Nature’s Echo: Harnessing Ancient Feedback Loops to Heal a Changing Planet

Ecologist Crowther debuts with an optimistic examination of how people can use feedback loops, cyclical processes in which the outcome influences the input, creating a chain reaction of cause and effect, to restore the environment. As Crowther explains, these processes apply to everything from the formation of stars to the diversification of species. Feedback loops also govern human economy and psychology. Crowther describes, for example, how eucalyptus tree plantations in Portugal supported a profitable paper industry that led to more clearing of land for eucalyptus trees in an accelerating loop that ultimately resulted in the destruction of local ecosystems and an increased risk of forest fires. Similarly, feedback loops fuel socioeconomic inequality, as wealth creates opportunity for accumulating more wealth, an exponentially increasing disparity that can cause the collapse of societies. On the other hand, people can embrace feedback loops to repair social systems and the natural world. Investing in restoring landscapes to their natural diversity can revive local agriculture and livelihoods, for example, and consumers opting for sustainable products can spur industries to create zero-waste brands. Filled with intriguing and wide-ranging case studies of how individuals can be agents of change, this empowers and inspires. (June)