The Overburdened Planet

The primary objective of this book is to explain the science, engineering and politics behind the environmental challenges that face the planet, its ecosystems and its populations, particularly in the light of a growing population, urbanisation and wealth divide. It is intended for anyone who wants a deep dive into the science behind climate change without getting lost in the jargon and emotional rhetoric that is frequently associated with coverage of these issues.
Using accessible language the book provides a non-polemical narrative of the key challenges. Illustrated with examples from around the world, links to relevant websites and suitable colour images, it provides a narrative that starts with the global geopolitical pressures on the environment and climate, ranging from colonisation and conflict to exploitation of finite resources and environmental degradation. A core chapter explores the myriad of impacts that global warming and climate change are having on the planet and explains the science behind the Assessment Reports produced by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, followed by a review of the sources of greenhouse gases, the pressures on finite resources and the methods that have been developed for expressing ecological and carbon footprints.
The remaining chapters look in more detail at the contributions that buildings, construction, transport, infrastructure, industry, food and agriculture make to climate change and environmental degradation, whilst examining some of the solutions to mitigating these impacts. The final chapter offers some ideas for a ‘different way of living’, including alternatives to the historical obsession with growth.

Paul Appleby is a specialist in sustainability with a background in environmental engineering and low carbon design of buildings. He is a Chartered Engineer with a First Class Honours Degree in Environmental Engineering and is an Honorary Fellow of CIBSE and a Fellow of the RSA. He advises design and masterplanning teams on the integrated sustainable design of buildings and communities. He has worked in the construction industry as a consultant, lecturer and researcher for some 55 years, including 25 years’ international consultancy experience with the URS Corporation (now AECOM) running practices specialising in building health and sustainability, and working with some of the world's leading architects and developers on high profile and award winning projects such as Battersea Power Station, Scottish National Heritage hq Inverness, Tate Modern extension, Greenwich Millennium Village and the Pinnacle tower Bishopsgate.
As well as writing some 70 publications, including key guidance published by CIBSE and others, his book Integrated Sustainable Design of Buildings has appeared in a list of the Cambridge University’s ‘Top 40 Sustainability Books of 2010’. His follow up: Sustainable Retrofit & Facilities Management was published in January 2013. Both published by Earthscan.
Paul has 10 years’ experience of design review, participating in more than 100 panel meetings. He has been a Design Council Built Environment Expert since 2012, a panel member for Design South East since 2015 and was a member of the HS2 Independent Design Panel for 4 years. Paul has also been actively involved with the UK Green Building Council, participating in a number of Task Groups including developing Retrofit Incentives and, in concert with the World GBC, exploring the relationships between productivity, health & wellbeing and sustainability in the office environment.