‘Earth Spirit - Healthy Planet: Global meltdown or global healing’
by Fred Hageneder

Moon Books, 2022

ISBN:978-1789048308

Reviewed by Marian Van Eyk McCain


At the beginning of this book, the author poses THE big question of our times:
The next decade will be the most decisive in the entire history of humanity. Will we irreversibly destroy Earth’s benevolent climate? Will we fail to counteract the sixth mass extinction? Will we annihilate our own race? Why are governments and leaders acting so slowly? And what can individuals do?

The key problem, of course, is that the concept of our planet that we all grew up with is one of a ball of rock with a coating of soil that has trees and other ‘useful’ plants growing in it and a vast range of other creatures, including ourselves, scurrying around on its surface like ants on a doughnut. And it is probably because so many of us – including our governments and leaders – have never updated this worldview that the remedial process is so slow.

What Hageneder does, in this book, is to start by going back to basics and looking at the whole matter through the lens of Gaia Theory instead – i.e. with the concept, first put forward in 1973 by James Lovelock, of Earth as a self-regulating, living organism of which we, along with all other life forms, are an intrinsic part.

As he points out, prior to Lovelock, science was doing its usual trick of dividing its object of study into many smaller pieces, such as biology, geology, oceanography, paleontology, mineralogy and many more. But this new, post-Lovelock way of looking at the world integrates all these into a totally new discipline known – and now widely taught in universities – called Earth systems science. And the first section of this book is like a neat little mini-course in exactly that, with easy-to-understand descriptions of some of the primary planetary cycles such as water, carbon, nitrogen etc. that resembles what we learned in school yet with a whole new emphasis: the key role that living organisms have played, and still play, in these cycles. Without living organisms, we now learn, these cycles would not exist. Life forms have even influenced the movement of tectonic plates! According to James Lovelock and to Eileen Crist: …organisms are not mere passengers on the planet…they are more like pilots.

We know, now, that since we are an intrinsic part of Gaia, whatever harms Her, inevitably harms us. Therefore the motivation to find remedies is self-interest writ large! But although Earth systems science and the technology that arises from it have progressed in leaps and bounds with potential solutions, progress is still maddeningly slow. Partly because so many people still see the world through an outdated lens but largely because of politics and the pervasiveness of the growth model of economics.

The remainder of this book gives the reader…an overview of what’s going on and how the different causes and effects are interlinked. And suggestions for steps we can take. The ‘steps we can take’ include the steps we need to take as communities and nations but also the ones that all of us can take as individuals.

Inasmuch as it unflinchingly lists and describes so many of the problems currently facing us, this is a depressing read. At the same time, however, for every single problem listed, the author suggests remedies. Plus the very fact of switching to a Gaia-based worldview provides an immediate corrective to any tendency to see other life forms as ‘resources’ rather than as our fellow Earthlings. So as well as being a primer for the science that many of us were not taught in school, it is also a call to action and a very useful source of inspiration when we are feeling ground down by the immensity of the problems. Where there is life, there is always hope. I see this as a useful book to have on one’s shelf.

A very well written book on Climate Change. It's a good balance between science and non-science. Great descriptions of processes important to our planet, the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle etcetera. Concepts are explained with clear examples, making this a great resource for scientists and interested people with no scientific background. I love the explanation of the various current terms used in climate change journalism. The figures are supporting to the text and clear to read.

Sometimes it's difficult to stay positive after reading these kinds of facts, but I think the author does a great job by balancing the information and not making it feel like a doomsday scenario. There are also some tips on what you can do as an individual, which are pretty original tips! Some of them can be debated, for example the tip on going organic for everything. Organic food and products are a good solution for some problems, but there are some problems with organic quality marks and such.

The information in the book is recent, and so are the references (always important!). There are one thing I doubt the accuracy of; the radioactivity part, especially the Chernobyl mutation statements. A lot of research has been done on the radiobiology surrounding Chernobyl, and referring to a google search on "Chernobyl Mutation" will not deliver on truthful results. The author is anti-nuclear energy and is also concerned about WiFi/Bluetooth radiation, but that is something completely different from the radiation that follows from the generating of nuclear energy. WiFi/Bluetooth radiation is not the same as radioactivity, so these chapters should be separate. Take that with a grain of salt and read some more on that before you blindly accept this chapter.

In short: most of this information is out there, in some form. This book bundles it all in an easy to read way. This is an important book that I think everyone should read. Don't forget to always use your head when reading anything regarding climate change. No one is perfect or knows all.

Earth Spirit is a very well written and honest explanation of the current state of the Earth and how we got to this point. Hageneder then proceeds to give a very realistic analysis of how to go about restoring the world to a point where it can continue to support life. This is a book that every citizen of the world should take to heart. I know it has changed how I think about what I must do to support the world we all must live on. Read it and begin to act accordingly.

Probably the BEST book on climate change I've read (and I've read several). I took a 1/2 semester course at U of M (on-line ... ENVIRON 112 ... Climate and Humans) and this book dovetailed with the course very well (especially the second portion of the class).

The author provides many "What YOU can do" suggestions; there are many links to videos and sites to get additional information.

I can't recommend this book more highly! READ THIS BOOK (and also The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert).

Thank you to NetGalley, Fred Hageneder the author and the publisher John Hunt Publishing Ltd, Moon Books for the opportunity to read the advance review copy in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is 28 Jan 2022.

Recommended to all who want to live longer