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 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 pessimistic and hopeful.

In lucid and clear-sighted prose, Behrens argues that structural problems need structural solutions, and examines critical areas in which political will is required, 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

'Rich in complexity, deeply researched and, importantly, seeded with hope.' - Gaia Vince, author, Transcendence: How Humans Evolved Through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time

'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

'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