Kimberly Nicholas

This is a popular science book. It doesn't get into any scientific subtleties or really any scientific explanations. It just presents us with a coarse scientific picture of the situation regarding climate change, which of course is rather bleak. Nicholas continues from there, noting that what's driving our behavior, the cause of the bleak situation, is the prevalent Exploitation Mindset. Then Nicholas outlines what people can do to help steer us all away from the bleakest of the future possibilities.

Most of this book is just rehashing what has appeared many times elsewhere. Probably the main strength of the book is that it keeps the message simple and focused. What I found most meaningful here was the idea that what we need is a cultural shift.

I tend to get a bit annoyed with overly simplistic explanations of things. I like the nuances, the fringes. So I found this book a bit annoying. But that is just me. For example, Nicholas presents the scientific perspective as something clearly known. Well, surely climate science is one of the most tangled interdisciplinary fields around. If I were writing the book, I would sketch the half dozen biggest controversies in the field. What do people argue about at their conferences? Of course the gross trajectory we're on, a changing climate, hotter, more turbulent, that is something essentially every competent researcher agrees on. I am not in that scientific community, so I don't know what the controversies are. But for me, to understand the scope of the main controversies, that is a splendid way to understand the scope of what is not controversial. But my guess is, most people would not want to read the book that I would write. The way Nicholas presents the situation is an effective way to communicate to a wide public audience.

Another kind of tension here... yeah, we need a cultural shift... but Nicholas goes on at some length about protesting in the streets, about pushing the government to act. She mentions transforming towns to be more about walking and biking and less about driving cars... I would have made that sort of transformation the main focus. Yeah, maybe marching in the street is what it will take to get separated bike paths. Maybe a whole chapter on Amsterdam's move from cars to bikes... tell us about places that have successful transformed their own cultures! Nothing wrong with marching in the street, but effective social transformation involves far more. What about churches, the messages in sermons, etc.

Nicholas notes that we who are alive now, our actions are perhaps the most consequential in human history. This is a really valuable point to make. Nicholas gives us the basic outline of the situation. This is a book that most anybody can read. It doesn't lead anybody astray. It is an accurate picture of where we are. Folks who want to get into details... well, this book is still a good starting point.… (més)