Current debates in politics often present what should constitute a ‘world order’ while scientists have wrestled with what are fundamental conditions of ‘natural order.’ Humanity has either tried to conquer or capitulate to natural order, whereas Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human Life provides a readable synthesis of these    debates with practical guidance for the public with a host of current examples around  environmental decision-making by consumers, the government and industry.

With Earthly Order, Saleem Ali presents a grand, sprawling exploration of the scientific realm in search of simplicity in nature and order in our human planet. What he uncovers is revealing and provocative in equal measure – a fresh lens to look at the social, economic, political and environmental challenges of our unsustainable age – Professor Iain Stewart, Host of BBC Series, How Earth Made Us, UNESCO Chair in Geoscience and Society, Royal Scientific Society of Jordan.

Saleem H. Ali was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts but grew up in Lahore, Pakistan until his college years, receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Tufts University, and his Masters and PhD degrees in environmental policy and planning at Yale and MIT, respectively. He currently holds the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professorship in Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware (USA) and is Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland (Australia). Dr. Ali’s laurels include being a National Geographic Explorer; being chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and serving on the 7-member science panel of the Global Environment Facility (the world’s largest multilateral trust fund for the environment held in trusteeship by the World Bank). His earlier books include Treasures of the Earth: Need, Greed and a Sustainable Future (2009). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Geographical Society in the United Kingdom and serves on the boards of Adventure Scientists and Mediators Beyond Borders International.