- This is a depressing read, because it’s profoundly realistic.
- Let's not kid ourselves. Where the world is now, and where it inevitably will be at the end of this century, despite the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degree target, is almost certainly going to be close to double that.
- Jens Beckert has been Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies and Professor of Sociology in Cologne since 2005. He previously taught in Gottingen, New York, Princeton, Paris and Harvard University. His new book, just published in English, is full of the gritty detail that makes his case utterly credible. It's a persuasive, sobering read.
- Here's part of the blurb: For decades, we have known about the dangers of global warming. Despite this, greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase. How can we explain our failure to take the necessary measures to stop climate change? Why are societies, in the face of the mounting threat to ourselves and our children, so reluctant to take action?
Our apparent inability to implement basic measures to combat climate change is due to the nature of power and incentive structures affecting companies, politicians, voters, and consumers...climate change is an inevitable product of the structures of capitalist modernity which have been developing for the past five hundred years. Our institutional and cultural arrangements are operating at the cost of destroying the natural environment, and attempts to address global warming are almost inevitably bound to fail. Temperatures will continue to rise and social and political conflicts will intensify.
- The book is only 174 pages long, plus 52 pages of Notes. Unfortunately it's a hardcover and is priced at A$51.95. Nevertheless, save up and buy it. Please.
No comments:
Post a Comment