Jacob Dawson
University of North Alabama

Why is there such a wide and jagged schism between the international environmental conservation community and neoliberal capitalism espoused by many democratic and conservative politicians alike? Is every environmental organization trustworthy? Or may some activist groups be guilty of collusion with the big industry players responsible for so much of the pollution in the ocean and atmosphere? How is objective science sorted out from pseudoscientific and manipulative studies designed to obfuscate the issue and confuse or deceive the public? Naomi Klien answers these questions and many more in her newest book on the environment. She illustrates with rich color the underlying issues behind environmental policy and activism which have too often been portrayed in black and white by mainstream media.

Published in 2014, Capitalism vs. The Climate was immediately hailed as a revolutionary work, with reviews appearing in such outlets as Vogue, The Rolling Stone, and The Guardian. , The New York Times drew positive comparisons between it and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962), and further wrote that it “is a book of such ambition and consequence that it is almost unreviewable.” Naomi Klein is the author of several articles, chapters and books, gaining widespread recognition with her 2007 book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. She has been interviewed by Amy Goodman, Bill Moyers, and Charlie Rose among others and serves as a member of the board of directors for prominent climate action organization 350.org.

The introduction to her latest work begins with a confession. She frankly admits, “I denied climate change for longer than I care to admit.” The feeling is one that many of us who make ourselves suffer through newscasts are familiar with. We all know the story but, like other forms of bad news, we tend to find reasons to ignore the problem or justify non-action on our part. This is classic denialism, and we must push ourselves to reach beyond this insidious and cowardly tendency to remain in willful ignorance. Emissions from sectors including manufacturing, big Ag, and transportation are rising, resulting in astronomical levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Global average temperature is rising, although locally this manifests as extreme weather events of various kinds. Recall the early 2014 southern shift of the Northern Polar Vortex that was the cause of 49 record low temperatures nationwide just on January 7, along with heavy snowfall prompting cancellation of flights, power outages, and other forms of widespread social disruption? How much longer can we safely remain in denial?

As human population growth continues to rise and civilization becomes increasingly concentrated in urban centers, the pressure exerted on natural systems overreaches their capacity to sustain life. Resulting unstable resource production increases susceptibility to famine and drought, and, in sequence, the spread of disease and civil unrest. Resource extraction at the current level is poisoning and stripping the land, rendering unable to yield crops in sufficient quantities to maintain high levels of population concentrated in cities. If global population continues to rise along with global emissions and global temperatures, then ecosystems will fail globally. When ecosystems fail globally, i.e., everywhere, nowhere will be left untouched.

Klein builds her case by reviewing how the political and socioeconomic climate relates to climate science. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has met annually since 1995 to discuss how to mount a coordinated response to global warming. Universities, NGOs, corporations, respected scientific personalities, celebrities, and even entrepreneurs and philanthropists recognize the need to reshape humanity’s relationship with our environment. Even while the movement is gaining strength, however, there are those who seek to undermine progress. Research and summit meetings aimed at discrediting the theory of human-affected climate change are frequently funded by oil & gas companies and laissez-faire economic think tanks favoring deregulation to minimize cost and maximize profit. One of the main forces preventing effective and rapid social change from taking place is the devotion to free-market capitalism by the same bodies (governments, corporations, NGOs) that are proponents of environmental responsibility.

Klein delves into climate change science and policy with remarkable foresight and courage. While her fondness for detail occasionally brings to mind the metaphor “beating a dead horse” after some 400+ pages, it ensures she does not fail at her task to systematically present the many varied and intertwined aspects of climate change science, policy, and activism. Wonderfully rich with passion and a sense of dire purpose, Klein is not afraid to get personal. Laced throughout with analogies and anecdotes to support the scientific consensus, she truly strives to encourage the weary would-be environmentalist. Her invitation to care is hard to resist as the story is as much about the evolution of her perspectives and feelings on the matter as it is about the matter itself. This is more than just a book. It is a challenge to engage in the world around and even within on a level of understanding and compassion rarely encountered. Please read this book!

Brandi Hope Johnson
University of North Alabama

“How could intelligent beings seek to control a few unwanted species by a method that contaminated the entire environment and brought the threat of disease and death event to their own kind?”

Rachel Carson’s question, asked in her 1962 text Silent Spring, requires the reader to take stock in the conditions under which Americans at the time were dealing with pest control.  This title, Silent Spring, comes from the silence in many forests and meadows due to the poisoning of songbirds, insects and other invertebrates, and even plants.  This now historical account of the use of pesticides has raised America’s awareness of the dangers of agricultural chemicals that had become commonly accepted during this time.  People from all generations may benefit from this book because it raises awareness of practices that are unsustainable and offers critical knowledge of effective alternative methods for pest control.

The book describes the chemical warfare in the United States and other countries that have killed so many organisms.  It begins by explaining the varieties of chemicals that have been used along with the documented affects they exert on specific life forms.  It explains different techniques that have been used to apply these chemicals and how they move from the point of source through virtually every piece of the food web.  The last chapter points out that the solution to the problem must be two processes happening simultaneously: first, experts must work towards a cure for those already affected, and second, they must isolate and remove as much of the contaminant as possible from the environment to prevent further damage.  The argument is not to avoid pest control altogether, but to find techniques that have been developed in a more natural way as an alternative to artificially-made chemicals.

Carson touches on several controversial topics that are accepted by environmentalists yet harshly rejected by others, especially those who profit from pesticide sales.  Because chemical companies profited so much from these pesticides, many companies denied Carson’s claims and attempted to discredit her research.  However, once she began tracking the effects of these chemicals, she found a trail of devastation.  For those organisms that did not succumb immediately, the chemical was stored and amplified in the fat cells.  She explains how exposure to chemicals everyday creates an accumulation of poison in the body that affects the liver and can inhibit some of life’s essential functions and even cause cancer in her research subjects.

Carson writes exquisitely about biology in a way the can be easily understood; she uses a direct voice, limited footnotes, and simple language with strong meanings to create a text that is easily accessible to lay readers who lack a deep science background.  This approach played, and continues to play, a critical part in relaying information from science labs to the general public.  One quote reads, “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will ensure as long as life lasts.  There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”  These words create strong imagery in the reader’s mind.  The book was written during a time in which industrial factory production and agricultural use of pesticides were growing exponentially and many people had forgotten humanity’s connection to nature.  The exposure from this publication helped spread awareness during the beginnings of the environmental revolution.  Rachel Carson conveyed the historical, cultural, and environmental value of Silent Spring to anyone interested in more sustainable practices.

This book is suggested for anyone who has any love whatsoever for the planet they inhabit and anyone interested in sustainability.  The chemical warfare at that time was an extremely real threat to all life, yet pesticides were rained down from airplanes onto all vegetation, into the soil, into the water, into the worms, the birds, the livestock, and ultimately into the people.  The tone of Carson’s text is somewhat dark, but human degradation of planet earth is never a light topic.  The topic is difficult to discuss, and certain selections of this book can bring about feelings of guilt and remorse while reading.  However, this is sometimes necessary to help society realize the necessity of sustainability. Carson writes, “We must change our philosophy, abandon our attitude of human superiority and admit that in many cases in natural environments we find ways and means of limiting populations of organisms in a more economical way than we can do it ourselves.”  This message, which she wanted to convey to both her generation and future generations, is that humanity must look to nature for the answers if we want our forests and meadows filled anew with the sound of the songbirds.