Download or read book Making Peace with the Earth written by Jérôme Bindé and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Without immediate action to combat global warming, we face losing 5 to 20 per cent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Our biosphere is in jeopardy: increased desertification, deforestation, air and soil pollution, dwindling biodiversity, water crises and the degradation of the oceans. A new approach to our economy is needed, one that fosters less material forms of production, reduces superfluous consumption and wastes less raw material. We have to create and implement new styles of development that, without halting growth, spare the planet and preserve biodiversity. It is time, as this volume proposes, for humanity to make a new pact, a 'natural contract', of co-development with the planet. UNESCO is actively involved in this debate, as reflected in its 21st Century Talks series, which open a forum for discussion on key issues of the future.--Publisher's description.