The Bridge at the Edge of the World

Environmental expert and activist James Gustave Speth discusses the causes of and potential solutions to the current global environmental crisis in his book The Bridge at the Edge of the World. He believes that the current environmental degradation is the direct result of the exponential expansion of economic activity from the 20th century to the present day. Fueled by an international capitalist economy, this growth has brought the world to the brink of environmental catastrophe. According to Speth, the only path leading away from environmental collapse is that of transformation: the economy and world governments must be forced by citizens to undergo substantial change.