First published 2010
The familiar Earth has vanished. In its place sits a new world that McKibben names Eaarth, where ice caps melt rapidly, deserts expand, oceans turn acidic, floods devastate cities, and fires consume forests at scales never witnessed by humans. This transformed planet presents impossible economic puzzles. Defending against climate damage requires enormous spending, like the billions needed to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina or the trillions required to overhaul energy systems. Yet the endless economic growth needed to fund such projects depends on the stable climate we have already destroyed. McKibben argues that old approaches have failed completely. Survival requires scaling back rather than expanding. Communities must focus on necessities, build resilience at the neighborhood level, and use internet connections to share resources and knowledge. The book presents a blueprint for societies that can endure unprecedented disruption by creating local economies and tight social bonds. McKibben sees fundamental transformation as the only viable path forward on a planet now violently unstable.
Genres: environment, non-fiction, 21st-century, climate-change
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: blueprint-for-survival
Setting: New Orleans
Period: 21st-century
253 pages · Hardcover · Times Books