Synopses & Reviews
In this expanded version of an inspiring speech delivered in December 2009, David Suzuki reflects on how we got where we are today and presents his vision for a better future. In his living memory, Suzuki has witnessed cataclysmic changes in society and our relationship with the planet: the doubling of the worlds population, our increased ecological footprint, and massive technological growth. Today we are in a state of crisis, and we must join together to respond to that crisis. If we do so, Suzuki envisions a future in which we understand that we are the Earth and live accordingly. All it takes is imagination and a determination to live within our, and the planet's, means. This book is the culmination of David Suzukis amazing life and all of his knowledge, experience, and passion it is his legacy.
Review
"The 'legacy' in this lecture is one of truthful words about the hard place we're in, but it's also one of hopeful words: our chance if we will take it for 'opportunity, beauty, wonder and companionship with the rest of creation.' My hope is that we ourselves will emulate David Suzuki and leave legacies in our turn." Margaret Atwood
Synopsis
If he had to sum up in one last lecture all that he has learned, what would David Suzuki, one of the planets preeminent elders, say? In this expanded version of the lecture that he delivered in December 2009 and that forms the core of a 2010 film entitled Force of Nature, Suzuki tells the fascinating story of how we arrived where we are today and presents his inspiring vision for the future.
Over his lifetime, Suzuki has witnessed an explosion of scientific knowledge as well as a huge change in our relationship with the planeta tripling of the worlds population, a greatly increased ecological footprint as a result of the global economy, and a huge growth in technological capacity. These changes have turned us into a superspecies and have drastically affected Earths ecosystems and our own well-being.
To deal with this crisis, Suzuki passionately argues that we must realize that the laws of nature have priority over the forces of economics. Like the Haida, who do not see themselves as separate from the air, water, and earth, we must adopt a more holistic point of view. Perhaps most important, we must join togetheras we have done in other moments of crisisto respond to the problems we face. Suzuki concludes that change begins with each of us; all it takes is the imagination to dream it and the will to make the dream reality.
About the Author
David Suzuki is an acclaimed geneticist and environmentalist and the founder and chair of the David Suzuki Foundation. He is the author of more than forty books and is the recipient of the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for Science, the United Nations Environmental Medal, and the UNEPs Global 500 award, and he has been named a Companion of the Order of Canada. In addition, he holds eighteen honorary degrees, and he has been adopted into three First Nations clans.
Margaret Atwood is the author of more than thirty-five titles, including the novels The Handmaid's Tale (1983) and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Her work has been published in more than forty languages. Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.