangladesh to San Paolo, Pearce paints a picture of the world as it is and describes how we got here. All over the globe, with few exceptions, women are having fewer children. Peace points out some of the political ramifications, from the "little emperors" in China to the abandonment of cities in East Germany to the bulging slums in megalopolises around the world.
Where I thought Pearce was weakest was in his final chapters, the ones where he gets to the crux of his subtitle, Our Planet's Surprising Future. Pearce envisions an aging world, but one in which the elderly are more active in political and social affairs, more important in taking care of their families, and more present in the workplace. I think, given the amount of times Pearce described previous demographic trends (the rapid decrease in fertility, for example) as "completely unexpected," he should be the first to admit that a similar "unexpected" trend could creep up on us. There's just no way to predict what the planet's going to be like in 2050, let alone 2100.
That said, I thought this was a well-researched, well-argued book. Certainly, it provides food for thought.
Pearce starts with a review of demographic thinking, starting with the 18th-century scholar Malthus and working his way forward. Pearce is at his strongest, I think, when he describes how generations of political scientists, economists, and demographers took Malthus to heart and unwittingly engineered Malthusian crises which they described as "inevitable." One poignant example was the Irish famine, wherein rich (British) landowners exported food from the island while their Irish tenants starved, all while arguing that the problem was Irish fertility. A similar rhetoric is happening even now in Kenya. Malthus influenced -- directly or indirectly -- eugenics movements and xenophobic thinking that continue today.
I was also impressed with Pearce's analysis of today's world. Travelling from Italy to Bangladesh to San Paolo, Pearce paints a picture of the world as it is and describes how we got here. All over the globe, with few exceptions, women are having fewer children. Peace points out some of the political ramifications, from the "little emperors" in China to the abandonment of cities in East Germany to the bulging slums in megalopolises around the world.
Where I thought Pearce was weakest was in his final chapters, the ones where he gets to the crux of his subtitle, Our Planet's Surprising Future. Pearce envisions an aging world, but one in which the elderly are more active in political and social affairs, more important in taking care of their families, and more present in the workplace. I think, given the amount of times Pearce described previous demographic trends (the rapid decrease in fertility, for example) as "completely unexpected," he should be the first to admit that a similar "unexpected" trend could creep up on us. There's just no way to predict what the planet's going to be like in 2050, let alone 2100.
That said, I thought this was a well-researched, well-argued book. Certainly, it provides food for thought.
Amazing photography, just like the series. A bit depressing that so much beauty in the world is in jeopardy. This book highlights the urgency for humans to do something about the climate, sooner than later.
Are we outbreeding the ability of of earth to support us all? Was Malthus's vision of a civilisation-ending catastrophe driven by overpopulation, if somewhat delayed, truly what awaits us? There are plenty who fear so. But Fred Pearce takes a different view, and it's not based on wishful thinking or optimism in spite of the evidence, but on the facts about demographic changes that are already taking place in many parts of the world. For in the long term we face a shrinking population and the real challenge will be working out how to live in a world where young people are a rarity. The book starts out covering the murky history of concerns over growing population, a history often mired in racism and elitism (also, FYI, Malthus was a complete bastard). It then moves on to the horrors of attempts to control reproduction by coercion. But as Pearce shows in later chapters, the evidence of how fertility rates inevitably fall is clear. World population may be growing and could reach 10 or 11 billion, but after that peak, numbers will inevitably fall and the crisis will be how to restructure societies in which young people are a small proportion of the population. That's not to deny the peak in human numbers will not present a very serious challenge. But the action we need to take is not to obsess about birth rates, but to curb our excessive consumption so we can get through that peak without stripping our planet bare.
informative
slow-paced
Being written in 2010, the numbers quoted in the book and some of its predictions are out of date. However, Fred Pearce does pose a number of questions that are still relevant today.
With an ever-increasing population, how do we equitably share our resources to ensure that we can feed, clothe and provide shelter to all? He examines a number of historical events that have impacted the world's population and its distribution including natural disasters, wars, immigration and those seeking refugee status and asylum. He also explores human trafficking.
One area that had a small mention but now thirteen years later, is growing in its impact is climate. Many more countries are now realising the threat they are under, whether it be rising tides, lower food production, fires or floods. Climate refugees will be an ever-increasing group of people seeking help but how will the world respond?
Will we continue to close borders and demonise those looking for help? Or will we open our hearts and minds, to look for solutions? There are enough resources on the planet to feed, clothe, house and provide medical care and education to all, it's how we use our collective energies to deliver this that will cause the issues. Working together seems to be a problem for those who inhabit this planet.
With an ever-increasing population, how do we equitably share our resources to ensure that we can feed, clothe and provide shelter to all? He examines a number of historical events that have impacted the world's population and its distribution including natural disasters, wars, immigration and those seeking refugee status and asylum. He also explores human trafficking.
One area that had a small mention but now thirteen years later, is growing in its impact is climate. Many more countries are now realising the threat they are under, whether it be rising tides, lower food production, fires or floods. Climate refugees will be an ever-increasing group of people seeking help but how will the world respond?
Will we continue to close borders and demonise those looking for help? Or will we open our hearts and minds, to look for solutions? There are enough resources on the planet to feed, clothe, house and provide medical care and education to all, it's how we use our collective energies to deliver this that will cause the issues. Working together seems to be a problem for those who inhabit this planet.
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
This book contained a lot of excellent examples and case studies, but I didn't find that he had very much analysis on any of those case studies. He just kind of laid them out and was like, ok, you do the analysis. Nothing really original about this book, but a good reference if you want a place to have population examples handy in collected form.
Die gleichnamige Dokureihe zog, nach Angaben von Netflix, bereits im ersten Monat der Veröffentlichung rund 25 Millionen Haushalte in ihren Bann. Mit atemberaubenden Aufnahmen zeigt sie den Facettenreichtum unseres Planeten, aber auch dessen Vergänglichkeit. Im exklusiven Begleitband wird nun die einmalige Atmosphäre der ersten von Netflix produzierten Naturdokumentation in spektakulären Momentaufnahmen eingefangen. Die Fotografien aus Tier- und Pflanzenwelt führen dem Betrachter die bunte Vielfalt unserer Ökosysteme, sowie den gewaltigen Einfluss der Menschen auf diese vor Augen. Es sind keine Weltuntergangs-Bilder, dennoch sind es vor allem die Beiträge und Kommentare namhafter Wissenschaftler, die zum Nachdenken anregen und „Unser Planet“ zu einem hoffnungsvollen Weckruf machen.
Un gran recorrido por diferentes ecosistemas del plan y cómo la mano del hombre los está destruyendo. Las fotografías que acompañan cada capítulo son espectaculares.