November 14, 2022
Humanity must decarbonize or die, according to this impassioned anthology of writings on climate change. Climate activist Thunberg (No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference) gathers essays from scientists, journalists, and activists, starting with lucid and accessible explanations of the science of global warming and its possible effects. Other pieces include upbeat assessments of solar and wind energy by eco-pundit Bill McKibben and recommendations for vegetarianism and shifting from cars to bicycles and mass transit. Economists Lucas Chancel and Thomas Piketty call for redistributive taxes on carbon, while journalist Naomi Klein insists that “as we get clean, we must begin to redress the founding crimes of our nations. Land theft. Genocide. Slavery. Imperialism.” Thunberg’s own essays scold politicians for foot-dragging on decarbonization (“They read stock-market analysis to the waves of the ocean, like fools”) and call for “immediate, drastic, annual emission reductions on a scale unlike anything the world has ever seen.” While many authors sound an apocalyptic note, their doomsaying often relies on models with myriad variables, as when oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf notes that “we have enough ice on Earth to raise sea levels by 65 metres,” a process that may unfold “over centuries and millennia to come.” Still, this is a comprehensive and articulate shock to the system. Illus.
Starred review from December 1, 2022
Thunberg was just eight years old when she became existentially aware of environmental distress. By 15, she was leading protests outside Sweden's Parliament and speaking to the UN. At 16, she received her first Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Thunberg's commitment to global education regarding the perils of climate change manifests itself in this sweeping compendium of essays contributed by more than 100 academicians, authors, environmentalists, and journalists whose specific professional expertise or profound humanitarian concern amplifies the existing science surrounding this crisis of sustainability and ecology. Yet among this esteemed roster of recognized voices, it is Thunberg's own eloquence that elevates the collection with introductory essays for each section that convey a sense of urgency that is genuine, grounded, and unimpeachable. Thunberg has often been accused of idealism, but here that idealism finds its counterpart in irrefutable facts, studies, charts, and graphs. The contributors to this multifaceted and vast source of climate knowledge offer irreproachable statistical analyses and impassioned altruistic assessments, making it a definitive book on climate change now. Its brief but precise essays are well suited for argument-buttressing and myth-busting, and teem with mind-blowing new approaches to, sadly, an old, ongoing threat.
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Starred review from December 1, 2022
The world's most recognizable climate activist gathers crucial wisdom from prominent scientists and thinkers. In this galvanizing follow-up to No One Is Too Small To Make a Difference, Thunberg presents an urgent collection of writing by leaders in the fields of science, engineering, history, philosophy, and activism. The brilliant and alarming narrative tells it like it is: Though politicians, fossil fuel stakeholders, and other relevant entities have known for decades that a warming climate will have devastating results for Earth, most have done little about it. "It is my genuine belief," writes Thunberg, "that the only way we will be able to avoid the worst consequences of this emerging existential crisis is if we create a critical mass of people who demand the changes required." Throughout the book, the contributors--among other luminaries, Elizabeth Kolbert, Michael Oppenheimer, Naomi Oreskes, Mike Berners-Lee, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Margaret Atwood--clearly explain the tipping points that have already occurred, permanently altering the oceans, forests, fauna, and atmosphere and the fact that a concerted, global effort is required to effect positive change. The contributors also lay bare the fact that irresponsible, even pernicious, action by those who pushed for fossil fuel use but "greenwashed" information about the effects of greenhouse gas emissions has resulted in prolonged inertia, allowing the problem to get much worse. Yet most of the contributors remain optimistic that, with enough public outrage and demands for change, a solution is possible--only if we act immediately. In the last part of this book, Thunberg provides a guide to what needs to be done and how every single person on the planet can play a role. "We have the unfathomably great opportunity to be alive at the most decisive time in the history of humanity....Together, we can do the seemingly impossible. But make no mistake--no one else is going to do it for us." The book includes numerous illustrative graphs and charts. Vital reading for anyone who cares about the planet.
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