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The 2030 Spike
Countdown to Global Catastrophe
By Colin Mason


 

'Is this a book you can afford to ignore?... Only the foolhardy would surely dare leave it unread on the shelf.'
International Affairs


order
$39.95
 Hardback
August 2003 •  256 pages •  216 x 138mm •  ISBN 9781844070183




The clock is relentlessly ticking!
Our world teeters on a knife-edge between a peaceful and prosperous future for all, and a dark winter of death and destruction that threatens to smother the light of civilization.
Within 30 years, in the 2030 decade, six powerful 'drivers' will converge with unprecedented force in a statistical spike that could tear humanity apart and plunge the world into a new Dark Age. Depleted fuel supplies, massive population growth, poverty, global climate change, famine, growing water shortages and international lawlessness are on a crash course with potentially catastrophic consequences.
In the face of both doomsaying and denial over the state of our world, Colin Mason cuts through the rhetoric and reams of conflicting data to muster the evidence to illustrate a broad picture of the world as it is, and our possible futures. Ultimately his message is clear; we must act decisively, collectively and immediately to alter the trajectory of humanity away from catastrophe.
Offering over 100 priorities for immediate action, The 2030 Spike serves as a guidebook for humanity through the treacherous minefields and wastelands ahead to a bright, peaceful and prosperous future in which all humans have the opportunity to thrive and build a better civilization.
This book is powerful and essential reading for all people concerned with the future of humanity and planet earth.


'This is a bold, thought-provoking and ultimately rewarding book, well-researched, full of ideas - and thus a good, all-round primer on the state of the planet.'
BBC Wildlife


'Mason believes that within 30 years six factors - depleted fuel supplies, population growth, poverty, famine, water shortages and climate change - will converge to tear humanity apart. And it’s hard to disagree with him.'
The Ecologist


'The 2030 Spike is an impressive tour of our current world: from sexual slavery to sailing ships, from malaria to microcredits, from nanotechnology to neopaganism, all the horrors and promises of our troubled Zeitgeist seem to be reflected here.'
Resurgence


'This is one of the best examples of a book capturing the essence of sustainability.'
International Affairs


CONTENTS 

Part One: Crises Mode - The Drivers

Running out of Fuel: The Coming Energy Crunch

Population and Poverty

Climate: Too Hot or Too Cold?

Famines: Food and Water

One World?

The Fourth Horsemen

Part Two: Direction

Which Way Science?

In the Genes: New Plants - and People?

The Values of the Sea

Multinationals: Good Business or Bad?

The Trouble with Money

Part Three: Upgrading the Individual - The Pursuit of Happiness

Love, Family and Freedom

Habitat: The Dilemma of the Cities

Making Education Work

Health and Wealth

Religion: The Cement of Society

Part Four: The New Society?

The Mechanics of Change

Automation and Employment

Travelling Less?

Working Online

The Information Overload

The Toxic Culture

Running the Show

Conclusions: World to Come

Notes

Index
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Colin Mason, a foreign correspondent, broadcaster and SEATO adviser to the Thai Government, was a senator in the Australian Federal Parliament for nine years as deputy leader of the Australian Democrats. He served on the Senate Standing Committee for science and the environment, a select committee on the effects of Agent Orange on Australian servicemen, and the first delegation of the Australian Parliament to China, and initiated the private member's bill that led to the salvation of the Pristine Franklin River in Tasmania. He has published 12 books including the international bestselling novel Hostage and A Short history of Asia.

RELATED TITLES

Politics, Governance and Law
Environmental Victims Environmental Justice and the Rights of Unborn and Future Generations Just Sustainabilities Trade Investment and the Environment
  




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