1st Edition

Survival: One Health, One Planet, One Future

By George R. Lueddeke Copyright 2019
    254 Pages 27 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    254 Pages 27 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Planet Earth has been here for over 4.5 billion years but in just two human generations we have managed to place our only 'home' at great risk. Many lessons from history have not yet been learned and new lessons may prove equally, if not more, difficult to take on board as we head deeper into the twenty-first century.

    This book highlights two of our greatest social problems: changing the way we relate to the planet and to one another, and confronting how we use technology (dataism) for the benefit of both humankind and the planet. Covering a wide range of key topics, including environmental degradation, modern life, capitalism, robotics, financing of war (vs peace) and the pressing need to re-orient society towards a sustainable future, the book contends that lifelong learning for sustainability is key to our survival. The author argues that One Health - recognising the fundamental interconnections between people, animals, plants, the environment - needs to inform the UN-2030 Sustainable Development Goals and that working towards the adoption of a new mindset is essential. We need to replace our current view of limitless resources, exploitation, competition and conflict with one that respects the sanctity of life and strives towards well-being for all, shared prosperity and social stability.

    Clearly written, evidence based and transdisciplinary - and including contributions from the World Bank, InterAction Council, Chatham House, UNESCO, World Economic Forum, the Tripartite One Health collaboration (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, World Organisation for Animal Health and World Health Organization), One Health Commission and more -  this book cuts across sociopolitical, economic and environmental lines. It will be of great interest to practitioners, academics, policy-makers, students, nongovernment agencies and the public at large in both developed and developing nations.

    Preface: Averting Apocalypse in the 21st Century

    Introduction: The State of Planet Earth: Time to ‘Stop and Think!’

    Part One: Safeguarding the Health and Well-Being of People and Planet

    1. Threats to the Health and Sustainability of Populations

    2. Climate Change: Focus on Africa, Asia and the Coastal Poor

    3. The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Intelligence Era

    4. Planetary Health and the Incongruity of Modern Life

    5. Capitalism with a Social Conscience

    Part Two: Reflections on a Changing World Order

    6. "War and Peace"?

    7. The World in 2050: Megatrends and Social Impacts

    8. Reorienting Society toward a Sustainable Future

    9. One Health and Well-Being– Inspiring a "Global Unity of Purpose"

    Part Three: Creating a ‘More Just, Sustainable and Peaceful World’

    10. Global Education: Building Foundations for the Future

    11. Collaborative One Health and Well-Being Initiatives

    12. Leading in an Era of Uncertainty, Upheaval and Anxiety

    13. The Promise of Generation Z

    Epilogue: Homo Deus or Homo Humilem? The Choice is Ours

    Biography

    George R. Lueddeke MEd PhD is an educational advisor in higher and medical education and chairs the global One Health Education Task Force for the One Health Commission and the One Health Initiative. He has published widely on educational transformation, innovation and leadership and been invited as a plenary speaker to different corners of the world.

    "Here is an author who speaks my sort of language. Great work! When we accept that humankind is part of something bigger, then the world will be a better place. Our natural world is not there to provide us with unlimited resources...it really is time to start learning to respect it. Thank you George R. Lueddeke for being a voice of reason in a world of chaos!"Tracy Collins, founder at The Island Retreat, County Cork, Ireland

    "George R. Lueddeke’s newest book on the survival of Spaceship Earth rightfully puts the health and well-being of our planet and people as a top priority. Contrary to the short-term thinking of many corporations and politicians, chronically hungry and marginalized people are not healthy, neither physically nor mentally, they are not peaceful and neither do they have time and money in their "fight for another day" to provide better education to the next generation. Ensuring the health and well-being of all life and the sustainability of the planet - above all else - is one of the key messages of this excellent analysis of the World’s state, a must-read!" — Prof. Dr med Ulrich Laaser, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bielefeld, Germany; past president of the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER); past president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA)

    "In a dangerous world with ever escalating zoonotic disease crises that critically require expeditious, efficacious global public health remedies plus the equivalence for comparative medicine advances, this book captures the essence of a practicable co-equal interdisciplinary collaborative One Health approach/framework with many extraordinary proven scientifically documented successes. Implementation will help sustain, protect and/or save untold millions of lives in our generation and for those to come."Dr Bruce Kaplan, Contents Manager/Editor One Health Initiative Website, co-founder One Health Initiative team, Sarasota, Florida, USA

    "Finally, a book that outlines a sound, integrated, sustainable strategy that has the potential to significantly enhance the health and welfare of all life on this increasingly fragile planet. In his new book, Survival: One Health, One Planet, One Future, Dr Lueddeke has painstakingly and artfully painted a canvass of the complex competing interrelationships and dependencies of global societies, human, animal and plant life, the environment and beyond. He describes how the philosophy of One Health is evolving and strengthening as a unified voice to help change the collective "mindset" which impedes the realization of optimal global health."Craig N. Carter, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Kentucky, USA, Director, UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, President of the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society, member of the One Health Initiative Advisory Board, and Author of Animal Health, Human Health, One Health: The Life and Legacy of Dr James H. Steele

    "The author cleverly takes you through the concepts of "One Health" and the possible ramifications should we neglect to put in place sound integrated measures of safeguarding our planet, the environments that we occupy and our biodiversity. The future of the next generation highly depends on how we address "One Health" issues today."Professor Tshepo Matjila, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa

    "Survival: One Health, One Planet, One Future may be of extreme relevance to the developing world, where the interest to catch up to the developed world has led to many hasty actions. The book can serve as an important eye opener for current generations receiving education and shaping local systems to look beyond their surroundings and appreciate the contribution each must make, regardless of whether they belong to the developing or developed world."Dr Tayaba N. Khan, Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

    "Dr Lueddeke has written a detailed, comprehensive book outlining the challenges we face as a species living with finite resources. The One Health concept recognizes that human, animal, and environmental health are linked. This concept provides a global survival strategy and serves as a unifying theme throughout the book."Laura H. Kahn, Princeton University, USA and Co-Founder, One Health Initiative

    ''As a representative in global health, this book has put the challenges of sustainable development into perspective for me; not only by analyzing them, but by connecting them. This insight has given me a renewed motivation to strive for a better, more sustainable future!''Lisa Buren, Chair of the Standing Committee on Veterinary Education (SCoVE) 2017-2018

    "A compelling read. Our human ecology will improve, or not, from the way we think, behave and relate to each other...as individuals, organizations, faith groups and countries. And, this is within our reach. The book signals hope by asking a fundamental, courageous and critical question in Chapter 12: "What if....the ‘Ten Propositions for Global Sustainability’ were adopted? Creating the expectation and possibility for local and global change could best be promoted through education from the primary to university levels that embeds the unifying One Health and Well-Being concept...it will make natural sense to children, and must make sense for us all!"Chris Steven, Executive Director and CEO, Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex, London, Ontario, Canada

    "I do not know of 'anywhere' else that so much timely and current global information has been assembled in one place and reviewed. I enjoyed reading Survival: One Health, One Planet, One Future very much albeit the facts shared can be very unsettling. One Health thinking and acting can be our ‘Ray of hope’ for the Future, a path to planetary health and global security. Education, started early about the One Health concept and One Health issues, will prepare society to create the world we need. If we do not embrace it at all levels of academia, research, government and policy, I fear for planet Earth and future generations of all its living creatures."  — Cheryl M. Stroud, Executive Director, One Health Commission, based in the USA, working globally

    "In his new book George Lueddeke examines what can be done to ensure a sustainable planet as well as healthy human and animal populations. [The] book is an impressive compendium of the work going on in One Health, sustainability, and planetary health…[and] is heavily referenced and rich with data. It is well worth the read."Jay Maddock in The Ecological Paradox: Can Human Prosperity and Planetary Health Co-Exist? Health Behavior Research: Vol. 2: No. 2. https://doi.org/10.4148/2572-1836.1042

    "George Lueddeke is indispensable for our planet. This book is a key solution for our Earth's unprecedented and complex problems."Dagim Terefe Gesese, Global Goodwill Ambassador, Freelance Journalist & Documentary Filmmaker, Ethiopia

    "I appreciate this book’s in-depth analysis of the key issues facing our planet and its overall approach, in particular One Health & Well-Being underpinning the UN-2030 SDGs and the 10 Propositions for Global Sustainability. The world needs George Lueddeke."Muhammad Masroor Alam, Laboratory Scientist, National Institute of Health, Pakistan

    "In Survival: One Health, One Planet, One Future, George R. Lueddeke, the chair of the One Health Education Task Force, shows how public health can be incorporated into a wide range of fields to address individual, population, and ecosystem health."Erik Berglof in Economics can no longer ignore the earth's natural boundaries, published in collaboration with Project Syndicate https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/building-a-truly-sustainable-global-economy-heres-how/

    "I agree fully with the rationales behind Dr Lueddeke’s new publication: we must teach our children to think of the global effects of their decisions once they reach a certain age, that every decision that is made affects everyone around them - like a domino effect. We have to change the mindset while young for a better future, and we must tackle how to influence the adults. Continuing on our present path can only lead to more intractable problems for our children to solve!" - Dr Susan Ann Buckreis-Kolpack, Global Goodwill Ambassador

    "This book’s philosophy is in perfect harmony with transdisciplinarity in agenda setting, vision, and, above all, agenda setting in public policy and academia. It should challenge the reductionist monodisciplinary/sectorial appropriation of global health challenges. I welcome the spirit behind the book …." Dr Luchuo Englebert Bain, Innovation in Global Health Researcher, The Netherlands