This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi KleinMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have long been convinced by the science that climate change and global warming is occurring through the effects of human activity. Teaching science for over twenty years, very often organising pupils’ investigations into the “greenhouse effect” left me and my teen age charges in no doubt that the same warming could occur through an accumulation of so-called greenhouse gases over the Earth; carbon dioxide CO2, methane CH4 and water vapour being the principle gases involved. “This Changes Everything” from Naomi Klein is an inspiring and momentous book that should be read by all who care about the environment and future generations. It is written in the most accessible and persuasive fashion, for layman and expert, with comprehensive research and accurate revelations about corporate individuals, possible corruption, and collusion between major organisations – on both sides of the climate change argument. I imagine that I was not the only reader to be surprised to find disclosures in the book about suspicious discredit of scientific proof of climate change by some who stand to benefit from such practices, even financing such apalling behaviour.
Even if the science about climate change causes some people to still doubt that it is indisputable proof that the damage is being caused by human activity, and not just due to natural climate cycling, we must surely still ask is it worth the risk? There is no doubt industry is addicted to using fossil fuels as a source of energy, and that the developed, and developing world, is addicted to its use of electricity, through its ever growing range of devices requiring electrical energy. There could well be an argument to reassess the ways of the capitalist world to free us from our addiction to electricity. But I do not think that is going to happen, notwithstanding some major catastrophe that forces the issue. Changing how we resource the provision of the energy rather than through fossil fuels should be a smaller task than completely changing modern societal living. So changing the behaviour of the big businesses providing the resources and sources that make electricity should be a reasonable thing to expect governments to bring about. Yes? Well maybe it’s not that easy.
Naomi Klein’s most important book illustrates well that this question of changing big business regarding provision of “useful energy” is still deeply involved with politics, and those who claim it has much to lose by changing its practices. Governments which allow themselves to be pushed around by large corporate organisations instead of legislating on the issues that will affect future generations of its citizens are not acting in the best interests of the people. The energy business is intent on continuing to use fossil fuels, which everyone now knows, and this book well demonstrates is detrimental to the Earth and all life, including human, on it now and in the future. The author does not write only about doom and gloom for the future. She relates tale after tale about people around the world who achieved seemingly impossible change using a variety of peaceful methods. Leaders and policy makers everywhere know what the problems are but when will they act rather than procrastinate? To quote from the book:
“It is slowly dawning on a great many of us that no one is going to step in and fix this crisis; that if change is to take place it will only be because leadership bubbled up from below.”
We can only hope that the leader emerges and the change occurs before too long, before 2017 ideally, or else we may have another serious bubble bursting over us all sometime soon. I heartily recommend that all who care about the future of the Earth and our children read this book.
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