Best of Times, The Worst of Times

The environmental emergency is the greatest threat we face. Preventing it will require an unprecedented political and social response. And yet, there is still hope.Academic, physicist, environmental expert and award-winning science communicator Paul Behrens presents a radical dual analysis of a civilisation on the brink of catastrophe.Setting out the pressing existential threats we face, he writes, in alternating chapters, of what the future could look like, at its most optimistic and pessimistic, and details the steps we can take to ensure our survival. In lucid and clear-sighted prose, Behrens argues that structural problems need structural solutions, and examines critical areas in which political will is necessary, including women’s education, food and energy security, biodiversity and economics.

"A powerful, up-to-date, and sometimes terrifying primer on the stupendous global problems we face today." --David Christian, author, Origin Story: A Big History of Everything , "An elegant, powerful and thought-provoking book." --James Shapiro, author, Shakespeare in a Divided America, "An extraordinary distillation of science, policy, and common sense without being tedious or dismal." --David Orr, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College Emeritus and author of Dangerous Years: Climate Change, the Long Emergency, and the Way Forward, "Behrens provides a wealth of critically important facts, accessibly and insightfully related by presentations alternately slanted to pessimistic and optimistic attitudes." --Herman Daly, Emeritus Professor at the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland and author of Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development, "Rich in complexity, deeply researched and, importantly, seeded with hope." --Gaia Vince, author, Transcendence: How Humans Evolved Through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time

Paul Behrens is Associate Professor of Environmental Change at Leiden University. His research and writing on food, energy and climate change has appeared in leading scientific journals, the New York Times, Politico, and the BBC. Paul's work focuses on the impact of human consumption and the changes societies must make to live within environmental constraints.