By Bev Bow
Healthy World Sedona News, July 2026

Last year, when I read Dr. Sailesh Rao’s book There IS a Planet B, I was filled with both hope and distress. In this book, Dr. Rao takes the phrase popularized by Mike Berners-Lee with his book, There is no Planet B, and turns it upside down by literally turning our current, planet-destroying culture upside down. He makes the case that Planet B exists right here on earth, and we must create it by essentially doing the opposite of what we’re currently doing. My sense of hope came from seeing the picture of what could be – an alternative to driving off the environmental cliff that becomes more evident every day. My distress was the sense of overwhelm I felt when thinking of how we begin to make headway on this gargantuan task.

Dr. Rao is clear that this transition is not simply making our current systems (Planet A) work better, because these systems are not designed for the purposes we need – a livable planet and an approach to life that respects and supports health, both of humans, and of all life and life-giving systems on earth. Planet A, which represents the current, dominant system of endless economic growth on a finite planet, must be replaced by Planet B. And he also points out that Planet B’s systems already exist in pockets around the world. The work ahead is to strengthen these systems and join them together, so that they are ready to become the dominant model as Planet A fails.

Easy peasy, right? Not so much, hence my distress.

But Dr. Rao is a systems engineer, and this year he has published another book: A Guide to Planet B. In this extraordinary book, he has created a “how-to” manual for doing this work by looking at the primary systems and subsystems that currently guide our lives. In addition to painting the picture of what their Planet B replacements could be, he spells out in clear steps what we need to do, what each of us can do, and how to get started. This is the Planet B operating manual that creates the road map we need. The book covers the fundamental axioms on which Planet B must be built, and compares them to current myths of Planet A, primary of which is that we can somehow have endless economic growth, with more production, more consumption, more resource extraction, within the bounds of a finite planet. He applies systems engineering to test the validity of the goals of each system. His how-to guide addresses our personal choices, and then moves on to our communities, organizations and institutions.

He also discusses the Berkana Institute’s Two Loops Theory of Change, describing how systems change comes about:

“The first loop, the Planet A loop, rises to maturity. It becomes dominant, powerful, seemingly permanent. But like all living systems, it eventually peaks and begins to decline. As it does, it enters … the “hospice” phase, where it is still functioning, still defended by powerful interests, but increasingly unable to deliver on its promises and increasing brittle in the face of new challenges…

While the first loop declines, a second loop is already forming [the Planet B loop]. This loop starts small, with innovators and pioneers experimenting with new approaches. These experiments connect with each other, forming networks. The networks nourish each other, sharing knowledge and resources. The innovations mature and spread.

There comes a transition point where the second loop becomes dominant, and the first loop becomes obsolete. The old system doesn’t necessarily disappear, but it loses its power to determine the future.”

After reading this book, I still see a gargantuan task ahead of us. Planet A problems are everywhere. But I also have a sense of hope, and a new awareness of the evidence of Planet B forming and growing, which is also everywhere. My personal task and commitment is to keep my focus and energy invested in the transition to those things that will build the future I hope to see. They are all around us, in people embracing plant-based nutrition and reclaiming their health; in cities adopting the Plant-based Treaty; in our local tool library; in community gardens; in volunteer efforts to provide food to those who need it; in local neighborhood gatherings; in re-wilding projects; in faith-based organizations committing to social justice; in medical professionals practicing lifestyle medicine; and many more examples. Change of this kind does not start with government edicts. It begins in small places, in homes, neighborhoods and communities, and coalesces to become a larger movement and then ultimately the way we do things on our planet.

If this intrigues you, if you’d like to understand more, please read the book! You can download a free PDF copy here, or purchase the paperback or kindle book on Amazon.

What would things be like in this new, Planet B system? Here is Dr. Rao’s description.

“Imagine that it’s 2050:

• Whole-foods plant-based Vegan meals are default everywhere. Children grow up never seeing animal products as normal food. The idea of breeding and killing nearly 100 billion land animals annually seems as barbaric as slavery. This is liberation from violence-based systems.
• Three billion hectares of former grazing land are now thriving native ecosystems. Forests are growing, prairies and mangroves are regenerating and wildlife corridors are connecting habitats. This is the largest ecosystem restoration in human history, and it’s succeeding. Species are recovering from the brink of extinction.
• Climate crisis is averted. Not solved perfectly, but trajectory is changed from catastrophic to manageable. Atmospheric CO2 is declining, methane is plummeting, and feedback loops are stabilizing. The worst projections are prevented.
• Chronic disease rates are collapsing. Heart disease, diabetes, and many cancers are declining steadily since transition accelerated in the 2020s. People are living longer and better, healthcare costs are dropping dramatically.
• Pandemics from animal agriculture are eliminated.
• Cities are designed for humans, not cars. Humans in cities are engaged primarily in coordination for restoration work, not extraction work. Greenspace, walking, cycling, and public transit are ubiquitous. Zero waste is achieved. Circular economy is operational and clean energy is universal.
• The economy is measured by AhimsaCoin* and well-being, not GDP.
• Worker cooperatives are common. Universal Basic Income is, well, universal.
• People are working less and living better.
• You’re healthier at 55 than your parents were at 45. Your children won’t inherit crisis. Instead, they’ll inherit a healing world. Your grandchildren will ask, “What was it like when things changed?” And you’ll say, “I was there. I helped make it happen.”
• This isn’t fantasy. It’s the logical outcome of implementing what this book described. Every element is feasible with current technology and knowledge. What’s required is collective will and coordinated action.

Will you commit to take action?”

From A Guide to Planet B (p. 377).

*AhimsaCoin is a proposed currency based on earth’s biocapacity, which aligns economic activity with ecological reality.