Biosphere Collapse
Garry Rogers
Coldwater Press (2025)
ISBN: 979-8265125774
Reviewed by Paul Knobloch for Reader Views (11/2025)
In a 2016 piece from Conservation and the Catholic Imagination, Marybeth Lorbiecki cites Aldo Leopold and Thomas Berry, essentially making a case for humanity to move past the Anthropocene stage by becoming participants and partners on this planet instead of “dominators.” This is a view I have long shared with people as diverse as Terrence McKenna, Riane Eisler, and a host of other evolutionary biologists, philosophers, scientists, and writers. Now, Garry Rogers and Coldwater Press deliver us another timely reminder on the state of the planet, which is free of any filler or nonsense, in Biosphere Collapse: Causes and Solutions.
The first line of the book’s summary states its thesis as clearly as it can be stated: “Our planet’s life-support system, the biosphere, is in a state of severe and irreversible decline.”
Now, please don’t walk away from this book or this review, because it’s not all doom and gloom, and as Rogers shows us, there is a path forward. We are simply at the point where no more time can be wasted. Rogers suggests four “transformations” right at the beginning, and for him, these are the deal breakers, the most important things to confront:
Level 1: Limiting Direct Extraction
Level 2: Transforming Production
Level 3: Changing Systemic Drivers
Level 4: Shifting Core Beliefs
Thus, certain initiatives will be key, such as curbing our hunting and fishing, restricting entire industry sectors – the energy industry especially – and tackling problems of urbanization and waste. But his fourth point is the most essential: If we are to survive, we need to look at our value systems and our relationship with nature and the planet.
What comes next is a thorough and exhaustive review of the literature and a plan for moving forward. Part III begins with a look at theories centered on the Anthropocene problem, and unfortunately, these theories tend to lay the blame for all the planet’s current problems strictly on human activity. But while Rogers acknowledges the importance of Anthropocene-based theories when it comes to explaining a potential planetary catastrophe, he reminds us that to solve the problem, we have to expand our frameworks and the working hypotheses, especially those that tend to try to explain everything in terms of human behavior.
This, Rogers tells us, is not a complete or effective approach, not if we truly want to save the planet. Rogers suggests more of what he calls “Ecocentrism.” I’ll quote Roger’s own definition since it is so pristine in its simplicity and directness:
Earth’s biosphere is a complex, interconnected system in which all species play a role, making their existence valuable beyond their utility to humans.
We need to stop considering ourselves more important than anything else in the universe, and accept that we, like everything else, are just one ingredient in a bigger ecological and even cosmic network. A healthy biosphere and a respect for all species on this planet are essential if we are to move forward.
There’s a great section called “Spectrum of Interventions” that spells out everything we need to do. The author follows this up with plans for integrating these ideas and transforming the world we live in now.
As Rogers has indicated, some of the damage is irreparable. Thus, it’s easy to look at the book and say, “This is daunting, there’s so much to do!” There is, and if you have never picked up a book like Garry Rogers’ Biosphere Collapse, or if you have only gleaned information about the planet and the climate from mainstream news sources and sound bites, then this is some essential reading. We cannot have too many reminders when it comes to this pressing issue.