Big World Small Planet: Abundance within Planetary Boundaries by by Johan Rockstrom and Mattias Klum (Max Strom 2015) isbn 978-91-7126-334-6 - Some Observations

Many Climate Scientists believe that the relatively stable climactic conditions that have existed since the end of the last Ice Age (just over 10000 years ago) are particularly conducive to human civilisation as it now exists (This period is known as the Holocene). The extreme variations in climate which have occurred in the more distant past would be very dangerous to human civilisation now. There is concern that increase human pressures on the Biosphere (- the marine, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems upon which all societies depend) are moving it away from these beneficial conditions. The new situation arising from human pressure on the Biosphere is known as the Anthropocene). This could trigger conditions similar to the more extreme climactic conditions which have occurred in the past. There is a need to address Climate change and to avoid the dangers of crossing other planetary boundaries (boundaries describing a safe operating space for humanity in a period of massive human inspired change in the Biosphere) this best accomplished whilst creating a new global framework to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce inequality and expand opportunity and seeking to end hunger and food insecurity whilst ensuring healthy lives and wellbeing for all. The planetary boundaries should not be seen in isolation everything, in nature is connected

There is a need to manage human interactions with the biosphere rather than just control emissions, You cannot do these unless you address poverty, inequality and hunger

The UN Sustainable Development Goals published in 2015 provide pathways to achieve these ends if applied at every level and throughout civil society. There is also a need for a changed mindset, we depend on environment services. There is a need to reconnect people with nature, -societies with the biosphere the human world with Earth

A Need for a new paradigm of development allowing for the alleviation of poverty and economic growth whilst staying within the planetary boundaries

A Need to invest in building ecological resilience – to avoid natures ability to generate undesired surprises Investment in diversity, redundancy, in ecosystems, in biomes and in the Earth System as a whole

Sustainability not over exploitation is the real basis for social wellbeing

There is a need to apply different and appropriate governance and political systems