sirodoht

The book begins with a very succinct state of affairs on the Earth system. Hopelessness overtakes one's mind as the amount of suffering and death humanity has caused during the last 500 years is immeasurable. In exchange for what? Inequality in survival potential — caused by the few at the top. But, Jason's other book is a much more complete case for this argument: The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions When a constituent of a system does not play its role then the system’s collapse is inevitable. This is what happened a few thousand years ago, during the Austronesian expansion, when humans left mainland Asia and settled in the islands of south-east Pacific Ocean. Being accustomed to the huge ecosystem of mainland Asia, they didn’t consider that those small islands have a much more delicate life balance. Their rate of tree cutting and animal hunting were unsustainable, which lead to whole islands collapsing and being abandoned. However, the settlers learned from their mistakes. They understood how the ecosystem worked and did, subsequently, achieve a balance that allowed all organisms of the ecosystem to live. This is the challenge we are facing, only this time on a planet level rather than on a small island. Odds are against us. It will require global collaboration in an unprecedented level. It's one of the greatest collective challenges of all time. If one is looking for something to work on, this is a considerably attractive choice. The author says this is a book about hope. It’s difficult to apprehend that, especially in the beginning of the book. As it progresses, potential solutions are offered but their application and success do not seem likely. In the end, after having the whole picture together, one can finally understand. True optimism is not blind optimism. And true hope is not one without knowing the bleakness of reality. One has to know; and still venture into this high-stakes undertaking — not because they fear death, but because they are excited about life. *This* is why this book is about hope.

I've tried reading this book but I was unable to understand more than a couple of sentences.