David Suzuki & David Taylor 
The Big Picture 
Reflections on Science, Humanity, and a Quickly Changing Planet

Whether he’s discussing how to reconcile economy with ecology, why a warmer world will result in more poison ivy, why Britney Spears gets more hits on Google than global warming does, or why we might need to start eating jellyfish for supper,  
David Suzuki points the direction we must take as a society if we hope to meet the environmental challenges we face in our still-young century. Covering suburban sprawl, sustainable transportation, food shortages, biodiversity, technology, public policy, and more,
The Big Picture not only identifies the problems we face but proposes solid, science-based solutions. These engaging essays look beyond environmental challenges to examine the forces that are preventing real change from occurring. Together they tell the story of a species struggling to come to grips with its own biological nature, a nature we must ultimately embrace to live in balance with the systems that sustain us.

Table of Content

Table of Contents



1.What we don’t know can hurt us: Science and the dangers of ignorance

2.Smarter than your average planet: Interconnections in the biosphere

3.Getting to know the Joneses: Protecting the diversity of life on Earth

4.Solidarity for Mother Nature: Natural services and economics

5.Hot hot heat: Global warming and climate change

6.You can’t get there from here: Car culture and global transportation

7.Jellyfish – it’s what’s for dinner: Feeding the planet in the 21st century

8.Children of a lesser god: Technology and a culture of consumerism

9.Lights, camera, sound bite: Social change and the media

10.Public policy for a sustainable planet

About the author

David Suzuki is an acclaimed geneticist and environmentalist, and the founder and chair of the David Suzuki Foundation. He is the author of more than forty books and is the recipient of the unesco Kalinga Prize for Science, the United Nations Environmental Medal, the unep’s Global 500 award, and has been named a Companion of the Order of Canada. In addition, he holds eighteen honorary degrees and he has been adopted into three First Nations clans. Suzuki lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.


David Taylor is a journalist, writer, and former Director of Communications with the David Suzuki Foundation. His work has appeared in the
Globe and Mail, the
Toronto Star, and other newspapers and magazines across Canada. He has also written for television and film and is a past winner of the CBC’s Signature Shorts screen writing competition. Taylor graduated with honours from the University of Victoria, where he also completed the post-graduate Harvey Southam professional writing program and was the first person to receive the Harvey Southam Award for his thesis on journalism ethics. He lives with his family in New Westminster, British Columbia.