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Fifty years have passed since the first Earth Day, on 22 April 1970. This accessible, incisive and timely collection of essays brings together a diverse set of expert voices to examine how the Earth's environment has changed over this past half century, and what lies in store for our planet over the coming fifty years.
Earth 2020: An Insider's Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet responds to a public increasingly concerned about the deterioration of Earth's natural systems, offering readers a wealth of perspectives on our shared ecological past, and on the future trajectory of planet Earth.
Written by world-leading thinkers on the front-lines of global change research and policy, this multi-disciplinary collection maintains a dual focus: some essays investigate specific facets of the physical Earth system, while others explore the social, legal and political dimensions shaping the human environmental footprint. In doing so, the essays collectively highlight the urgent need for collaboration across diverse domains of expertise in addressing one of the most significant challenges facing us today.
Earth 2020 is essential reading for everyone seeking a deeper understanding of the past, present and future of our planet, and the role of humanity in shaping this trajectory.
Acknowledgements
Introduction / Philippe D. Tortell
Earth Sounds / Philippe D. Tortell
Impatient Earth / John Harte and Robert Socolow
Climate 1970-2020 / Tapio Schneider
Politics and Law / Elizabeth May
Carbon / David Archer
Everyday Biodiversity / Jeffrey R. Smith and Gretchen C. Daily
Energy / Elizabeth J. Wilson and Elias Grove Nielsen
Forests / Sally N. Aitken
Environmental Economics / Don Fullerton
Air / Jon Abbatt
Geoengineering / Douglas G. MacMartin and Katharine L. Ricke
Ice / Julian Dowdeswell
Imaging Earth / Edward Burtynsky
Mother Earth / Deborah McGregor
Sea Level Rise, 1970-2070: A View from the Future / Robert E. Kopp
Climate Negotiation / Rosemary Lyster
Weather / Neville Nicholls
Knowing Earth / Sheila Jasanoff
Fish / U. Rashid Sumaila and Daniel Pauly
The Global Chemical Experiment / Elsie Sunderland and Charlotte Wagner
Land / Navin Ramankutty and Hannah Wittman
Oceans 2020 / David M. Karl
Earth and Plastic / Roland Geyer
Fresh Water / Janet G. Hering
Media / Candis Callison
Space Junk / Alice Gorman
Saving the Boat / Zoe Craig-Sparrow and Grace Nosek-Sparrow
Index
Author Biographies
Philippe Tortell is a Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and the Head of the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science. He is a sea-going oceanographer, with more than two decades of experience documenting the effects climate change on marine systems around the world. His research examines the impacts of changing ocean conditions on marine biological productivity and the biogeochemical cycling of climate-active gases. He is member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada, a Von Humboldt Research Fellow and past Director of UBC’s Institute for Advanced Studies. He has previously edited two inter-disciplinary books – Reflections of Canada (2017), and Memory (2018).
