This is my ninth book and without a doubt it will be my most important project to date. I am going to attempt to save our planet or at least, give it a hell of a try. Since there are no habitable planets within reach with our current level of technological sophistication I think it would behave us to husband our resources a little better.

For too long, we have treated our planet like our own private fun house where anything goes and no real thought has been given to conservation. Since man has ascended to the top of the food chain we have managed to wipe out one species of animal and plant life after another with no regards to the consequences. Mother Nature is a miracle worker and has managed to have all the animal species of the world work together to survive. With the exception of homo sapiens. We just can’t seem to get our shit together.

I find it very difficult to believe when even the most primitive species have figured it out but the most advanced species in the planet continues to blunder blindly along. This might have been OK when our population was under a billion but now that we are over seven billion, our planet can no longer compensate for our ineptitude.

We have to put aside our petty feuds and nix our hidden agendas and do what is best for not only our species but all of the other species of this planet. Every species that is eradicated by us has an important part to play in our food chain.

Take for instance, the lowly lobster. In New Zealand, the species was overfished and basically vanished. Since there were no lobsters to eat the sea urchins, they spread like wildfire. Sea urchins eat the bases of the kelp plants. The kelp subsequently dies. All of the species that rely on the kelp also vanished. Where you once had a thriving ecosystem, you now have desolation. Salmon are another linchpin species, if they disappear countless species of animals will follow. The list goes on and on. Sharks and wolves fall into the same category.

Are you getting the picture? To put it simply, if we want to survive we have to learn how to keep house and how to play with others. If we don’t get our act together we won’t have to worry about traveling to another solar system or terraforming Mars because we will be extinct before we are advanced enough to achieve these goals.