How to Save the World for Just a Trillion Dollars

Book excerpt: The ultimate thought experiment--what would you do with a trillion dollars?--opens our eyes to the good we can do for humanity if we spend wisely! If you had a trillion dollars and a year to spend it for the good of the world, what would you do? It's an unimaginable sum, the stuff of lighthearted hypotheticals, but author Rowan Hooper embarks on a quest to find out what would happen if we took the question extremely seriously. Speaking with experts of all kinds, he compiles a list of incredibly ambitious, world-changing ideas--ones that would secure the most profound, long-lasting benefits, from trying to end global poverty or reverse climate change to increasing human lifespans, refreezing the Arctic, saving all endangered species, and more. And then he dives into the numbers, breaking down strategies and costs to determine: How far could the money really go? Hooper does reach a conclusion as to which project would do the most good for ourselves and our planet (you'll have to read to find out!), but his most surprising discovery is how many incredible advancements are within reach--if we could only put our minds (and our money) to them!