How the World Really Works. Our Past, Present, and Future Through the Eyes of a Scientist

Our daily life is saturated with information, yet most people still do not know how our world really works. This book illuminates the key themes related to ensuring our survival and well-being: energy, food production, essential durable materials, globalization, risk... assessment, the environment, and human future. Finding effective solutions to problems requires examining facts – for example, we learn that globalization was not inevitable and that our society is increasingly dependent on fossil fuels, so any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are nothing more than a fairy tale. That for every tomato grown in a greenhouse, energy equivalent to five tablespoons of diesel fuel is required, and that we do not know of ways to mass produce steel, cement, and plastic that do not leave a giant carbon footprint.
In addition, Canadian scientist, ecologist, and political scientist Vaclav Smil, renowned for his works on the connection between energy and ecology, demography, and real politics, as well as his virtuoso ability to handle large arrays of statistical data, seeks an answer to the most crucial question of our time: is humanity doomed to extinction or can we expect a happy new world?
Compelling, data-rich, unconventional, and distinguished by a broad interdisciplinary perspective, this book rejects both extremes. A quantitative view of the world reveals truths that change our perception of the past, present, and uncertain future.
"I am neither a pessimist nor an optimist; I am a scientist trying to explain how the world actually functions, and I will use this understanding to help us better grasp future limitations and opportunities." (Vaclav Smil)