Provides an insight into the challenges facing humanity and Earth in the 21st century. This book opens with a discussion on the domination of all of the continents and oceans by a growing human population. It concludes with a look at the partial destruction of the ozone layer and the international effort to repair the damage.

This timely book provides a comprehensive insight into the challenges facing humanity and Earth in the 21st century. It opens with a discussion on the domination of all of the continents and oceans by a growing human population. This is followed by an appraisal of the extent to which water and food supplies will be able to accommodate this population, which may reach eleven billion by 2100. The rapidly increasing ability to change biology and evolution through genomics is considered next and complements a discussion of disease, which is viewed largely as an evolutionary struggle between humanity and pathogens. A seemingly insatiable demand for energy, future energy supplies and the impact of their use on climate and attempts to ameliorate these effects are discussed. The book concludes with a look at the partial destruction of the ozone layer and the international effort to repair the damage.

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Life on Earth, Humanity and the Environment
* Population Growth and the Factors Affecting It
* Fresh Water and Its Vital Role
* The Present and Future Food Supply
* Biology
* Genomics and Genetic Engineering
* Disease and Medicine
* Energy and Future Energy Supply
* Greenhouse Earth and Climate Change
* The Ozone Layer and Ozone Depletion