For more than two decades, award-winning science and environmental journalist Christian Schwägerl has researched how humans, nature, and technology interact. Inspired by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen’s argument that we are living in a new geological epoch — the Anthropocene — Schwägerl investigates what it means to live in a time when human dominance of Earth’s biological, chemical and geological processes is an undeniable reality.
In his passionate, first-person global travelogue, Schwägerl visits some of the last pristine places on Earth, explores rising megacities, and witnesses the devastation of forests and coral reefs. Melding rigorous scientific training with his experience as a journalist, he presents tangible solutions to our global crises and shares his vision of a world that balances ecological sustainability, economic prosperity, political justice and cultural vibrancy.
Praised by Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, as “an intellectually exciting book” that “shows us how we humans turn our relationship with Nature upside down.”
Translated from German by Lucy Renner Jones.
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Why this book matters
- Introduces the Anthropocene — the geological epoch defined by human dominance of Earth’s systems — through firsthand reporting from the front lines of ecological change
- Praised by the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme as “an intellectually exciting book” that reframes humanity’s relationship with nature
- Combines rigorous science with immersive journalism — from pristine wilderness to devastated coral reefs to rising megacities
- Presents tangible solutions and a vision of a world that balances ecological sustainability, economic prosperity, political justice, and cultural vibrancy
- Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the defining challenge of our era and what it means to become responsible planetary stewards
