Praise for Danny Dorling:
'Expert, politically engaged and able to explain simply why his subject matters.' Guardian
This book will change the way you think about the future.
In 2011 the top demographics experts of the United Nations suggested that by 2100 there would be 10.1 billion of us. What's more, they implied that the global human population might still be growing in numbers a century from now. So what shall we do? Are there too many people on the planet? Is this the end of life as we know it?
Distinguished geographer Professor Danny Dorling urges us to keep calm. Whatever impending doom may be around the corner, we will deal with it when it comes. In a series of fascinating chapters he charts the rise of the human race from its origins to its peak of population 10 billion. By recording how we got here, Dorling is able to show us the key issues that we face in the coming decades: how we could deal with scarcity of resources; how our cities will grow and become more sustainable; why the change that we should really prepare for is the population decline that will occur after 10 billion; and why slowdown may come even earlier than we think.
Packed full of counter-intuitive ideas and observations, this book is a tool-kit to prepare for the future and to help us ask the right questions.
Danny Dorling is Professor for the Public Understanding of Social Science at the University of Sheffield. He is a Geographer and Honorary President of the Society of Cartographers In 2009 he was awarded the Gold Award of the Geographical Association and the Back Award of the Royal Geographical Society. He has appeared on BBC TV programs on demography and frequently comments on public policy on radio.