Wen Stephenson

This is a surprisingly inspiring book; surprising because it faces a very grim science without flinching away or presenting it in any more polly-annaish or optimistic tones than is merited, which--given that the science in question has outcomes ranging from "things worsen for another century than stabilize in a degraded fashion for the conceivable future" to "99% of everything dies"--doesn't typically lead one to anticipate inspiration.

And yet.

Because it takes that science as a given, because it looks at our history of inaction and what Alex Steffen calls "predatory delay" without flinching, because it allows for and even encourages authentic mourning of what we've lost and stand to lose, it has a great deal of credibility and legitimacy in its calls to devote our energies to saving what we can and fighting for a more equitable distribution of the goods that will remain.

p. xv: "one of the slogans for the [People's Climate March in 2014] was, 'To change everything, we need everyone.' And I couldn't agree more. That's what this book is about. But here's what would really change everything: first acknowledging that the Washington-focused environmental movement--and the mainstream, Big Green 'climate movement' that grew out of it--has failed. That we've already lost the 'climate fight,' if that means 'solving the climate crisis' and saving some semblance of the world we know. That it was lost before it began--because we started so late. That it's time now to fight like there's nothing left to lose but our humanity."

Stephenson interviews climate justice workers and activists working in a wide range of different organizations and initiatives, which can be split into two opposing, equally correct camps: 1) That, given the inequitable impacts of climate change along racial, income, geographic, gender, and class divides, we have no choice but to organize in communities to build support for just transitions (a much more familiar phrase now, thanks to AOC & the Green New Deal), and 2) that we no longer have the time for building those coalitions and communities. It's depressing on the face of it, but everyone interviewed has found a way to continue on regardless. If you are trying to find a way and a reason to keep acting when the news is so bad, and keeps getting worse, their stories will have a lot to offer you.

pp. 208-209: "...ours is now a fight for survival and a fight for justice--no for the survival of the possibility of justice and some legitimate hope for what King calls the 'beloved community.'... Is it too late? We know what the science says. What does your conscience say? What does 'too late' even mean? Too late for what? Even in the face of all we now know, will it ever be too late for some kind of faithin human decency; or to hold on to some kind of hope, however irrational it may seem, in our fellow human beings; or to love our brothers and sisters on this earth?"

How could it be too late for that?… (more)

This book is a rallying call to radical action in the face of catastrophic climate change. Stephenson is a journalist and activist, and this book features interviews with a number of climate justice activists mainly between 2012-2014. It was inspiring, compelling, encouraging and urgent. The author makes clear how the issue of climate change intersects with other social justice issues of the day - poverty, race, class - and how you can't tackle one without the others. I really liked how he talked to grass roots activists, not just big names, and also how he showed how many people of faith were involved in this struggle (it is really easy, particularly from this distance, to see American Christianity as just synonymous with right-wing, conservative, Republican voices who are predominant in the media. This book shows that the picture is much more varied than that, and I am glad). It's also given me a number of authors that I would like to read more of (particularly Bill McKibben, but I'd also like to go back to the older stuff by Wendell Berry), and challenged me to think about what am I doing for the future of the planet and the future of my child and her generation. Turning off unused lights and using Bags for Life isn't going to be enough.

There were some points where I felt the book was a bit rambling and less well focused, but overall this was a fine call to thoughtful action, and to creatively finding ways to speak truth to power and challenge the status quo.… (more)

I don't have anything particularly against this book, but it didn't offer me much either. What we have here is a bunch of conversations (of mixed value) between the author and grassroots environmental activists about spirituality, coping, community, and so on, combined with some anecdotes about the author's own environmental, philosophical, and spiritual grounding. Despite (or because) I'm a radical environmentalist I did not find anything very captivating or new. But possibly this book would be a more illuminating read for someone still finding their way within the radical environmental movement.… (more)