Evolution's Edge: The Coming Collapse and Transformation of Our World

by Graeme Taylor, Fereshteh M. Sadeghi (Illustrator)

The brink of catastrophe or the edge of evolution? The choice is ours. Gold-winner in the "Most Likely to Save the Planet" category of the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY). This brilliant book is a big-picture synthesis of the new curriculum for activists, educators, social and systems entrepreneurs, planners, and "community organizers" at all levels. Evolution's Edge is vital reading for activists, educators, progressive thinkers, and anyone concerned about the state of our world. A visually pleasing book, its generous use of graphs and charts make clear concepts such as our evolutionary footprint, projected climate change impacts, world populations and economic growth
- Kolin Lymworth, The Vancouver Observer Evolution's Edge is simply outstanding - easy to read, inspiring, thoughtful. Its ability to integrate environmental challenges with spritiual issues, technological possibilites and systems evolutionary theory is fantastic.
- Sohail Inayatullah, eidtor, Journal of Future Studies It is now five minutes to midnight on the doomsday clock, reflecting the fact that we are closer to assuring the obliteration of our species than we have been at any time since the early eighties. We are rapidly approaching a tipping point, where we will either transform our violent, exploitative global system into a peaceful, cooperative one, or enter a catastrophic decline. Evolution’s Edge shows that limitless economic expansion is impossible on a finite planet. Our growth-based global system will collapse as critical resources become scarce and major ecosystems fail. However, new ideas, values, and technologies can help us avoid disaster and create a better world. Using evolutionary systems theory, Evolution’s Edge explains how societies evolve and why rapid, nonlinear change is not only possible but inevitable. It Evolution’s Edge is a practical guide to a sustainable future and is vital reading for activists, educators, progressive thinkers, and anyone concerned about the state of our world. Graeme Taylor is a social activist committed to constructive global transformation and the coordinator of BEST Futures, a project supporting sustainable solutions through researching how societies change and evolve.

Genres: Science

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2008

Reviews

[Bill O'driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like books by folks like Lester Brown, Taylor does a commendable job of laying out the systemic, literally global environmental crises we face from a variety of sources -- not just "global warming," but such related problems as deforestation, declining fisheries, depleted soils, loss of freshwater sources and more. He also does a decent job of at least starting the discussion of how to approach sustainability, even offering a sort of quantifiable "ecological footprint" (one that high-consuming Westerners need to shrink to, while virtually nonconsuming people in developing nations can rise). The biggest flaw in his vision of how sustainability might come about is the faith he places in technology, especially nanotechnology and the Web. The former has as vast a capacity as any older technology to wreak havoc on the environment. And while the former does provide a model of "systemic" understanding that to some degree mimics the natural world (as opposed to the more unilateral consumer/consumed relationship we've long had with the planet), I think he too much downplays the fact that technology is only as good as the culture that's deploying it. Environmentally, at least, the Internet and other digital technologies have been linked only with increased narcissism and increased consumerism, neither of which bodes well for understanding or helping the planet. Still (and though Taylor's prose is textbook-dry), the book's graphic-heavy approach is a helpful addition to our attempts to grasp the huge risks facing the planet.

[Xavier Shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great high level thinking, you should read if "The Ascent of Humanity" is too new age for you. Having just read the latter, this was more of the same for me. Would have liked more information on the proposed solutions and how to get to them - I'm already convinced of the problem.