What Has Nature Ever Done for Us?: How Money Really Does Grow On Trees

The book did a very good job of pointing out a lot of things that nature does for us and how its destruction has an effect on people and the economy. I like how he gives examples of how some countries and industries are tackling the problems. I wish everyone in the world would read this book.

This book introduces a truly global range of environmental issues. After a slow start it is very readable. It includes suggestions that many local governement groups could apply and benefit from. Nationwide and even continental effects are brought in, with ideas for each to learn from the others.

Just read the Prologue and the Forward and you will not be able to put this book down. Illustrates, dramatically, the actions and consequences of human presence on this planet. A good deal of man's activities are for his betterment and the detriment of nature.Don't believe that? Read this book!

The green movement or green enlightenment as its sometimes termed needs a sharp edged reassessment and this isn't it. It can best be described as a summary of where green assumptions and consensus now lays.

One of the most inspiring and eye opening books, superb.

You must read this book, its as simple as that. Convincing, compelling and a jolly good read as well

Everyone should read this book and take steps to help nature to be as long as possible around to support us.

great read

After the first pages, a reader can rightfully think that they are dealing with a rather haphazard list of bioeconomy cases and possibilities, with a handful of commonly known relevant biological facts interspersed for good measure. However, while this is true, this pro-nature book is, in fact, something slightly more, it is written this way to be understood by all, to serve as chapter by chapter guide to the better understanding of ecology and some of its issues, it promotes less harmful, natural solutions, especially in farming (that causes pesticide and fertiliser use, soil erosion, deforestation).The writing is readable and it also uses all the recent green buzzwords (bio-based economy, bio-refineries, global environmental damage, plastic soup) and some of Tony Juniper’s own gems ( ‘the value of that service is considerable’ ‘the changes we make to ecosystems are not always simple to reverse’ ’we continue to treat these priceless systems as a rubbish dump’ ), which assist the layperson in their better comprehension of environmental problems England and other parts of the world are now widely-reported as facing, with reference to many small successes.The downsides of this book are only: the book format is not easy to digest and is better read on a Kindle, information gets repeated in one form or another, or taken up later, there is an over abundance of ‘can’ , are some of us incapables, not capable then, of implementing these green methods?The last chapter recapitulates stories and cases. I learnt a lot, although the book has cascades of explained examples, and is at times too cleverly worded. I recently moved back to Eastern France which has the most cases of Lyme disease, there are many animals, but they do not act as a ‘buffer’ to this tick maladie, as he seems to suggest. That said, it is true the local great hamster has been decimated by monocultures, a non-recommended modern farming method mentioned in the book, informing that the UN’s Food and Agriculture says 75 percent of diversity in crops have been lost since 1900.The take-home message is: Is it wise to destroy natural habitats for our farming methods, why not work with nature as it does have good and durable options?I’m not a biologist, nor ecologist, nor zoologist - I eventually only followed a Geography A-level - yet I was a volunteer at FoE during the time Tony was working away every day as Campaigns Director and I was happily surprised to find he has written several environmental books and can only recommend this one.

This book should be essential reading for all students of biology and pehaps it is even more important for people who really don't care much for anything but other themselves or other human beings ......It shows how we, as a devastatingly powerful force in the world, have done many things that we feel improve our civilisation without realising the full 'costs' associated with benefits that we enjoy - it must be time for all humans to realise that 'ignorance is not bliss' and make sure that the future we will offer succeeding generations is not blighted by our blinkered approach to economic development.Surely there can be few things more alarming than the photograph of Chinese people perched in trees doing the 'work' of bumblebees, so that the trees will produce fruit ?Its well written, covers a wide range of issues that are nicely developed using easily appreciated metaphors and with a stunning array of examples - absolutely fascinating !!

A few years ago I paid a visit to the Hawk Conservancy Trust near Winchester. Besides the usual suspects, the sanctuary at the time featured an enclosure of truly sad profundity, containing a handful of the few remaining Indian vultures, held there for safe keeping whilst back in India a solution was sought for their plight, caused by the use of an anti-inflammatory drug in cattle which had killed millions of vultures as they performed their job as nature's dustbin.Vultures often get a bad press. Calling someone a vulture implies a lack of scruples, but in reality vultures are graceful fliers and useful scavengers, their use value given by Juniper in this book at $34bn in India alone. Without the vultures diseased carcasses are not cleared so efficiently, and there has been a surge in numbers of feral dogs which has led to an escalation in attacks on humans, often leading to rabies and death.This is just one of a number of case studies used by Juniper in this readable and informative book to demonstrate just what it is nature has done for us. It's a mix of bad and good news. Awareness of the role played by natural agents - birds, bees, mangrove swamps, trees - is rising, but not enough is being done still to prevent their wholesale eradication and destruction. There is not only too much talk of mitigation instead of prevention, there isn't even enough actual mitigation.In some ways Juniper is wrong that economists don't have the tools to cope with the situation. There are very clear models of negative externalities from pollution, showing the private and social costs associated, and the implications for taxation, but too many are tied to free market solutions related to carbon trading, which has so far been an abysmal failure, a broken system nobody has the will to fix. Juniper himself mentions the model of the tragedy of the commons and the way that solutions are being deployed, quite successfully, based upon game theory, amongst others.Nevertheless, Juniper does make a very strong, plausible and readable case for protecting and nurturing the various natural agents upon which he focuses, showing how they are not just a Good Thing in the abstract but also a Good Thing in concrete terms. The Benefit-Cost Analysis, another tool of economics, works.But as well as the macro-level ideas, he also picks up problems at micro level, such as the harm done by concreting over gardens, which made me feel quite self-righteous, having not long ago had my own back yard reconverted to lawn from patio.Finally, just a note. The author of The Lost World, inspiration for Juniper's pet biome project, was Arthur Conan Doyle, not Arthur C Clarke, as he early on asserts.

The subtitle to this new book says it all: How money really does grow on trees. Our only planet is heading for extremely tough times, at our hands, and yet although nature can provide all the answers, for free, and although many good things are being developed, we are not paying enough attention or quickly enough. Tony Juniper describes many of the major problems facing planet earth (and therefore us and all other living things) and then explains, with numerous staggering statistics, how nature really could provide the solutions if only our leaders would see the importance and common sense of the situations. Instead we continue to plunder nature's finite resources and deplete the very help that is available. The book makes you incensed that greed and short-sightedness are causing the loss of our chance to undo the damage. This is about all our futures and the future of our children - it couldn't be more important - yet instead of these issues being front page news every day we are instead encouraged to spend more and apply our passion to game shows and celebrity gossip. This is a book that you end up wanting everyone in the world to read - especially politicians, economists, educators and company leaders. Highly recommended.

This is a fascinating and well-researched book by a leader in the field of environmental science.Tony Juniper makes an excellent argument for economically sustainable employment of the environment and its natural systems, without the wholesale and terminal abuse that mankind is currently meting out to it.One is left hoping that governments and big business will see the logic and change their ways. He certainly makes our misuse of natural systems look not only clumsy and greedy, but not even in the long-term economic interests of the world.One small gripe: Juniper makes references throughout the book to other studies...it would have been nice to see, in a book of this scope and importance, a list of named and dated references for further detailed reading.