What Would Nature Do?

A Guide for Our Uncertain Times

De: Ruth DeFries

Narrado por: Isabel Keating

Not long ago, the future seemed predictable. Now, certainty about the course of civilization has given way to fear and doubt. Raging fires, ravaging storms, political upheavals, financial collapse, and deadly pandemics lie ahead - or are already here. The world feels less comprehensible and more dangerous, and no one, from individuals to businesses and governments, knows how to navigate the path forward.

Ruth DeFries argues that a surprising set of time-tested strategies from the natural world can help humanity weather these crises. Through trial and error over the eons, life has evolved astonishing and counterintuitive tricks in order to survive. DeFries details how a handful of fundamental strategies - investments in diversity, redundancy over efficiency, self-correcting feedbacks, and decisions based on bottom-up knowledge - enable life to persist through unpredictable, sudden shocks. Lessons for supply chains from a leaf’s intricate network of veins and stock market-saving “circuit breakers” patterned on planetary cycles reveal the power of these approaches for modern life. With humility and willingness to apply nature’s experience to our human-constructed world, DeFries demonstrates, we can withstand uncertain and perilous times. Exploring the lessons that life on Earth can teach us about coping with complexity, What Would Nature Do? offers timely options for civilization to reorganize for a safe and prosperous future.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Ruth DeFries (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

Could be an interesting book

I think my main disappointment with this book is that it could give so much more. But instead the author spends time and the attention of the reader on political correctness issues.

There are just five principles outlined in this book and the evidence and the details are lacking. I mean, it is alright to say that close-world networks are susceptible to cascading failures and amplification issues, but how exactly do you fix them? This is just one of the examples.

The book also gets into the "preaching" mode quite frequently: condemning the current state of affairs and stating how things "should be". I personally find it rather "taxing" to get through these preachings and get to the point of the argument.

A must read for anyone who cares about our civilization

Intriguing examples from nature’s arsenal of solutions to today’s knotty problems. A lively read and a lot of wisdom from an expert.

Waste of time

Just a superficial litany of events under headings. Author provides no depth or analysis or scientific basis.