What Has Nature Ever Done For Us?: How Money Really Does Grow On Trees

Front Cover
Profile Books, Jan 10, 2013 - Science - 324 pages

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

 

Selected pages

Contents

Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales Prologue Sealed World
Indispensable Dirt
Life from Light
Ecoinnovation
The Pollinators
Ground Control
Liquid Assets
Sunken Billions
Ocean Planet
Insurance
Natural Health Service
False Economy?
Acknowledgements
Index

Other editions - View all

What Has Nature Ever Done for Us?: How Money Really Does Grow on Trees
Tony Juniper
No preview available - 2013
What Has Nature Ever Done for Us?: How Money Really Does Grow on Trees
Tony Juniper
No preview available - 2013
What Has Nature Ever Done for Us?: How Money Really Does Grow on Trees
Tony Juniper
No preview available - 2013

Common terms and phrases

agricultural algae animals areas bees benefits biomes Biosphere birds Bogotá Bogotá River carbon dioxide caused cent challenges chemicals climate change cloud forests coast coastal colony collapse disorder companies cone snails conservation coral reefs cost countries create creatures crop cycle damage deforestation diclofenac disease diversity Earth ecological ecosystems enable energy environment estimated example farmers farming fertiliser fish floods flowers fossil fuel genetic global grazing grow growth Guyana habitat huge human impact important increase insects kilometres kind land living look loss mangroves marine metres million natural capital natural systems nitrogen nutrients ocean organisms oxygen oyster paramo pest photosynthesis plants pollination pollution population protect rain rainforest recent reduced released restoration rivers soil species square kilometres supply sustain things tonnes Tony Juniper trees tuna vast vital vultures wetlands wild wildlife

About the author (2013)

Tony Juniper is an independent sustainability and environment adviser, including as Special Advisor with the Prince's Charities International Sustainability Unit and as a Senior Associate with the University of Cambridge Program for Sustainability Leadership. He is a founder member of the Robertsbridge Group that advises international companies. He speaks and writes on many aspects of sustainability and is the author of several books, including the award winning Parrots of the World, Spix's Macaw and How Many Light Bulbs Does It Take To Change A Planet? He was a co-author of Harmony, with HRH The Prince of Wales and Ian Skelly. His new book, What has Nature ever done for us? will be published in January 2013. He began his career as an ornithologist, working with Birdlife International. From 1990 he worked at Friends of the Earth and was the organisation's executive director from 2003-2008 and was the Vice Chair of Friends of the Earth International from 2000-2008. www.tonyjuniper.com, twitter:@tonyjuniper.com

Bibliographic information

TitleWhat Has Nature Ever Done For Us?: How Money Really Does Grow On Trees
AuthorTony Juniper
Editionillustrated
PublisherProfile Books, 2013
ISBN184765942X, 9781847659422
Length324 pages
Subjects › 

Science / General
  
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