Between 1974 and 1992 I gave more than 600 statements and lectures on various aspects of the environment to governmental meetings, scientific conferences, international gatherings and non-governmental organizations. This book is based on them. They are supplemented by a few boxes of facts and figures to highlight a particular issue or stress a point. This compilation is presented in the hope that it will further clarify how serious things are. It is intended as a prelude to the Epilogue, which stresses the duty to hope and looks forward to what can be done to avoid environmental catastrophe. There are many hundreds, thousands, of successful experiments.