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Chapter 4 - Increasing equality will aid in reducing the rate of population expansion. In case we need to say it again, nobody wants to see the horrorscape from the previous chapter take place. For many, it would mean death, and for many, many more, it would mean a dramatically diminished quality of life. But if we keep going in the same direction, the worst-case scenario is unavoidable. Nine planetary boundaries have been recognized by scientists as key environmental thresholds that enable humankind to live sustainably on Earth. The following list includes air pollution, land conversion, depletion of the ozone layer, acidification of the oceans, fertilizer use, chemical pollution, freshwater depletion, and climate change. For four of these, we have already gone across the finish line. But there is still hope. By adopting drastic, urgent action, we can reduce the damage we're causing to the world and perhaps even stop it. We'll discover how in the following few chapters. According to current UN estimates, there will be between 9.4 and 12.7 billion individuals on Earth by the year 2100. The most individuals of a species that can be kept in a given environment in wild populations are known as the carrying capacity. When the population reaches that point, people start dying off until the equilibrium is reestablished. The fact that we are unsure of the carrying capacity for people is the scariest aspect of population scientists' future predictions. And if we don't achieve this number before our population stabilizes, we're in for a dreadful catastrophe. The good news is that if we concentrate on improving conditions for everyone, our population will eventually stabilize. Populations first see a boom as nations progress toward development before naturally leveling down. In the 20th century, Japan experienced this; the population has been constant since the year 2000. The rate of population growth has declined every year since 1962, and we can see this happening throughout the world. In terms of the planet's overall health, the sooner we hit the peak of the global population, the better. There are strategies to promote a lower threshold and an earlier peak. Women's empowerment is one approach. We've observed time and time again that women prefer to have fewer children when they have greater freedom and control over their life. A key aspect is also education. The peak may be reached 50 years earlier by investing in education, which would result in two billion fewer people on the planet. This would greatly reduce the stress on our planet. But it still falls short. Chapter 5 - Rewilding the planet will enhance biodiversity, sequester carbon, and protect our food sources. It is no surprise that the planet's instability increased at the same time that biodiversity around the world decreased. We've discovered over the past few decades that the biodiversity of Earth and our potential to live comfortably here are intrinsically tied. We must thus establish the circumstances for biodiversity to flourish again to restore stability. The Earth has to be rewilded! Since no one has ownership over international waters, fishing crews have engaged in irresponsible practices like trawling that have destroyed ecosystems and reduced fish populations. All international waters must be declared no-fish zones to prevent this. By doing this, the high seas would be transformed back into a thriving wilderness, restocking the coastal waters with more fish than they had in decades. High-seas fishing regulation alone, however, is insufficient. Biodiversity thrives in nutrient-rich coastal waters. We should establish a global network of no-fishing zones in coastal waters to safeguard them. Let's look to Cabo Pulmo, which is located in the southernmost point of Baja California in Mexico, to see how this approach can work. This region was so severely overfished in the 1990s that the fishing industry needed a remedy. They ultimately decided to designate more than 7,000 hectares of their coast – almost the size of Iceland—as a Marine Protected Area. For 15 years, there would be no fishing at all. The years that followed were the most difficult the society had ever seen. However, fish shoals eventually grew bigger when they returned to the waters off Cabo Pulmo. After two decades, the amount of marine life in the area had expanded by more than 400%. Sharks had returned to Cabo Pulmo, which elder fishermen were only able to remember from their youth. After 15 years had passed, fishermen were ultimately given restricted permissions enabling them to fish again in coastal waters. The teeming waters also provided new streams of revenue, such as dive shops and guesthouses, allowing them to catch more fish than they had in previous decades. The situation is different when it comes to protecting natural land. We believe we understand the value of the land that people own. However, there is no way to determine the true worth of the environmental services provided by wild land. On paper, 100 hectares of rainforest is less valued than 100 hectares of oil palm cultivation. Moving ahead, we need to redefine what value means. We should value land based on its biodiversity rather than the crops we can cultivate on it. Deforestation would cease instantly if we took this action. However, not even these fixes are sufficient. We'll learn how to switch to clean energy and environmentally friendly farming practices in the last chapter. Chapter 6 - The most crucial action we can take to build a more sustainable world is to switch to clean energy. We need to turn back to an earlier way of life to lessen and eventually reverse the harm we've already done to the earth. We need to get back to being a part of nature as opposed to being apart from it. That does not imply that we must give up technology and go off the grid. The development of a more sustainable world is greatly facilitated by technology. Most importantly, if we want to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy at the required rate, we must use technology. This is not at all impossible; entire countries like Albania, Iceland, and Paraguay currently produce all of their energy without using fossil fuels. It only takes willpower. Fossil fuels have been the driving force behind human development. Since the 1950s, we have released carbon into the atmosphere that has been there for millions of years. The greatest pressing problem we have ever faced is a result of our careless use of fossil fuels. We currently have less than ten years to transition to clean energy derived from renewable resources such as the sun, wind, and waves. The Earth's average temperature has already increased by a degree. We must prevent it from rising above 1.5°C if we want to keep living the way we do. If we don't do something about it, it will likely rise above that level by the end of this decade. Although we've come a long way, technology isn't quite there yet. The most difficult task, however, is determining how to withdraw from major oil and gas businesses. Currently, all significant corporations and governments rely on fossil fuels for their energy production and distribution. What steps can we take to change the harmful status quo? The majority of people believe that the best way to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels is to impose a carbon fee. This implies that any organization emitting carbon would be subject to a financial penalty. Since the introduction of a similar tax in Sweden in the 1990s, many of that country's industries have subsequently withdrawn from fossil fuels. Another promising approach is carbon capture, which would remove and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. However, "plants," the original carbon capture method, remain the best. The quantity of carbon that can be removed from the atmosphere if we rewild the planet is limitless. We should all be making investments here, and we have to if we want to survive on this planet. A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough Book Review Environmental degradation has been severely exacerbated by our actions over the past few decades. Unless we take quick action to rewild the Earth, stop our reliance on fossil fuels, and recover biodiversity from our suffering planet, we are on course to hit disaster. Producing meat, especially beef, uses an astounding amount of resources. 80 percent of agriculture in the globe is used for the production of meat and dairy. We must all start cutting back on our meat consumption if we want to make a significant difference in the world of the future.