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This Changes Everything
Book

This Changes Everything

Capitalism vs. the Climate

Naomi Klein
Simon & Schuster, 2014
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

In powerful prose not for the faint of heart, Naomi Klein’s latest book really does set out to “change everything.” An award-winning journalist, Klein writes beautifully and pulls no punches. Expect the difficult – even radical – lowdown on the scariest topic of all: climate change and the hard choices she finds that humanity must make to salvage civilization. Today’s economic models run counter to saving society. Everyone – especially those in rich nations – must consume far less to solve climate change. Klein’s report may underestimate the potential of science to find a solution, but she states her case plainly in this long, well-researched and important plea for action. Her argument is that personal change, no matter how drastic, won’t do enough, though you and millions of others should dramatically alter how you live. To turn back climate change in time, Klein urges readers to join protests and lawsuits, and to oppose the oil and gas industry and government actions that abet them. While always politically neutral, getAbstract recommends reading her heartfelt call to action to policy makers, politicians, NGOs, activists, futurists, investors and entrepreneurs.

Summary

Human Action

Climate change caused by human activity presents an “existential” danger to life on Earth, according to “97% of the world’s climate scientists.” People caught up in “climate change denial” avoid thinking about global warming because they know fixing it requires radical, daily change. Society’s standard economic model – based on growth, consumption and fossil-based energy – competes against plausible solutions. People must change how they do business, consume, travel and live. If not, society faces more emissions, higher temperatures, worse disruptive weather and – barring a major scientific and technological breakthrough – the relatively near-term prospect of societal breakdown, mass starvation, and the collapse of law and order. As increasingly warmer temperatures create a cascade of larger, deadlier disasters, humanity faces gradual extinction.

So far, global leaders cannot agree to institute restrictions on fossil fuels. Carbon-trading pacts are proving useless in reducing overall emissions. While nations debate, emissions escalate, eroding the atmosphere and reducing the window of time for effective action. The most successful accords amount to nonbinding...

About the Author

Naomi Klein, a journalist and columnist, wrote the bestsellers The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism and No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. A Harper’s contributing editor, she writes for The Nation and The Guardian and co-produced the documentary The Take.

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