There Is No Planet B
Summary:
“We will not establish self-sustaining colonies in space for at least 100 years, so we have to be very careful in the meantime.”
Stephen Hawking
There Is No Planet B is an informative handbook on various aspects of climate change. Author balances between the big picture and the small everyday actions we can take to get closer to a better future.
A lot of the things we learn from this book are designed to provide us with an understanding of the issue to a level from which we can pursue further. It shows the directions in which we can improve our information sources, as well as thinking and empathy skills. By combining the two, we can create a culture of innovation and well-being beyond country borders and monetary profit. We can learn to multiply positive actions while preventing them from being counterbalanced by the current systems in place.
A huge takeaway from this book is the message of global empathy. It’s about wanting the best possible life for a person across the globe that you’ll never meet, just as much as you want it for your loved ones and yourself. We need to join forces to make a real change in the state of emergency that we’re in. Everyone is involved and we have a bigger impact than we often realise.
Chapter 1: Food
- We need around 2,350 kcal per day
- We grow two and a half times as many calories per day per person as we need
- 100 grams of sweet potatoes provide all the needed vitamin A for the day
Food is always a huge deal when talking about climate change. For the sake of keeping things brief, yet informative, let’s just touch upon a few of the important things described in this chapter.
The kcal grown refers to the equivalent amount of crops that would provide that much energy. Kcal are wasted at each step of the journey from the field (where not all of them are harvested in the first place), through the 1,740 kcal that are fed to animals and all the way to our homes, where on average we consume 180 kcal more than we need.
Following simple maths, eating that surplus of 180 kcal every day should result in an 8-kilogram weight gain every year. But the trick here is that heavier bodies burn more energy throughout the day so that correlation is not as straightforward.
What about antibiotics?
Around two-thirds of all antibiotics are given to animals. You would think they’re gone, but stay tuned. They actually come back to you in such products as milk and meat you consume. Why is that an issue? Because it leads to overuse of antibiotics on a large scale, which in turn speeds up the process of bacterial resistance to those antibiotics. In short, it means they’ll become ineffective when you’ll actually need them way sooner. And the process of making new antibiotics might not keep up with that.
How can you help with that?
Well, don’t get sick. Of course that sounds more like a good wish than an actual advice. But you can make sure your vaccinations are up to date. You can keep good hygiene and try reducing the meat consumption a bit. All those will help to stay away from antibiotics as much as possible.
Since we’re at it, let’s talk chicken. Chicken seems to be the most eco-friendly of meats, because of its relatively low carbon emissions. However, the conditions in which many chickens are raised (stuffed in a barn) increases the risk of various diseases, which in turn call for the use of antibiotics.
That’s not the end of the chicken story. There is also the fertilising impact of their poop, as well as the carbon impact of soy production for their feed. As you can see, it’s a bit more complicated when it comes to chickens and the environment.
Tags: calories antibiotics animals
Chapter 2: More On Climate And Environment
- We’re losing between 1,000 and 10,000 species every year
- Around 9 bn tonnes of plastic have been produced so far
- Over one third of all the plastic produced is used for disposable packaging
It’s time for a bucket of cold water.
Ever since The Paris Agreement in 2015, a lot of action and talking was done. But unfortunately, there is little to no evidence on any significant changes that all of that made on the environment. We still experience a steady 1.8% carbon dioxide emissions increase per year.
Biodiversity is taking a big hit too. Species are disappearing in a matter of a few years, well within our own lifespans. In 2017, around 25,000 species were labelled as ‘threatened’.
Have you heard about ocean acidification? Well, don’t feel too bad if you haven’t. This topic, even though equally important, gets way less media coverage than climate change.
The issue here is that when carbon dioxide from burnt fossil fuels ends up in the oceans, it makes them more acidic. Which in turn makes it harder for sea life creatures to produce skeletons and shells.
One affected creature affects the ones that feed on it as well. This goes on to create a proper domino effect, affecting more and more sea life. The good news here is that tackling the carbon dioxide emissions will have a positive effect on this too. Do you also now feel more motivated to do something about climate change?
Tags: species ocean acidification biodiversity
Chapter 3: Energy
- We use 3 times more energy than 50 years ago
- 38% of energy is used for transport
- 83% of energy comes from fossil fuels
There is no doubt that burning fossil fuels is the biggest accelerator for climate change. We have been talking about it a lot, but the worrying fact is that we’re still increasing the greenhouse gases emission rates.
But it’s not only about where we take the energy from. It’s also about how much energy we need to generate.
The energy demand is growing at around 2.8% per year. If we keep that pace, then in 300 years we would need solar panels to cover all the dry land’s surface to provide for that demand.
What about wind, rain and nuclear energy?
Rain can only drop from as much of an altitude and create only this much potential energy. So there is a certain maximum that we can reach with rain energy. That is even if we would catch every raindrop into a turbine. Wind is even funnier than that. Of all the sun energy that ends up on our planet, only about 2% is converted into wind energy. And to add to that, most of the wind is far out at sea, so inaccessible to the offshore wind farms.
Tags: energy fossil fuels nuclear energy
Chapter 4: Travel & Transport
- A square metre of photovoltaic panels in California could power an electric car for 1,081 miles a year
- You travel around 3,921 miles a year
- We are not going off Earth anytime soon - There is no planet B
When we talk about the average miles a person travels a year, that includes all different means of transport. Around 23% of that mileage we cover by foot (And yes, those 10 thousand steps you’re trying to get walking from the fridge to the kitchen table count here too). While air miles tend to double every 10 years, taking up 13% of those miles.
Did you know that bread made from wheat on a square metre of land could ‘power’ you for 25 miles of cycling per year? That might be a fun thing to share with your friends if you want to puzzle them for a second.
What about electric cars?
That’s a good question, but a better one would be: Do you need a car in the first place? The thing is, electric cars are good when it comes to not burning fossil fuels while driving them. But their manufacturing costs coal and so does generating the electricity to power them. You could use the renewable energy source to charge your car. But unfortunately that’s still a highly limited area. That means that the more renewable energy one uses, the less there is for other people to consume. And that’s where coal kicks back in.
Tags: travel transport electric cars
Chapter 5: Growth, Money & Metrics
- ‘Trickledown’ - an idea that the poorer benefit from the rich getting richer
- Around half of the world’s wealth belongs to 1% of the population
- A median Italian is twice as wealthy as a median American
When it comes to growth, there are many ways in which individuals, populations and countries can grow.
Wealth distribution has always been an issue. For instance, the USA has one of the highest average wealth per person in the world. But a median American is in fact poorer than a median Italian. This might sound counterintuitive, but in the USA, a huge wealth resides in very few people. This leaves the rest worse off than in numerically poorer countries.
Why is this so important and relevant?
Because global emergency is just that - “global”. With that in mind, all countries and individuals need to be given enough respect and trust in order to cooperate together. The resources we have left will need to be shared fairly and various future solutions will have to be agreed upon. That’s why wealth distribution might now be more important than ever.
Tags: trickledown wealth distribution global emergency
Chapter 6: People & Work
- There are 7.5 billion people on Earth
- There’s a 0.88% chance that a random US citizen is in prison right now
- In the UK, prison costs around £51,000 per inmate per year
It’s not just about the number of people living on Earth. The important part is their combined impact. For example, a few hundred Malawians have roughly the same carbon footprint of one European.
But it’s still important to make sure that people consider having kids very thoroughly. And they have the tools to make that decision in the first place (availability of contraception and adequate education in this area, especially for women).
We need to choose the right metrics for measuring the ‘successfulness’ of our careers. Instead of looking at the level of unemployment and pay rates is not helpful enough. A ‘good’ job provides society with something useful and you with fulfilment, as well as resources to live your life. It also allocates those resources appropriately within the society.
Another, perhaps counterintuitive, point is the idea of making prisons more comfortable to be in. This approach has been used by Norway, for instance. Being aware that those inmates will go back to society, they choose to ‘rehabilitate’ them, instead of making them more angry. This approach takes into account the overall impact of a criminal’s life, instead of focusing solely on the crime itself.
Tags: people work children prison
Chapter 7: Business & Technology
- All environmental targets should be science-based
- If technology itself is not dangerous, its aggressive progress trajectory surely is
- We need to identify threats more quickly and get better at preventing them
There is nothing helpful about a business that solely exists to make profit. The environmental strategy for companies stands on three major pillars.
Those are: improving their own impact, enabling others to improve and pushing for global arrangements. It’s not enough for each business to try reducing their own carbon footprint. While this is good, it’s not enough. There needs to be cooperation in this area, so that companies push each other in the right direction.
Both businesses and governments also have a huge role in technology development. Obviously, many companies provide research and new advances in the tech field. But given that technology itself is neither good, nor bad, we need to be the ones to make informed choices. We need to decide which technologies are needed and helpful, and which we should let go off.
On that ride, it’s mainly governments that hold the wheel. They can hugely alter technology’s path into the future by encouraging the developments they believe to be needed and useful.
Tags: business technology governments
Chapter 8: Values, Truth & Trust
- Values can be categorised as intrinsic and extrinsic
- They can be changed by our thoughts and the messages we receive
- There is a difference between ‘truth’ and ‘one’s view of the truth’
There are a few tips to help you figure out who is trustworthy and whom you might want to reconsider as your source of knowledge.
First and probably the most obvious thing is ‘competence’. Of course, just because someone has obtained a certain university degree doesn’t mean they surely can be trusted. But it’s more likely that they actually know what they’re talking about.
Think about their motivations. Do they benefit from getting a certain message across? Their occupation might also make it hard for them to be more objective on the issue. Can they distance themselves and be more self-aware in that context?
Changing one’s mind can actually be a good sign. That is if real, correct data is presented and the logic explained. Owning up to one’s mistakes shows readiness to learn and grow as a person. After all, we can never know everything. As Einstein once put it, “You don’t have to know everything. You just have to know where to find it”. And so finding the right sources is key.
Tags: values competence knowledge
Chapter 9: Thinking Skills For Today’s World
- We need to learn how to think
- We should be tolerant of everything other than intolerance
- Even if everyone would act on climate change, but in isolation - that’s not enough
There are several areas of thinking in which we could all benefit from getting better at.
One important thing to develop is the sense of global empathy. We need to realise that our actions affect people we don’t know all around the world. And we are responsible for the consequences they’ll face because of our decisions.
But let’s look at the other side of the spectrum. We should also appreciate more what we have right in front of us. This will help us to slow down and stop trying to expand our activities. The very ones that can be so harmful to someone on the other side of the globe.
Another thing is getting more critical and complex in our thinking. The problems we’re facing are not simple and we need to step up our game to match them. But the critical part is also vital. Just as with testing trustworthiness, we need to make sure the sources we listen to are reliable.
The climate emergency requires research and innovation, just as much as it requires empathy and learning to care about others. We need to cooperate. After all, we’re all in this together.
Tags: global empathy critical thinking
Chapter 10: Protest
- Always non-violence
- If protest is what we need to induce change - then that’s what we need now
- It’s mostly about the right role models, the right values and learning fast
What protests can offer is the call for truthfulness in the governments and public life. They can spread positive activities, which provide a glimpse of a better real-life world.
The gap between science insisting on better climate action and what society encourages us to do is huge. But as we live with that gap for years, we get used to its existence. So it might be harder for us to call it out at this point.
That’s where a good kind of protest might help. Literally calling out on some of the contradictions of our modern world can wake us up.
Tags: protest climate action
Chapter 11: Big-Picture Summary
- Human power created a Anthropocene age we live in
- We need new economic systems that fit better with our emergency situation
- Growth can be both healthy, but also dangerous
- We need to think about the way we think and improve it
- We can still live better than ever
Chapter 12: What Can I Do?
Think about the world you want to live in. But seriously, spend a good amount of time on that. And while you’re at it, try thinking with the new thinking skills you learned. Think big and enjoy the small things.
Take your vision outside of your head. Go and support people with the same values out there. Your money also matters. Every time you spend or invest you’re taking a step towards a future. One or another.
Ask the right questions and be critical about the answers.
Don’t go too hard on yourself though. It’s a lot to take in (I mean, you asked what you can do, but still, I know it’s a lot). It’s easier said than done. But there are things you can do. And the more you learn, the more possibilities for more sustainability you begin to see in your life.
We’ll get there. Together. After all, there is no planet B.