Excerpts: “Humanity has become so pre-eminent, so dominant, that it threatens the functioning of the ecosystem on which it and all other creatures depend. No other single species in the history of creation has ever posed such a threat” (p. 7).

“The change from slow crawl to sudden climb happened around 45,000 years ago, when human behaviour was essentially modern; human populations had expanded to a degree that allowed technology to become established and to develop; and for all other hominins to have been competed out of existence” (p. 80-81).

“This in turn raises questions about whether reporting economic health in terms of increasing GDP – which equates economic health with consumption – is a desirable or even appropriate measure” (p. 132).

“Humans progressed from the first powered, controlled, steerable airplanes (1903) to the first Moon landing (1969) in less than a human lifetime – though that development took place against a background of rapidly accelerating population growth” (p. 212).

“Either way, it could be that for space to be colonized safely and with minimal governmental pushback, the governance of Earth would have to be much more united than it is now or is likely to be anytime soon” (p. 229).

Gee, Henry (2025). The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire. New York: St. Martin’s Publishing Group.