The Big Picture: Reflections on Science, Humanity, and a Quickly Changing Planet

by David Suzuki, David Robert Taylor

David Suzuki and Dave Robert Taylor look beyond our environmental problems to examine the forces that are preventing real change. Whether they're discussing how to reconcile economy with ecology or why we may need to start eating jellyfish for dinner, they point in the direction we must go if we hope to meet the environmental challenges we face in the twenty-first century.

Covering suburban sprawl, sustainable transportation, food shortages, biodiversity, technology, public policy, and more, The Big Picture identifies the problems facing our world and proposes solid, science-based solutions.

Published in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation.

Contents

Preface

1. Blinded by science: Research and the perils of ignorance
2. Smarter than your average planet: Interconnections in the biosphere
3. Getting to know the Joneses: Protecting the diversity of life on Earth
4. Putting Mother Nature on the payroll: Natural services and economics
5. Hot hot heat: Global warming and climate change
6. You can't get there from here: Car culture and global transportation
7. Jellyfish -it's what's for dinner: Feeding the planet in the twenty-first century
8. The true cost of gadgets: Technology and the culture of consumerism
9. Lights, camera, sound bite: Social change and the media
10. Mr. Smith goes to Washington: Public policy for a sustainable planet

Final words

Acknowledgments
Index

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment, Sustainability, Science

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2009

About the author

David Suzuki is a Canadian science broadcaster and environmental activist. A long time activist to reverse global climate change, Suzuki co-founded the David Suzuki Foundation in 1990, to work "to find ways for society to live in balance with the natural world that sustains us." The Foundation's priorities are: oceans and sustainable fishing, climate change and clean energy, sustainability, and David Suzuki's Nature Challenge. He also served as a director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association from 1982-1987.

Reviews

[lluke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but repetitive. Could've been half the size given how much was covered over and over again.

[Charl(ie|es) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of essays mostly examining climate change from a broad perspective. Since this wasn't written as one book but a series of essays there's a small amount of repetitiveness that is a little annoying. Overall this is a great book that everyone should read from global warming deniers to environmental activists. Even if you think you are very knowledgeable about our current state you will likely learn something you didn't know. It's easy to get bogged down in the smaller details and effects of climate change. This is a well needed review to our society of, as the title suggests, the big picture.

[Gunsonm]

This book is a collection of essays written over a nine year period; which I did not realize until I was about 50 pages into it. It has good information in it, but would have been a lot better if it had been edited. I quit reading it about half way through, as I got tired of the redundant stories. After reading for the third time about how his genetics students laugh at the ideas popular 30 years ago, I decided I need to go read one of the other 30 books on my shortlist to read. I'm looking for a book on climate change that I can highlite and give to my MP; this isn't it. I give this book two stars.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't finish does not mean I did not want to finish, I just had several books going at once, all from the library and they came due. This is a collection of several writings by David Suzuki and they do not need to be read in any order. All those that I read were excellent and I will be reading more of his books in the future. I enjoy his style of writing, his attitudes, and his inspiration.

[Grae · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Interesting, although a little over simplified and driven more by sentiment than data."

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fabulous book. Suzuki doesn't just look at the negative, he offers solutions, he calls us to action. a brilliant man.

[Luc · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be required reading by every north-american citizen who wish to inform himself or herself about everything ranging from global warming to our everyday choices as consumers and from the role of the scientific community in measuring the extent of human footprint in our ecosystems to our duty as citizen to demand new policies from our political establishment in order to regulate green gas emissions and promote new eco-friendly energy sources. This book is about us, our choices as consumers and the kind of world we want for our children.

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

A collection of essays around a few themes like car culture, global warming, food industry etc. The book lacks focus and is very repetitive, requiring effort and perseverance to plough through to the end. Probably good only for lower educational levels as a primer and jumping off points into deeper, more analytical works out there.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had trouble believing some of the claims made because the facts were not well documented or backed by research. Pretty much only one journal was cited as the source of his information, which made me think the research wasn't as deep as it could have been. The book's strength was the author's passion for the subject, but again, I longed for more well-rounded information.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A review of why climate change is the world's most pressing problem with easily understood examples of why by Canada's most famous Japanese-Canadian and scientist . Very readable but discussions on Canadian politics probably too time-specific and not relevant to non-Canadians or non-British Columbians.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

While interesting and thought provoking I thought this book jumped around too much from topic to topic without going into enough detail on either one of them.

[Paul Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good points and good insight. Definitely seeing change in the world around us towards a more eco-friendly society. The change is slow, but change nonetheless.

[Alejandro Teruel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short essays which read like a newspaper column or entries in a blog (Science matters up to 2009 on climate change, biodiversity, environmentalism and the quality of media reporting and political decisions on the previously mentioned issues.

Seen from 2024, some of the essays are somewhat dated, but many, unfortunately, are just as valid as when they were written over fifteen years ago. They are written for the general public, in order to counter misinformation and greenwashing on the topics covered, kindle a sense of wonder and spur (political) action to prevent further environmental damage and improve quality of human and non-human life on Earth. Some of his essays are set in a Canadian context - I was particularly struck by his criticisms on Canadian environmental policies, which at the time he wrote the essays, were (to me) surprisingly behind contemporary US policies, perhaps due to a certain optimism about Obama's government's setting right George W. Bush's negative legacy on science and the environment.

The essays are somewhat repetitive, but overall the book is worthwhile reading - I am looking forward to reading some of his more detailed books as well as more recent essays on the David Suzuki Foundation website (https://davidsuzuki.org/stories/)

[Bita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suzuki and Taylor's combined expertise and eloquent narrative style create a compelling read that effortlessly bridges the gap between scientific complexity and human understanding. "The Big Picture" serves as a beacon of knowledge and hope, inspiring readers to engage with the pressing issues of our time and to take active steps toward creating a more sustainable and harmonious world for future generations.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[MARC L'ESPERANCE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, always learn something when reading Suzuki.