Colin Mason, a foreign correspondent, broadcaster and SEATO adviser to the Thai Government, was a senator in the Australian Federal Parliament for nine years as deputy leader of the Australian Democrats. He served on the Senate Standing Committee for science and the environment, a select committee on the effects of Agent Orange on Australian servicemen, and the first delegation of the Australian Parliament to China, and initiated the private member's bill that led to the salvation of the Pristine Franklin River in Tasmania. He has published 12 books including the international bestselling novel Hostage and A Short history of Asia.

• Part One: Crises Mode - The Drivers * Running out of Fuel: The Coming Energy Crunch * Population and Poverty * Climate: Too Hot or Too Cold? * Famines: Food and Water * One World? * The Fourth Horsemen * Part Two: Direction * Which Way Science? * In the Genes: New Plants - and People? * The Values of the Sea * Multinationals: Good Business or Bad? * The Trouble with Money * Part Three: Upgrading the Individual - The Pursuit of Happiness * Love, Family and Freedom * Habitat: The Dilemma of the Cities * Making Education Work * Health and Wealth * Religion: The Cement of Society * Part Four: The New Society? * The Mechanics of Change * Automation and Employment * Travelling Less? * Working Online * The Information Overload * The Toxic Culture * Running the Show * Conclusions: World to Come * Notes * Index

'Is this a book you can afford to ignore?... Only the foolhardy would surely dare leave it unread on the shelf.' International Affairs'This is a bold, thought-provoking and ultimately rewarding book, well-researched, full of ideas - and thus a good, all-round primer on the state of the planet.' BBC Wildlife'Mason believes that within 30 years six factors - depleted fuel supplies, population growth, poverty, famine, water shortages and climate change - will converge to tear humanity apart. And it‘s hard to disagree with him.' The Ecologist'The 2030 Spike is an impressive tour of our current world: from sexual slavery to sailing ships, from malaria to microcredits, from nanotechnology to neopaganism, all the horrors and promises of our troubled Zeitgeist seem to be reflected here.' Resurgence'This is one of the best examples of a book capturing the essence of sustainability.' International Affairs'He offers 100 actions that need to be taken immediately to avoid disaster and build a possible better future civilisation' Luce Press Clippings- FUTURIST Bethesda, MD June 2004