Our life today is oversaturated with information, but most people still do not know how our world really works. This book highlights major topics related to ensuring our survival and well-being: energy, food production, critical durable materials, globalization, risk assessment, the environment, and the human future. Finding an effective solution to problems requires studying the facts - we learn, for example, that globalization was not inevitable and that our society is increasingly dependent on fossil fuels, so any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are nothing more than a fairy tale. That for every tomato grown in a greenhouse, energy equivalent to five tablespoons of diesel is required, and that we do not know such methods of mass production of steel, cement and plastic that wouldn't leave a giant carbon footprint. Canadian scientist, ecologist and political scientist Vaclav Smil, famous for his work on the connection between energy and ecology, demographics and real politics, as well as a virtuoso ability to handle large amounts of statistical data, is looking for an answer to the most important question of our time: is humanity doomed to death or is a happy new world waiting for us?