What Has Nature Ever Done for Us?: How Money Really Does Grow On Trees - Softcover

Juniper, Tony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846685605 ISBN 13: 9781846685606

Publisher: Profile Books, 2013

Synopsis

From Indian vultures to Chinese bees, Nature provides the 'natural services' that keep the economy going. From the recycling miracles in the soil; an army of predators ridding us of unwanted pests; an abundance of life creating a genetic codebook that underpins our food, pharmaceutical industries and much more, it has been estimated that these and other services are each year worth about double global GDP. Yet we take most of Nature's services for granted, imagining them free and limitless ... until they suddenly switch off.

This is a book full of immediate, impactful stories, containing both warnings (such as in the tale of India's vultures, killed off by drugs given to cattle, leading to an epidemic of rabies) but also the positive (how birds protect fruit harvests, coral reefs protect coasts from storms and how the rainforests absorb billions of tonnes of carbon released from cars and power stations).

Tony Juniper's book will change whole way you think about life, the planet and the economy

About this title

Review:

'Juniper has a storyteller's gift for moving from the cold statistic to the affecting tale ... in every chapter there are leavening examples of intelligent government planning or commercial best practice so that the book is as full of hope as it is despair.' Guardian

'When Chancellor George Osborne said: We re not going to save the planet by puttingour country out of business, he showed himself to be out of touch with modern economic thinking ... Tony Juniper s compelling book quantifies in monetary terms why
we need to be on the side of nature. The statistics are mind-blowing.' Daily Mail

'Juniper lays out the many ways that natural ecosystems pay dividends to human societies ... This is important stuff that policymakers and the public need to be reminded of.' New Scientist

'How much would you pay for a handful of dirt? How about a lung-load of fresh air? The chances are, nothing. And that, in very simple terms, is what is wrong with the world, according to Tony Juniper ... Overall, it is a convincing argument.' Sunday Times

'As the conservationist John Muir said: When one tugs at a single thing in nature, you find it attached to the rest of the world ... This salutary, highly readable appreciation of the living world tell a simple truth. Nature does a great deal for us.' Observer

'Put simply, nature is worth a lot. A cautious estimate from 1997 valued its total annual economic worth at nearly double that year s global gross domestic product. This is no surprise when you consider that our natural capital performs essential services and for free ... Juniper uses fascinating examples to build his case.' --Financial Times

'Science Books of the Year ... A readable, timely vision' --Robin McKie, Observer

Book Description:

The true value of ecosystems to world economies.

About this edition

• Publisher: Profile Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1846685605
• ISBN 13: 9781846685606
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336