In the likely near future, humanity is doomed to destruction, and The Omega Team, a group of scientists and humanists, is to reverse the trend and restore, through a ferocious intervention, the well-being of the planet. After decades of environmental degradation, climate change and consumerism, humanity has backed itself into a corner that it can't get out of without taking drastic and horrifying steps. Our fate rests in The Omega Team's hands - but will they steel themselves and take the necessary measures to prevent extinction? This novel follows the decline of the economies and behaviour of the West and the surge of the major "developing" countries - and the inevitable results. It is based on solid scientific facts and informed by the author's long experience with the issues presented. It is not just a scientific thriller but a warning of the consequences of inaction in changing the way we live - before it is too late. CARLO TESTA has worked in thirty countries and lived in twenty. He served with UNESCO, UNDP (the United Nations Development Plan), UNICEF and the World Bank, as well as government agencies and private corporations. He has taught at the University of California at Berkeley, at St. Louis and at the University of Toronto. He is the author of several technical books, one historical novel in Italian, and hundreds of columns on social and economic affairs. He lives in Blandford, Nova Scotia. This book was written in 1999 and kept in a drawer. Without any changes it has become part history and part forecast. "