The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
WINTER CHALLENGE 2019
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Group Reads Discussion - This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate
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I am currently reading this and am finding it really illuminating. I was inconvenienced by climate change protests this week and even after reading so far i feel those protests are aimed at the wrong people. We need to be targeting the big power users not those of us trying to do our best by using public transport. More when i have finished but Naomi Klein is an author who reaches out to the ordinary people.
I have read several books by Naomi Klein and am always impressed by the way she turns difficult subjects into something understandable. In this book she uses many examples to unpick the lip service paid by politicians and global companies to the very real problem of climate change. Far from looking at things that could halt or reverse climate change by changing habits these companies want to attack the climate by geoengineering - essentially putting something else into the atmosphere to reduce the impact of removing / mining resources etc. Such activity comes with its own problems and Klein does explicate this well. She also looks at native land and how political forces impact upon that.Sometimes I feel as if there are too many examples and she overdoes the explication but overall this is an excellent book that urges people to change what we ARE doing rather than implement something new.
Big changes are needed and now
The author makes some valid points about manipulating the law to serve big business as well as attempts to further the use of coal because it is available despite it's adverse effect on the environment. She does offer various possible solutions to the growing problem of climate change. She has studied this dilemma much more than I but the solution requires the combined efforts of a very large segment of the world's population without interference from the opposition. I can't see this solution being a viable one in the near future which she intimates is crucial to life on this planet. I agree that something needs to be done sooner rather than later, but I think baby steps by individuals is the place to start. Everyone has the choice to walk rather than drive a short distance or. reuse items rather than throw them away and get the newest model. again, not everyone will do these small things, but it is a start which can be done without further damage to the earth.
Amy FLI completed this book today and felt that the author took far too long to make some very valid points. This is information that people need to know, but it should have been pared down to be more readable. I listened to the audio book which might have been a mistake because my concentration faded in and out.
All of that aside, we need to do more to save the planet for future generations. If we expect corporations to grow a conscience, that's not going to happen. They put profits before everything and everybody.
I listened to the audio, and sped up to 1.25speed it was Ok - the greater speed helps me concentrate a bit more.Like Amy & Marie said, it's possibly overlong in ramming home some of the points, especially as I suspect it's a book that is preaching to the converted, who might not need quite as much convincing that oil is bad.
This was written before Greta & Extinction Rebellion, and I wonder what an update would say about those two, who are building on the need to create moral outrage and the Blockadia principles she talks about.
This is a really thought-provoking book about the reality of climate change in our current world, and the author makes a great effort to give both the scientific reality as well as explain a lot of the political situation related to climate change. She's a bit long-winded in places and I didn't think the story of her struggle to have a baby added much to the book, but in general, it's very much worth the time to read. I listened to the unabridged audiobook which was very well done. This book is a few years old so I'd be curious to hear the author's opinion on the modern political climate, Greta Thunberg, and the fact that we've still done almost nothing on a global level to mitigate the effects of our changing climate. 4.5 stars, rounding up.
This summer I've been hiding from extreme bushfire smoke, heat waves and storms, and have been horrified to discover how many of my friends and family are in complete denial about climate change. So this book was very appropriate read and I agree with everything Klein has discussed. But I'm only giving it 3.5 stars because I found it difficult to read. The writing is dense and it is long and repetitive. I did learn a lot though so I'm glad I read it.
Kathy PI too found the book slow going but I am glad I finished it. I thought her struggle to have a baby was interesting although it did feel a bit like part of a different book. The main thing I got out of it was how intertwined climate change is with poverty and the rights of the poor.
Queen Bee DarleneLet me start by saying I am not a climate denier, but I am also not all on board with the world is ending due to climate change. We are told this is settled science, however, I was also told growing up that we were headed to another ice age. I also believe that with all its downsides, Capitalism has improved quality of life by encouraging innovative ideas and creating wealth. I'm a bit of a skeptic and this book did nothing to push me to either side of the debate.
There is frankly too much information in this book. It is repetitive and overwhelming. As I was reading it, I would think that's a good point and yet as I write this I cannot come up with anything. It was just too much. If this was a topic that I was passionate about, I'm sure I would have gained a lot more knowledge; however, I chose this book only because I had already read the other two.
Amy BI was happy to start this book with the realization that it wasn't just going to be another book trying to convince people that the climate crisis is real. It starts with the assumption that this is a given (which it is) and moves on to a discussion of what we need to do about it and barriers to making that happen. I've read two of Naomi Klein's books in the past and am a big fan. She is able to present incredibly complex issues in a manner that makes me feel like I understand more and can do something about it.
I will admit that the first two thirds of the book had me worried - it felt like a lot about how this is an insurmountable challenge, the the last part of the book highlighted what was successfully being done by common people, taking up the charge - giving up on waiting for someone to come and save us. There was a quote toward the end of the book, "And it's not just about the people we vote into office and then complain about - it's us." So this book ended up being a very powerful call to action, a move toward bringing this fight home to every person. This Changes Everything isn't just about climate change impacting the earth, This Changes Everything is about the book changing people's attitudes toward their role in being a solution to the problem. Very powerful.
The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.