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In Light to Life, biologist Raffael Jovine takes us on a journey of discovery into the intricate, beautiful and often surprising processes that convert energy from the sun into life and how all-important these are to our survival.
Despite the unprecedented challenges the Earth faces from global warming, habitat loss, air pollution and population growth; Jovine shows us that there is hope to be found. Photosynthesis is the very source of life: it has the power not just to produce food, but to reshape continents, drive biogeochemical cycles, stabilise the climate and regulate weather.
In this exciting, revelatory book, Jovine unveils a blueprint for the future: greening the desert, bringing the ocean on land, planting mangrove forests and oyster banks, growing algae for animal feed, human food and soil carbon... He demonstrates how by harnessing photosynthesis we can regenerate the planet and revise the way we human beings interact with it.
Light to Life will help you to see the world in a different way, in all its wonderful detail – through the photosynthetic pigments in your eyes.
Raffael Jovine was born and raised in Munich and educated in Britain and the US. He trained in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale, did his PhD in Marine Sciences, then researched the photosynthetic strategies that enable algae to outcompete other organisms at MIT. He is the founder and chief scientist for a company that uses seawater, sunlight and wind to grow food in coastal deserts, replicating algal blooms. He is married with five children and lives in London.
"Read this book and you will learn how photosynthesis was discovered, how it works, and how we can produce more food to feed the world."
– Paul Nurse, Nobel Prize winner and author of What is Life?
"Photosynthesis is not only remarkable, it is the foundation of who we are and the lives we can lead. This outstanding book shows that it is also fascinating, inspirational, and the key to building a sustainable future."
– Lord Stern, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics
