I always read non-fiction, and this year I’m reading more of it than usual in preparation for my “Backing into Eden” blog series. I just finished Mark Lynas’s “The God Species: How the Planet can Survive in the Age of Humans.”  I read his Six Degrees late last year and recommended it highly.  Six Degrees is specifically a well-done survey of climate change research.  The God Species is a broader look at challenges to the planet, and it follows the planetary boundaries research, which I found a useful way to look at the current and future stresses we must confront. It is a reminder that we are both challenged by more than we may think, and capable of more than we might imagine.  It’s good work.

Lynas pulls no punches and he is no PC green.  I didn’t agree with him on everything, but that’s not the point.  To me, this is the most important conversation of our time, and it is up to us to have it.  This book should be read by everyone.