The Future We Choose, by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac.
Penguin Random House, 2020.
I have to admit I have been grieving about climate change lately. I bought this book after hearing an interview with one of the authors, who knows a thing or two (she was an organizer of the Paris Climate Accord), yet refuses to give up hope.
The Future We Choose does two things that I really needed: It creates a picture of a world we could realistically be aiming for now; and it outlines practical steps for getting there.
The book has three main parts in addition to a very engaging Introduction (The Critical Decade)
In Part I: Two Worlds the authors describe the two possible worlds we are creating right now. One is the future we are fighting against! The other is a rather utopian image of a world which is still possible if humanity makes the right choices in this decade. This reminded me of how, when I was first learning to ride a bike, I would fixate on a rock or pothole that I wanted to make sure to avoid, only to inevitably ride right over it and fall off my bike. Gradually I learned to focus on the path I wanted, not the one I didn’t want!
Part Two: Three Mindsets explains that we can choose who to be, and describes the three mindsets we need to choose: “radical optimism, endless abundance and radical regeneration.” I found this part difficult, and need to listen again.
Part Three: Ten Actions says it’s too late now to do “what we can.” The time has come to do “what is necessary.” It discusses ten specific actions we need to take. Some of these are predictable, and many of us have already done them. Some were less expected to me, and will require some thought.
After Conclusion: A New Story, there is a short chapter called What You Can Do Now which starts with “Right Now: Take a deep breath”, and extends to Later today, Tomorrow, Next week, etc. Unlike Part Three, which has a chapter on each action, this is more of a bullet list. It energized me to sit down and write a letter to MainePERS, which manages my retirement, advocating that they divest from fossil fuels (and describing why it is in their financial interest to do so). I also shared the letter with my local union president, asking him to share it with others. I figure if other employees start writing too, maybe MainePERS will start paying attention.
I bought this as an audiobook, because I need to read fiction in the evening (self-care), but I can listen to nonfiction while I am driving or working on hand-projects. The recording is less than five hours, meaning it would be even quicker to read silently. It was so inspiring that I have bought it in hardcopy too, so I can share it with others. It is also available as an ebook. I highly recommend The Future We Choose.
Andrea AskenDunn
Jared Diamond 2019
A "riveting and illuminating" Bill Gates Summer Reading pick about how and why some nations recover from trauma and others don't (Yuval Noah Harari), by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the landmark bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel.
In his international bestsellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond transformed our understanding of what makes civilizations rise and fall. Now, in his third book in this monumental trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crises while adopting selective changes -- a coping mechanism more commonly associated with individuals recovering from personal crises.
Diamond compares how six countries have survived recent upheavals -- ranging from the forced opening of Japan by U.S. Commodore Perry's fleet, to the Soviet Union's attack on Finland, to a murderous coup or countercoup in Chile and Indonesia, to the transformations of Germany and Austria after World War Two. Because Diamond has lived and spoken the language in five of these six countries, he can present gut-wrenching histories experienced firsthand. These nations coped, to varying degrees, through mechanisms such as acknowledgment of responsibility, painfully honest self-appraisal, and learning from models of other nations. Looking to the future, Diamond examines whether the United States, Japan, and the whole world are successfully coping with the grave crises they currently face. Can we learn from lessons of the past?
Adding a psychological dimension to the in-depth history, geography, biology, and anthropology that mark all of Diamond's books, Upheaval reveals factors influencing how both whole nations and individual people can respond to big challenges. The result is a book epic in scope, but also his most personal yet. (Excerpted from Amazon)
Philipp Blom 2020
“A sweeping story, embracing developments in economics and science, philosophy and exploration, religion and politics. . . . Beautifully clear.”― John Lanchester, The New Yorker
Hailed as an “arresting” (Lawrence Klepp, New Criterion) account, Nature’s Mutiny chronicles the great climate crisis of the seventeenth century that totally transformed Europe’s social and political fabric. Best-selling historian Philipp Blom reveals how a new, radically altered Europe emerged out of the “Little Ice Age” that diminished crop yields across the continent, forcing thousands to flee starvation in the countryside to burgeoning urban centers, and even froze London’s Thames, upon which British citizens erected semipermanent frost fairs with bustling kiosks, taverns, and brothels. Highlighting how politics and culture also changed drastically, Blom evokes the era’s most influential artists and thinkers who imagined groundbreaking worldviews to cope with environmental cataclysm.
As we face a climate crisis of our own, “Blom’s prodigious synthesis delivers a sharply-focused lesson for the twenty-first century: the profound effects of just a few degrees of climate change can alter the course of civilization, forever” (Laurence A. Marschall, Natural History).
Rachel Maddow 2020
Rachel Maddow's 2019 book, Blowout, surveys the oil and gas industry from its earliest times in the late 1800s through 2019. Like a dancing laser beam, Maddow focuses on the corruption that is inherent in the most profitable business on the planet. In each succeeding chapter—one or two on Oklahoma, another one or two on Russia (Putin), another one or two on ExxonMobile and then back to where she left off—one begins to feel that one actually understands the depth and breadth of the corrosive influence of profits at any cost. Then the next chapter reveals more and yet more. By the end, the reader realizes she has a reasonable lay of the land… of the tip of an iceberg. There is so much more that just can't be shoehorned into a book ten times these 360 plus pages.
This is no boring compendium of facts. Maddow tells stories. Stories of people covered in oil and feathered in money. The big guys, good and bad, are certainly studied: Putin, Tillerson, Manfort, Page, Trump, Lugar, Mueller, and many more. But rounding out the picture are quite a few smaller players in the race for money and the power money buys. These are the henchmen of the big guys, the small-time billionaires, the heads of state of small, oil-soaked nations, as well as the folks who are brave enough to report on or fight the industry's misdeeds and who suffer the imprisonment, torture and death that so often follows.
Many of us are willing to charge big oil with the corruption of American democracy. This book will provide flesh to that skeletal argument. Indeed, readers will see not only the oil industry's impact on American democracy, but on any other nation-state that has the (mis)fortune of having "the excrement of the devil" (former Venezuelan Oil Minister and OPEC co-founder Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo, 1976) within its borders. And corruption doesn't stop at a country's borders. It corrodes relationships among nation-states, oil-soaked or not.
Blowout. It is intended, no doubt, to refer to the occasional mishap of uncontrolled, high pressure release of oil and/or gas when drilling. But those who read Maddow's Blowout will have more knowledge at their disposal to help blow out the wildfire of fossil fuel corporatism.
by Richard Louv, 2008
Review from Publishers Weekly
Today's kids are increasingly disconnected from the natural world, says child advocacy expert Louv (Childhood's Future; Fatherlove; etc.), even as research shows that "thoughtful exposure of youngsters to nature can... be a powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit disorder and other maladies." Instead of passing summer months hiking, swimming and telling stories around the campfire, children these days are more likely to attend computer camps or weight-loss camps: as a result, Louv says, they've come to think of nature as more of an abstraction than a reality. Indeed, a 2002 British study reported that eight-year-olds could identify Pokémon characters far more easily than they could name "otter, beetle, and oak tree." Gathering thoughts from parents, teachers, researchers, environmentalists and other concerned parties, Louv argues for a return to an awareness of and appreciation for the natural world. Not only can nature teach kids science and nurture their creativity, he says, nature needs its children: where else will its future stewards come from? Louv's book is a call to action, full of warnings—but also full of ideas for change. Agent, James Levine. (May 20)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Recommended by John and Diana Carroll & Sally Chappell
John and I read this for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. For us, it was a walk down memory lane. For younger people it is a history lesson. (Excerpted from note from Diana Carrol).
You may have heard about the new Michael Moore movie that re-premiered on Earth Day to much fanfare. You may even have watched it for free on Youtube where is has had over 5 million views. You may also have read some of the scathing reviews by writers from all over the climate and environmental movement, like this one from Timmon Wallis, or rebuttals by some of those attacked in the film like this one from Bill McKibben.
Anyone who is serious about climate action fully understands the fact that we are not going to consume our way out of the crisis. Changing to LED lightbulbs, buying an electric SUV and heating our oversized homes with heat pumps will not solve the climate emergency. We need a new relationship with nature and each other. While Moore's movie tries to make this point, it distorts facts to the point where it really can't even be considered a documentary. It's more like shock journalism. While others are carefully debunking "fact" after "fact" in the film, I'll just point out a few of the obvious ones.
The film states that solar panels are only 8 percent efficient, cost more energy to make than they will ever produce, and will only last for ten years. The actual fact is that modern panels are over 20 percent efficient and rising, pay back their embodied energy in less than four years, and are warrantied for 25 years, but will probably remain useful for 40 or more.
The filmmakers go on to conflate solar and wind with biomass electricity and corn ethanol, which are in fact not climate friendly, and furthermore confuses cutting down the rainforest for industrial agriculture and factory farming (complete with footage of dying orangutans), with burning wood chips in a boiler at Middlebury College.
I could go on, but suffice it to say that the film lacks any nuance to its arguments, rehashes old and discredited climate denier talking points about renewables, is plain mean-spirited in its attacks on people and organizations that are doing way more good than harm, and astonishingly features a group of privileged often unnamed white males talking about population control, while it is the privileged few that are responsible for the lion's share of GHG emissions.
While the filmmakers may have started out with good intentions to hold the climate movement accountable and shine a light on overconsumption, this poorly researched and seemingly hastily crafted film will do more harm than good, dividing the climate justice movement and feeding red meat to the fossil fuel apologists and the climate denial lobby, while holding out no solutions or hope. Don't waste your time!
Amidst all this great organizing folks may have seen some of the controversy over the new "Planet of the Human" documentary that got released on youtube the other day.
The documentary is unfortunate for burying some legitimate critiques of strategy choices and corporate influence in the climate movement under a very simplistic "we-are-all-to-blame-and-there-is-no-hope" narrative. It also relies on a lot of old footage and examples like trying to turn interviews from 2013's People's Climate March into gotcha footage even though it's now 7 years laters and things have changed. Since the film directly attacks 350 and Bill McKibbin by name, both Bill and our 350 comms team have responded. See the short message below from Thanu Yakupitiyage, 350.org US Communications Director for details.
In general our advice is don't draw more attention to spurious controversy. Our opponents are the fossil fuel industry and the politicians that do their bidding and that's where we should always keep the focus. But in case this controversy does come up folks might find the resources linked below useful.
Hi All - you might have heard about a new documentary that just came out “Planet of the Humans” by Jeffrey Gibs and produced by Michael Moore. Unfortunately it really comes after 350 and Bill McKibben around our position on biomass and biofuels. It's a pretty poorly made documentary that traffics heavily in the realm of conspiracy theory to be honest.
You might be getting some comments on social media because of it, so here are some resources out there that you can point people to and some tips:
Here is Bill’s personal response to it: https://350.org/response-planet-of-the-humans-documentary/
Here is 350.org press statement: https://350.org/press-release/350-org-responds-to-inaccuracies-in-documentary-planet-of-the-humans-produced-by-michael-moore/
If you want to respond to people on social media, here is the statement digital has been using (and then linking to Bill’s response): “The documentary ‘Planet of the Humans’ contains a number of inaccuracies, and especially in relation to Bill McKibben and 350.org. We believe it is important that we don’t merely secure a renewable future, but also a just one that meaningfully reduces carbon emissions. How we shift away from fossil fuels is a crucial conversation and we need to have it in an accurate, diverse and justice-oriented way. Bioenergy in general contains major risks and hazards with respect to ecology, social and economic life. We do not prioritize it as a solution and approach it cautiously.”
It can be refreshing to watch a true believer taking a deeper look at their own sacred cows. But in his rush to be open-minded about his long-cherished environmental beliefs, Jeff Gibbs has thrown out the baby with the bathwater. He lumps solar and wind power, which hold substantial promise despite their drawbacks, together with the bogus-but-profitable “solutions” biomass and biofuels (ethanol). And he offers no new solutions, only a bleak reminder that our species’ recent exploitation of fossil fuels has both enabled our exponential growth and sealed our fate. Continue here.
Josh is a leading fractivist filmmaker, demanding a retraction and apology along with scientists and other co-signers of the letter demanding retraction on his Twitter feed @JoshFoxfilms
" I just received notice that the distributor of Michael Moore's #PlanetoftheHumans is taking the film down due to misinformation in the film.
Thank you to @FilmsForAction for responding to our demand for a retraction and an apology from @mmflint.
And here also, for your consideration, is a more favorable review of the film published in Steady State Herald, May 1, 2020 by Brian Czech, Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.
Here is the link to the film on Michael Moore's YouTube channel.
Here's the link to the film on Films for Action with more thought provoking commentary.
A short animated film narrated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and illustrated by Molly Crabapple
Set a couple of decades from now, the film is a flat-out rejection of the idea that a dystopian future is a forgone conclusion. Instead, it offers a thought experiment: What if we decided not to drive off the climate cliff? What if we chose to radically change course and save both our habitat and ourselves? (Ian Schwartz, The Intercept)
The good news is that the pandemic shows “science works.” The bad news? Global warming may be far more dangerous than a pandemic.
Mission: to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. Green America is a national, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, membership organization founded in 1982
Website and newsletter https://www.greenamerica.org/
This website contains Information about peace literacy promoted by author, lecturer and peace activist, Paul K. Chappell. There are two videos of Paul speaking on this website. The first one is 23 minutes long. The one at the bottom of the page is very short about 3 minutes. Paul is one amazing person. I’ve read all his books: Will War Ever End?; The End of War; Peaceful Revolution; The Art of Waging Peace; Soldiers of Peace; The Cosmic Ocean. He has a vast knowledge of human nature. His approach is definitely applicable to the climate movement because we all know that it is our lack of political will that is holding back progress on the climate.
Link to the website https://www.peaceliteracy.org/
Nafeez Ahmed and Asher Miller discuss frameworks for understanding how the pandemic relates to the larger, systemic environmental, energy, economic, and political challenges we face—including Thomas Homer-Dixon’s concept of “Synchronous Failure,” Joseph Tainter’s “Collapse of Complex Societies,” C.S. Holling’s “Adaptive Life Cycle,” and Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine.” But far from being an abstract, academic exploration, Nafeez and Asher explore the real-world implications of these forces at play, and provide a call-to-action when we re-enter a world that has been transformed by COVID-19.
Sherri Mitchell, a Penobscot activist, visionary, and author, is teaming up with other Wabanaki women, including Jus Crea Giammarino and Rhonda Decontie, to launch a land-based educational and healing center.
The goal is kinship with all people and all life.
Please click here for a full description of the project and information on how you can help.