About this ebook
• 1 billion people live within a height of 20 meters above the mean sea level.
• 21 of the 33 megacities of the world lie along the coasts.
• Tourism is the fastest growing sector in the world economy. Coastal areas comprise of the largest number of tourist destinations.
• 35 million+ people worldwide rely on fishing as a source of livelihood.
• More than half of the world’s industries lie along the coasts.
• Contribution of coastal areas to a coastal country’s GDP is as high as 95% in some cases.
The world’s economic and social heart lies along its coasts. The world is where the coast is! Global warming induced climate change will change the way we look at our coasts. Rising sea levels will displace millions. The entire fishing industry will collapse. Coastal agriculture will take a beating. Unpredictable and unprecedented changes in the weather will wreak havoc. Existing infrastructural facilities that form the backbone of our economy such as ports, industries and power plants will become obsolete. Economies will collapse and diseases would rise. Lawlessness will prevail. Humanity would meet its doom! Can we prevent a doomsday like scenario? – Yes Can we do it in the present system? – No In the present system of a capitalistic selfish society, no amount of measures taken to adapt to or mitigate the effects of climate change would be enough. The present system looks at short term monetary benefits ignoring the issue from a long term humanitarian perspective. The need of the hour is a total overhaul of the system. A new socio-economic model – the society without selfishness.
About the author
Royston Fernandes is an ardent nature lover and environmental activist. His entry into this field was in the year 2007, at a young age of 17 when he wrote his first book ‘Shall we save the Earth?’ Since then he has organized and participated in numerous campaigns to educate the people and has taken up causes aimed at protecting the delicate local ecology in his hometown. A mechanical engineer by qualification, he is well-known for his severe analysis and criticism of the present societal set up. He is of the opinion that the selfish capitalistic set-up of society is solely responsible for the grim future we are staring at. He argues for a change in the system and calls for the establishment of a new world order – the society without selfishness. In his first book, ‘Shall we save the earth?’ he has discussed the need to establish this new socio-economic model. He has explained in great detail about the manner in which we could slowly change the present system and adopt the new model. The society without selfishness is a highly efficient societal model whose strong foundation lies on the principles of equal distribution of wealth and natural resources. In his new book, ‘Wake up Mangalore… or be damned!’ he tells the story of Mangalore and its struggle with climate change. However the Mangalore he refers to can be considered to be any coastal city located on this earth. The problems and sufferings that the locals would face are discussed in great detail in this book. In the second half of the book, he details out the potential benefits of the society without selfishness from an environmental point of view and thus invites his fellow earthizens to unite together to establish such a regime. Apart from being a nature lover, Royston is a qualified pianist and a senior grade artist. He was the conductor of the church choir for two years and continues to provide his voluntary services to the choir troupe. A lover of art and culture, he is an active member of Mandd Sobhann – the world’s premier Konkani cultural organization, which works towards the preservation and enrichment of Konkani language and culture.
