With the view of creating a caring, biodiverse and sustainable world for our human species, this book traces the history of human history from the earliest beginnings through the development of agriculture and civil society to modern times. The timeline illustrates the rise and fall of empires to present key lessons from the past that should guide us to a benign future. At the same time, it illustrates the causes of failure and points to the early signs of our current global mercantile empire beginning to collapse in the face of severe environmental risks from modern day sources of energy, industry, agricultural and forestry practices, overexploitation of natural resources, environmental degradation through pollution, all contributing to societal conflicts, corruption, greed, inequity, mass migration, and the prediction of the consequences of the collapse from a human standpoint. Evidence is extensively presented to support all the predictions of future events.
But the main thrust of the book is to offer a realistic look at the present situation, a summary of the future predicted effects of our governance and industrial leadership behaviour, and several realistic paths to a future in which people can live comfortably in a stable climate, with a biodiverse natural world, under political and economic structures in which all people have full access to all the basic needs. This provides opportunities for innovation of all types, personal growth and creative endeavours.
The book is written in a style that is quite accessible to anyone, even though it is strictly based on a range of scientific principles and understanding.
