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Eaarth
Book

Eaarth

Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

Bill McKibben
Times Books, 2010

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Controversial
  • Innovative
  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

Educator and environmentalist Bill McKibben states his uncomfortable, disturbing conclusions plainly: Earth as you knew it no longer exists. You now live on “Eaarth,” which humankind has damaged so much that it is no longer the same planet. The conditions that shaped civilization for centuries are permanently altered. People must change their ways of living or, the author asserts, accept their doom. McKibben’s message will challenge many readers’ basic assumptions about life, economics and society. At times, the book’s organization can be tricky, because McKibben seems to move too fast and jump from topic to topic. He’s been fighting the environmental battle for so long that he’s intimately familiar with concepts that may be controversial or new to some readers. Nonetheless, this jeremiad touches on so many crucial aspects of life on Earth (and Eaarth) that getAbstract recommends it as a respected advocate’s wake-up call to everyone skeptical about climate change or dwindling resources, and to those who want to shape a livable future – on this planet.

Take-Aways

  • The idea that people could fundamentally change the planet used to be unthinkable. Yet, fundamental change is already happening.
  • Atmospheric carbon dioxide has reached dangerous levels and continues to rise.
  • Global warming means more floods, more droughts, more forest fires, more pests, more diseases, more risk, less certainty and poorer crop yields.

About the Author

Author, educator and environmentalist Bill McKibben also wrote The End of Nature. He founded the 350.org and Step It Up organizations.

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