I saw Hannah Ritchie speak at the Hay Festival earlier this year.
She spoke with eloquence and passion.
I subsequently purchased her latest book and can highly recommend it.
In a world full of doom and gloom media soundbites, one could be forgiven for thinking that there is little hope for future generations.
Hannah dispels this view with hard data and a well articulated narrative which explains that, in many instances, humans are solving many of the pressing issues related to sustainability.
Given my namesake was generally considered to be the founding father of economics, I often ponder whether capitalism is a good or bad thing (yes, I am such fun to be around!).
Hannah's book makes you realise that there are many thousands of enthusiastic and intelligent people beavering away on the solutions that will make it a brighter future. Fixes for critical issues such as reducing air pollution, maintaining a stable food supply, responsible materials use, climate change and over fishing.
However, it's also clear that governments have a major part to play by implementing policies that control the excesses of capitalism.
Take over-fishing in our oceans as an example. Quite understandably, fishermen/women want to maximise their catches on each trip. During the 1980's and 1990's, many fish species were under threat due to excessive fishing across the world. Left unchecked, numbers would have dwindled to critically low levels. In some parts of the world, fishing is a key industry and the main source of food for people. Fortunately, multiple governments put in place controls such as quotas to reduce the quantity caught. This was one of several measures which has helped restore the numbers of many species.
There are many, many more stories like this in Hannah's book.
Remember, sustainability is about ensuring that the needs of current generations are met, whilst not jeopardising the future of those that will follow us.
