WITHIN just 30 years, almost three-quarters of the planet’s natural land surface will be carved up by human activity. Roads, mines, cities and farms will have obliterated and fragmented the rainforests of the Amazon and central Africa, filled Asian air with smogs, and stifled coastal waters poisoned by toxic red tides.
But it doesn’t have to be like that. This week the UN has released a pioneering report that attempts to map out the environmental choices facing the planet in the early 21st century. If we stopped putting market forces first, and instead pursued a more environmentally based route to economic development, the figure could be…
