Factual errors detract from Mark Lynas's otherwise smart proposal on how to save the planet
Across our planet, a range of ancient habitats provide eerie testimonies to the lives of creatures that once ruled the land. In Brazil, more than 100 tree species produce giant fruit that evolved to be dispersed by elephant-sized creatures called gomphotheres, while in Madagascar many plants grow thin zigzag branches to protect themselves from 10ft-high elephant birds, which used to populate the island.
These animals, like the mammoth and mastodon, are now extinct ? their disappearances having followed the relentless conquest of the globe by Homo sapiens. Few doubt there is a link. Environmentalist Mark Lynas is certainly convinced that humans slaughtered these huge animals, creatures whose only living legacy today are those specialised fruits and protective thorny bushes that still await their attention. And with no living animals to disperse their seeds properly, these trees and plants are now themselves endangered.
Humans have a lot to answer for, in short. We have wiped out countless species and are now heating the planet, poisoning the oceans, and transforming the atmosphere. Having culled so many of the world's large beasts, we are now preparing to eradicate animals and plants of every size. As Lynas states: "Nature no longer runs the Earth. We do."
And you can see his point. Homo sapiens have acquired God-like powers to transform the world and destroy life. Hence the title of Lynas's book, in which he outlines the measures he believes that humans ? as responsible, benign deities ? should now adopt to save the planet. Many of these proposals are surprising, coming, as they do, from a former green activist who once trashed GM plant trials and railed against corporate greed.
Consider nuclear power. An anathema to greenies but which turns out to be a particular favourite of Lynas: an energy source that should be seen as "one of the strongest weapons in our armoury against global warming". Those who protest against its introduction are dismissed as doing as much harm to the climate as big oil companies.
Genetically engineered crops also get the thumbs up. Only they can provide the food for the billions of future inhabitants that will populate our planet, Lynas claims. As for those midnight raids he carried out against plant trials, they occurred because "I was caught up more in an outbreak of mass hysteria than anything resembling a rational response to a new technology".
As Damascene conversions go, this is a belter. With luck, it might even start a trend ? for as Lynas now admits, it is now "time for a change of tack by the Green movement, for the benefit of farmers, consumers and the environment". Amen, is all I can add.
The core of The God Species relies heavily on the work of the "planetary boundaries" group, a collection of scientists who recently produced strict recommendations about levels of disturbance beyond which humanity should not push the planet. These propose specific limits on carbon dioxide emissions, farming land use, biodiversity loss, chemical pollution, and ocean acidification. Stick to these and earthly life should remain tolerable, Lynas states.
Nor is there a need for an economic revolution to achieve these goals. Good old-fashioned capitalism is quite sufficient. As Lynas says: "A successful environmental movement must work with people's aspirations for prosperity and comfort, not try to suppress these impulses." This is a fair point, though Lynas is vague, to say the least, about how unadulterated capitalism ? which has so far failed utterly to halt the planet's current desecration ? can achieve this goal.
The God Species nevertheless offers up an intriguing thesis and Lynas outlines it with clarity and panache ? though his basic argument is disfigured not just by vagueness about policy measures and specific goals but by a depressing number of silly errors. Industrial pioneer James Watt is said to have invented the steam engine in 1764. He didn't. He invented the secondary condenser, which transformed the efficiency of existing steam engines. And he did it in 1765, a date carved in stone on Glasgow Green where Watt first conceived his great idea.
Similarly, an article I wrote is attributed to the wrong newspaper, while in the same chapter it is "revealed" that the Iberian lynx is hovering on the edge of extinction. In fact, its population numbers have trebled in the past few years, and continue to rise, thanks to a remarkable rescue programme that has saved the animal. I could go on. Suffice to say that these mistakes, while individually trivial, combine to undermine the reader's faith that Lynas fully understands his brief. The problem is haste, I suspect. Certainly, The God Species comes over as a hurriedly written book. On the plus side, this brings a sense of urgency to its pages ? time is running out for our world, as Lynas makes clear ? but on the other, its mistakes irritate.
Overall, Lynas is to be commended for producing a work that challenges so many green movement taboos and for recognising the importance of hard science ? such as nuclear power and genetic engineering ? and sound economics as potential saviours of the planet. This is an insightful, honest book. I just wish Lynas had taken a little more care in preparing it.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jul/24/the-god-species-planet-review
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