Not the End of the World

How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet

By: Hannah Ritchie

Narrated by: Hannah Ritchie PhD

This "truly essential" audiobook will transform how you see our biggest environmental problems (Margaret Atwood)—and explains how we can solve them.

It’s become common to tell kids that they’re going to die from climate change. We are constantly bombarded by doomsday headlines that tell us the soil won’t be able to support crops, fish will vanish from our oceans, and that we should reconsider having children.

But in this bold, radically hopeful audiobook, data scientist Hannah Ritchie argues that if we zoom out, a very different picture emerges. In fact, the data shows we’ve made so much progress on these problems that we could be on track to achieve true sustainability for the first time in human history. Did you know that carbon emissions per capita are actually down, deforestation peaked back in the 1980s, the air we breathe now is vastly improved from centuries ago, and more people died from natural disasters a hundred years ago?

Packed with the latest research and practical guidance, this audiobook will make you rethink almost everything you’ve been told about the environment. Not the End of the World will give you the tools to understand our current crisis and make lifestyle changes that actually have an impact. Hannah cuts through the noise by outlining what works, what doesn’t, and what we urgently need to focus on so we can leave a sustainable planet for future generations.

These problems are big. But they are solvable. We are not doomed. We can build a better future for everyone. Let’s turn that opportunity into reality.

©2024 Hannah Ritchie (P)2024 Little, Brown Spark

Critic reviews

“Ecopragmatism at its best shines throughout this book... The surprising message in the data is that human civilization is far along toward solving planetary problems. Hannah Ritchie shows how building on the successful trends can finish the job.” (Stewart Brand, founder of Whole Earth Catalog and author of Whole Earth Discipline)

“Such a clear-eyed view of the state we're in, giving a sharp picture of the challenges ahead, and an inspiring vision of the problems we've already solved. Everyone who reads it will learn a lot–I did.” (Tim Harford, author of How to Make the World Add Up)

“A refreshingly upbeat guide to achieving sustainability. Ritchie attacks cynicism, doomerism and apathy with a barrage of data revealing the extent of our progress and illuminating the best paths ahead.” (Gaia Vince, author of Nomad Century)