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| Here is a horror story. |
Forgive me for getting a bit more political than usual.
I have to admit that I took a while to move from denial to acceptance when it comes to climate change. This has been part of a larger shift from gut feelings to deferring to experts and lived experience when it comes to my opinions in general. Of course there's guesswork involved when it comes to climate science (the fact that the guesswork seems to repeatedly lead to worse outcomes than predicted is particularly cruel).
In any case, I now find myself in a different kind of denial, where I avoid reading about climate change because it's just too scary. I faced my fears to read This Changes Everything, which unfortunately didn't do much to assuage them.
Naomi Klein's basic premise here is that action on climate change and capitalism are fundamentally incompatible. I mostly agree with her. For the most part, she supports this point well, showing how oil and gas companies have, continue to, and will continue to exploit the resource in reprehensible ways, encouraged/enabled by globalization and free trade. On the other hand, there were just enough eyebrow raising points (pro-naturopathy and anti-GMOs) that I found myself doubting her a bit. Her point of view and a lot of what's on the page are clearly biased to support her arguments (which, since it's her book, is her prerogative of course). I haven't fully delved into the opposing opinions out there yet, but I've started here.
Anyway, this is just one perspective on the encroaching doom that is climate change, and I'm planning to explore others when I can work up the courage to do so. Klein proposes solutions and points at growing grassroots movements to stop oil and gas exploitation, and those movements are certain to continue to grow.
Here's hoping.
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