Will we colonize Mars? Will lab-grown meat replace our favorite foods? Why did China change its one-child policy? Will Nigeria be a superpower in the 21st Century? Are gender roles obsolete? Will we soon live forever? When should we worry about food and water supplies? Are mass migrations threatening to destabilize entire countries? Will artificial intelligence eliminate the need to work?
When we step back and see the whole modern crisis in perspective, it can be paralyzing. We did not get ourselves into this overnight. It has been centuries in the making but It can't go on. In fact, it isn't. Today, in the wealthiest parts of the world, we are witnessing the first natural decline in fertility rates we have seen for thousands of years. People are choosing to have fewer children.
Many are calling this a crisis. Others are sighing in relief. What will the world look like as these trends play out?
Are we counting arithmetically while exponential changes are taking place? What can we learn from Elephant love? Read this book and join Albert Bates as he makes sense of it all.
- John Dennis Liu, Ecosystems Ambassador, Commonland Foundation
Albert Bates brings a fresh breeze to our troubled minds and hearts, a bigger perspective from which to look into ourselves. Could a new picture emerge as human populations decline? Allow your curiosity to lead you to this book!
- Kosha Joubert, CEO, Pocket Project
As I hear the news day to day much of the misery I hear incessantly-inflation, war, hunger, border conflicts, seething prejudices-reflects the simplest ecological reality: too many people struggling for diminishing oil, land and other resources. Albert Bates considers himself a translator of scientific and other information into clear terms for the average person. Here he undertakes an interesting, far-ranging and eclectic survey of how various writers from antiquity through today have considered population and its relation to resources. It's a good read.
- Charles A.S. Hall, author,
Energy and the Wealth of Nations Albert Bates has been at the forefront of environmental movements and solutions for decades. Now he takes on a key-and often taboo-environmental issue: population. Albert goes beyond the issue of too much (and too little) population to explore the dangers and opportunities that lie ahead on a crowded planet.
- Dan Miller, Managing Director of The Roda Group climate investments
Retropopulationism is a page-turner filled with profound truths about humanity's future, sometimes sad, sometimes uplifting, but always elegantly done with pathos and deep insight.
- J. T. Ross Jackson, author of
The Bad News and the Good News: The Economics of Collapse and The Birth of a Regenerative Society. Albert has the headquarters of all his work at The Farm. That says it all: if you want to change the direction of the world, where health and happiness combined with the quest for resilience stands at the core, then you have to live it yourself as Albert is doing. Therefore his words are his walking the talk!
-Gunter Pauli, author of
The Blue Economy and
Gunter's Fables Albert Bates has courageously tackled the issue at the root of all of our environmental challenges: human population growth. His pithy and pragmatic perspective cuts through many layers of destructive mythologies and sets a solution in front of us. Everyone should read this.
- Bryan Welch, author of
Beautiful and Abundant: Building the World We Want Thank you, Albert. You offer such a thoroughly grasped and sharpened understanding of the complexities and crisis of our human and planetary condition today. With a lot of heartfelt wisdom, you urgently invite us to pause and imagine what are viable and balanced solutions to regain a healthy population, living environment and brighter future for our children."
-Ave Oit, Foundation for Future Education
