39 Ways to Save the Planet

Apr 29, 2025 2:49 PM

Author:Tom Heap,Arnold Schwarzenegger

We got ourselves into this. Here's how we can get ourselves out.

We know the problem: the amount of biodiversity loss, the scale of waste and pollution, the amount of greenhouse gas we pump into the air... it's unsustainable. We have to do something.

And we are resourceful, adaptable and smart. We have already devised many ways to reduce climate change - some now proven, others encouraging and craving uptake. Each one is a solution to get behind.

In 39 Ways to Save the Planet, Tom Heap reveals some of the real-world solutions to climate change that are happening around the world, right now. From tiny rice seeds and fossil fuel free steel to grazing elk and carbon-capturing seagrass meadows, each chapter reveals the energy and optimism in those tackling the fundamental problem of our age.

Accompanying a major BBC Radio 4 series in collaboration with the Royal Geographical Society, 39 Ways to Save the Planet is a fascinating exploration of our attempt to build a better future, one solution at a time. A roadmap to global action on climate change, it will encourage you to add your own solutions to the list.

Reviews

The race to develop a COVID vaccine is one of the most exciting dramas in medical history, and A Shot to Save the World is a thrilling account based on great reporting and access to all of the teams. An inspiring and informative page-turner.

—— Walter Isaacson, author of The Code Breaker

An appropriately breathless account of the business and scientific rivalries between researchers and companies behind the successful coronavirus vaccines. Zuckerman shows how a global catastrophe transformed the fortunes of tiny, visionary ventures, and huge pharmaceutical enterprises, as they raced to stem the pandemic's spread.

—— Andrew Hill , Financial Times

Zuckerman conveys decades of complex scientific research in a gripping fashion. His focus on the slow burn of discovery makes for a fascinating angle and offers plenty of inspiration. The result is tough to put down.

—— Publishers Weekly

Compelling ... Davies excels in succinctly addressing the cosmological conundrums that haven't received as much attention as dark matter, dark energy, what triggered the big bang and the fate of the universe

—— Forbes

A whistle-stop tour of the biggest mysteries that cosmologists are investigating today ... a fun way of making sure you're all caught up on where cosmology is at today

—— Physics World

What's Eating the Universe? is a veritable feast for curious minds. Davies, a polymath and lyrical writer, masterfully tackles all the big questions ranging from why this Universe to the meaning of life and the significance of the present moment-a whirlwind journey through ideas that have shaped our understanding of the cosmos and its constituents.

—— Priyamvada Natarajan , author of Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos

A great introduction for readers new to physics ...Lessons in cosmology and astrophysics abound in this enthusiastic primer

—— Publishers Weekly

Understanding theoretical physics is a daunting task, but What's Eating the Universe?is here to guide readers through the field. Each chapter is short-less than 10 pages-but jargon-free and full of information ... Regardless of the reader's prior physics knowledge, the book provides an accessible introduction to cosmology

—— Physics Today

What's Eating the Universe? is Paul Davies at his very best. He brings a lifetime of experience in explaining mysteries of space and time to offer thought-provoking essays on deep questions in bite-sized, easily digestible chunks. There is no better overview of the advances made by cosmologists in recent decades.

—— John Gribbin , author of Six Impossible Things: The ‘Quanta of Solace’ and the Mysteries of the Subatomic World

A delightful account of the cutting edge of modern cosmology. He is truly exceptional at explaining all of this in his inimitable style--let's say 'astropoetry'

—— Simon Mitton, University of Cambridge

A whistle-stop tour of the major questions in contemporary cosmology

—— Philip Ball, author of Beyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew about Quantum Physics Is Different

This intimate natural history is both a sober assessment of the ecosystems we have harmed and an exciting description of some of the discoveries that could help undo that damage

—— Scientific American

Brilliantly executed and urgently necessary

—— Publishers Weekly

A master elucidator, Kolbert is gratifyingly direct as she assesses our predicament between a rock and a hard place, creating a clarion and invaluable 'book about people trying to solve problems created by people trying to solve problems

—— Booklist

Every paragraph of Kolbert's books has a mountain of reading and reporting behind it.... Urgent, absolutely necessary reading as a portrait of our devastated planet

—— Kirkus Review

Our finest journalist on climate change

—— Chicago Tribune

A tale not of magic-bullet remedies where maybe this time things will be different when we intervene in nature, but rather of deploying a panoply of strategies big and small in hopes that there is still time to make a difference and atone for our past. A sobering and realistic look at humankind's perhaps misplaced faith that technology can work with nature to produce a more liveable planet

—— Library Journal

A terrific look at humanity's impact on the Earth (praise for: The Sixth Extinction)

—— Bill Gates

A wonderful book (praise for: The Sixth Extinction)

—— Barack Obama

This is the big story of our age (praise for: The Sixth Extinction)

—— Sunday Times

Well-composed snapshots of history, theory and observation that will fascinate, enlighten and appal many readers (praise for: The Sixth Extinction)

—— Guardian

A distinctive and eloquent voice of conscience... timely, meticulously researched and well-written (praise for: The Sixth Extinction)

—— Al Gore , New York Times

Compelling (praise for: The Sixth Extinction)

—— Observer

Remarkable (praise for: The Sixth Extinction)

—— Sunday Telegraph

Read this book (praise for: The Sixth Extinction)

—— Independent

Elizabeth Kolbert's cautionary tale, The Sixth Extinction, offers us a cogent overview of a harrowing biological challenge. The reporting is exceptional, the contextualizing exemplary (praise for: The Sixth Extinction)

—— Barry Lopez, author of Arctic Dreams and Horizon

The Sixth Mass Extinction is the biggest story on Earth, period, and Elizabeth Kolbert tells it with imagination, rigor, deep reporting, and a capacious curiosity about all the wondrous creatures and ecosystems that exist, or have existed, on our planet. The result is an important book full of love and loss (praise for: The Sixth Extinction)

—— David Quammen, author of The Song of the Dodo and Spillover

Fascinating

—— Chris Fitch , Geographical

In Under a White Sky...Elizabeth Kolbert...[combines] curiosity with an acerbic wit to explore humanity's obsession with controlling nature... Kolbert's skill is in presenting compelling stories from the Anthropocene and letting us judge for ourselves

—— James Dacey , Physics World

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