Climate Thoughts with Brian

‘I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe… Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion… I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain… Time to die.’

Rutger Hauer’s character from ‘Blade Runner’, Roy Batty, closes the film with a philosophical reflection on humanity and the precious power of memory and moments. For Distinguished Professor Michael Mann, the last words of this quotation are problematic. He is known for serious, cautious, evidence led work, rather than sensational ‘doomer’ tactics, so ‘Our Fragile Moment’ is not a dirge or eulogy. Instead, this is an accessible, engaging book, which details how we have arrived at this ‘absolute fragility of this moment in time’; compares our present time with extinction events in the past; and explores what solutions we have currently at our disposal.

Lessons from the past

The lesson from the past that Mann opens with is that every species and civilisation has its moment, but that ‘Thanks to the efforts of those [fossil fuel] corporations, we’re now coming up against the boundary of habitable life for us humans.’ Mann describes the present as ‘the absolute fragility of this moment in time’, but emphasises that although climate change is a crisis, it remains a ‘solvable crisis’. Mann is known for scientific rigour and he is clear that scientific uncertainty, by itself, is no bad thing, as it is part of the process that leads to greater understanding- as indeed, scientific exploration always has. He states,

‘We must embrace scientific uncertainty. The scientific process builds on itself. New data come to light that help us refine our understanding.’

Is it then ‘Time to die’, from the earlier ‘Blade Runner’ quotation? Mann acknowledges that this is the ‘big question on everybody’s mind: Are we doomed?’ Although a fatalistic reader may expect a clear answer that our civilisations are doomed, as global temperatures continue to rise and climate events become more noticeable as we inch towards 1.5°C above the pre-industrial levels, Mann makes it emphatically clear that ‘it is entirely up to us.’

He makes the repeated and clear point that the challenge in implementing climate action is down to political will, rather than not knowing the solutions. ‘We have sophisticated technology today that we can employ in an effort to adapt to climate change…

Most importantly, we have the technological know-how to decarbonize the global economy, moving away from the harmful burning of fossil fuels toward clean energy and climate-friendly agricultural and land use policies. The obstacles here aren’t technological. They are political.’

‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’

Mann charts the climate impacts that have shaped the paleoclimate past of our planet and the devastating impact that some of them had on the life-forms present at the time from the Permian- Triassic extinction- ‘estimated ninety percent of all Permian species disappeared from the face of the planet’- to the impact of 65 million years ago. ‘From sixty-six million years ago, when our distant rodent-like ancestors crawled out from the shadows of the dinosaurs, to five million years ago, when our less-distant primate ancestors came down from the trees to hunt on ancient African savannas, climate has shaped us.’

He focuses on the impact of human ancestors migration and settlement. ‘Our species, Homo sapiens, had finally made the transition from nomadic to sedentary existence. We had learned to cultivate food crops and raise livestock.’ Mann investigates various cultures and civilisations such as the Sumerians, Romans and Anasazi and cautions against naming one factor as the deciding factor in the decline of empires. ‘Now, we must be wary of climate determinism: the notion that every significant historical event, every societal origin or collapse, can be interpreted entirely through the lens of climate change. We must always appreciate the complexities of human behavior and sociopolitical dynamics that effect societal changes.’

He cautions that humans ‘delved too greedily and too deep’ and as a result, awakened the ‘Balrog’ of the fossil fuel industry. ‘We helped create our fragile moment, a stable global climate upon which to build the infrastructure of human civilization. We should have stopped while we were ahead. But we went further. We constructed an industrial civilization that was entirely dependent on fossil fuels.’ 

He optimistically suggests that ‘We also have distinct advantages over the past civilizations… because, unlike them, we have the ability to anticipate the future.’ and that we should see the collapse of other civilisations as cautionary tales in how to manage the inevitable mass migration that will follow. Mann quotes Andrew Harper, an adviser to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, [who] argued that “climate change is reinforcing underlying vulnerabilities and grievances that may have existed for decades, but which are now leading to people having no other choice but to move.”

The ‘known unknowns’

Mann switches the focus to exploring the ‘known unknowns’ of climate stability, as he evaluates the twins of climate resilience and climate fragility. He makes the argument that knowing how far away climate ‘tipping points’ are can be difficult to predict. ‘As we continue to burn fossil fuels and generate atmospheric carbon pollution, we’re pushing the planet harder and harder. The question is, how long before we’ve pushed too hard?’ 

He comments that this ‘unknown’ should give humanity pause: ‘That fact should give us pause as we continue to recklessly warm our planet with carbon pollution.’

Mann warns that pressing the ‘reset’ button on the climate after our damage, will not restore what has been lost. The ice sheets, once lost, will remain lost in human timelines. Likewise, the ocean conveyor belt won’t suddenly come back after a collapse.

‘Even if we warm the planet up enough to melt the ice sheets, there’s a chance we could cool the climate back down over the next century… But it’s not as if the ice sheets will return. They’re done. It would take millions of years to bring them back…

 A similar thing holds with the great ocean conveyor. If that circulation pattern collapses due to warming and we cool the climate back down, that circulation pattern doesn’t come back.’

How risk tolerant can we be with this one Earth?

Mann opens up a fascinating point when exploring the comparisons with our carbon pollution behaviour nowadays with ‘the Great Dying’ of the Permian-Triassic extinction. He argues that as our focus is usually on the catastrophic extinction levels, we sometimes forget that ‘life finds a way’ and that some species both survived and thrived in their own ‘fragile moment’ ‘The question on your mind won’t be, “Why did ninety-six percent of ocean life die off?” It will instead be, “How did four percent actually survive?”

Mann highlights that there were multiple factors that were involved in the Great Dying which we are not witnessing in today’s world and therefore it is not time to give up hope. ‘The Great Dying is often pointed to as a potential analog for the consequences of current-day human-caused climate change. But it’s an imperfect one…The message here is that there is cause for concern, and a strong reason to act. But it’s certainly not a reason to give up hope for our species.’

Mann also draws on the unquantified amount of carbon which has been released owing to the numerous wildfires which we have seen around the globe in 2023 and comments that this new information and evidence needs to be factored into discussions about increased carbon emissions. The rate of the carbon that we are adding to the atmosphere, Mann argues is seriously problematic. ‘[W]e’re adding carbon to the atmosphere a hundred times faster than the natural episode that caused the greatest extinction in planetary history.’

It is no longer a philosophical question that can be asked at this moment in humanity’s existence, but rather a practical one, which reminds us of what is at stake. Mann asks, ‘How risk-tolerant are we willing to be with our one and only planetary home?’

Earth is our once and future home, and despite our searching of the stars for new habitable planets, we cannot discard the beauty and splendour of this fragile marble in space, nor push the equilibrium past a point of no return, without consequences for our species.

There is urgency and there is agency

Mann makes the emphatic point though that, unlike the dinosaurs, humans now have both urgency and agency in which to act and that this creates optimism about extending our fragile moment in the sun.  ‘A better reason for optimism is this essential distinction: there was nothing the dinosaurs could have done about their plight. They had no means to deflect the asteroid. They lacked agency. We do not. We are threatened with a catastrophe of our own making. And the primary challenge we face isn’t the immutable laws of astrophysics. It’s political will.’

He convincingly demonstrates that, ‘Our fragile moment can still be preserved.’ but that this is reliant on what we choose to create, ‘We cannot say what our future will be. But we can talk about what futures we are still able to create.’

The future is grey, not black and white

As this is a carefully nuanced book, which celebrates the non-absolute states of black and white, I can understand why it might not be universally applauded and welcomed, especially by those who want simple, sensationalistic summary points to generate social media engagement. Mann encourages us to welcome and celebrate the complex incremental moves forwards in climate science knowledge, rather than to respond to every new climate report as if it was ‘the end of the world as we know it.’

 Mann himself warns against the new breed of hypersensitive social media users, for whom engagement is more important than scientific uncertainty and informed debate. ‘Such nuanced views struggle to gain currency in a political economy where hot takes, hyperbole, and polarizing commentary best generate clicks, shares, and retweets.’

Mann is clear that there is no need for this hyperbolic approach which divides. ‘There is no need to exaggerate the threat. The facts alone justify immediate and dramatic action.’

Some readers seem to want the authors of newly released climate books to provide simple answers and become frustrated when they are met with complexity and uncertainty.

Climate projections of possible futures perhaps lack the inclusion of one factor- that of human endeavour and unity. Our science fiction stories normally have the same common factor- they portray events happening to us. Humans are the common factor and we are capable of greatness. This is our moment. Mann indicates that in the historical record, there are always species which take advantage of changing climates and adapt faster than others and therefore survive. ‘There are always winners and losers…If we extinguish ourselves, other creatures will undoubtedly exploit the niche we had filled. They’ll be the winners. And we’ll be the losers. Yes, the planet itself will continue on just fine. But without us. Our fragile moment will be over.’

It is perhaps fitting that the final words do not go to Dr Mann, but rather to his idol and great scientific thinker of the late twentieth century, Carl Sagan. Mann opens ‘Our Fragile Moment’ with this quotation from Sagan, but perhaps using it as the clarion call for the times yet to come is more fitting.

‘We are at a crossroads in human history. Never before has there been a moment so simultaneously perilous and promising. We are the first species to have taken evolution into our own hands.’ —CARL SAGAN

The map of the known world is being redrawn.

Christina Gerhardt, Associate Professor at the University of Hawai’I and Senior Fellow at the University of California, explores the shifting worlds across six major oceans and seas- from the Arctic to the Caribbean Sea in ‘Sea Change- An Atlas of Islands in a Rising Ocean.’

In this definitive and authoritative guide, Gerhardt fuses the poetic voices of the islanders themselves along with visual maps, highlighting where the issues are likely to be felt the most. The priority in this text, repeated throughout, is that of being a testimony to the cultures, histories and values that are in danger of being lost, as sea level rise continues.

She argues convincingly that not all islands are equal and that threat multipliers can impact ‘vanishing islands’, ‘tidal islands’ and ‘ephemeral islands’ in significant ways.

Gerhardt quotes from the ex- President of the Republic of Naura, Marcus Stephen, when he said ‘You’ve probably never heard of my country, and for that, I forgive you. I believe it’s crucial for the international community to recognize climate change as a threat to international peace and security. It is a danger as great as nuclear proliferation or global terrorism, and the stakes are too high to ignore unto after a disaster is upon us…I forgive you if you have never heard of Nauru- but you will not forgive yourselves if you ignore our story.’

The legacy of colonialism

Gerhardt begins each chapter (or rather record) with a history of the population migrations to each specific island group, thus highlighting the inherent conflict of perspective when we hear the names of ‘paradisical islands’-where in reality, unemployment can be high, infrastructure can be easily damaged and the cost of living can be very high owing to having to have goods shipped in. She makes the point the concept of ‘the island’ looms large in western literature and culture, as places of myth, treasure, danger and monsters. Islanders- when they are mentioned- are subjects and natural resources are there for the taking by the ‘white man’. ‘In a nutshell, many islands are impacted not only by sea level rise but also by the legacy of colonialism and by contemporary competing geopolitical interests.’ In today’s world, geopolitics and the placing of military installations can create advantages for countries and organisations, especially in a shrinking world. Gerhardt makes a comprehensive list of the number of U.S. military installations on islands, in order to drive home the point that colonialism still exists, just in a different guise.

‘Sea Change’ is not however, an atlas which deals in absolutes. ‘Sea level rise is not a line on a map. Neither the sea level nor the land is static.’ The point that Gerhardt makes is that we live in an inter-connected, inter-dependent and inter-relational world and that the actions of countries with large historic emissions continue to impact other communities. ‘The ten nations globally with the lowest CO₂ emissions are all islands nations…And, of course, these places are now under the most severe threat, and through no fault of their own.’

The lens of climate change

Gerhardt notes that ‘Climate change is, of course, not merely an issue. It is a framework that encompasses all else. It is the lens through which to see all else.’

The challenge in this atlas, and indeed with much of climate communication, is to help people see through the lens of your choosing to bring into focus that which has been invisible. ‘How to make visible what might be geographically remote to some? How to render visible the climate science? How to encourage thinking with? How to encourage a thinking that is mindful of how we are all connected, as humans and with nonhumans?’ The wildfires ravaging Hawai’I at present, are a sad and timely reminder that it is difficult to ignore the impact of climate change when it is impacting your community and your heritage.

Choosing where to start this atlas must have been a difficult choice, depending on what ‘map’ of the world you prefer to use and the reasons behind this cultural choice. Gerhardt starts with Greenland- ‘the largest island in the world’s smallest ocean’. With concerns in the past month alone that much of Greenland’s ice could melt, even if warming does not continue, this highlights the clear and present danger that this could have- not just in the northern hemisphere, but globally. ‘Greenland’s land ice melt accounts for approximately 25 percent of global sea level rise (Voosen). If all the ice sheets and glaciers on Greenland melted, it would raise sea levels by 24 feet (7.3m).

‘Slow violence’

Gerhardt uses the term ‘slow violence’ to describe the impact of sea level rise and its attendant dangers. ‘”By slow violence,” he [Professor Rob English] writes, “I mean a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all.”’

The full range of the impacts of sea level rise are not limited to the ‘movie like’ images of gigantic waves crashing over buildings and bringing down rescue helicopters. Gerhardt explores in depth the number of important roads, bridges and power infrastructure which are situated in threatened coastal regions. She describes the dangers of saltwater instruction, the loss of mangrove forests, the lack of coral reefs and beech line rises and storm surges. Drought is also often included as a threat multiplier, as when harvests and crops fail, this puts pressure on resources. Gerhardt also details the threats of overfishing, which has taken away protective oyster reefs, such as in Chesapeake Bay, ‘Deal Island is being lost in whispers.’ Relocation and resettlement carry with them loaded connotations, but they also raise important challenges which have not yet been addressed. ‘Climate refugees’ are not protected in law yet, despite hundreds of millions being projected to be on the move over the course of this century. Where these climate migrants would go and who would welcome them are other vital concerns. Would communities lose their connection to the land and be oceanic nomads and how would this impact cultural ideas of nationality and identity. Then, of course, there is the cost of these ‘managed retreats’. Who will be making the decisions? Who will pay the cost? Will people be forced to leave against their wishes? Why these issues are not formally ironed out, in a world that will see these issues is a baffling one.

Climate tourism

To return to the inherent issue of perspective, Gerhardt separately evaluates the threats to what seems to be a mouth-watering list of holiday destinations. The Maldives, Antigua, Saint Lucia, the Seychelles, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, are all examined objectively. ‘Erosion and sea level rise pose serious threats to Saint Lucia’s infrastructure,’ while the impact of ‘coastal squeeze’ is repeatedly analysed. Gerhardt also comments on the profiteering opportunities that can arise after disasters such as hurricanes, suggesting that exploitation of communities for short-term gain by organisations, may be factor in their lack of decisive action.

There is a chilling note here- that there are countries, which through past action and inaction now, are causing sea level rise and the loss of island communities and identity. Whether this is through ignorance, or apathy, we may indeed be seeing a ‘slow violence’ of genocide.

Gerhardt concludes this atlas of newly drawn maps in Antarctica- another place where melting ice and low sea ice extents are causing anxiety in scientists. ‘If all the ice in Antarctica were to melt, sea levels would rise 16.4 feet (5 m).’ It is the level of comprehension and understanding that is revealing when studies like this are posted- that all of a sudden, sea level rise of over 3 feet (approx. 1 m) is viewed as being acceptable and a good outcome.

Two things are certain- sea level rise will continue and adaptation and disaster management are nowhere in sight.

It’s not so much that people can’t build arks anymore, it’s more that we can’t land them anywhere.

All great sagas have an ending. 

Esteemed meteorologist Guy Walton’s ‘World of Thermo’ series has included all the elements of a true saga: journeys, friendships, sacrifice, help from characters with potent, magical powers and an evil villain who needs to be vanquished. 

Great storytelling is at the heart of climate communication- those stories that stay with you. As described by Sam Gamgee in the great saga of the 20th century, ‘Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it’ll shine out the clearer. I know now folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t.’ With a deft twist, Walton ensures that the ‘fourth wall’ is broken down and that we are passed the torch to carry on with telling these climate stories to support, educate and inspire others.

The trilogy is on several levels- one of which is the children’s story, powerful in its own right in introducing the key ideas of climate change and resistance to the status quo, with vibrant children friendly characters. On another level, like all good texts, we have the allegorical reading of the political and vested fossil fuel interest shenanigans, which has impeded, slowed and ensnarled humanity’s progress to a safer future. The characters of Thermo and his friends represent all the conscientious people willing to stand up and fight for the future of people, plants and animals on this planet. On the other hand, Carbo and his minions, obfuscate and propagate disinformation- more than a nod by Walton to those wanting to delay progress to a sustainable future.

‘World of Thermo: Grim Reaping’ brings us to the present and the choices which lie in front of us- the navigation that is necessary to land on a safer shore. Or as Walton, ‘The Climate Guy’ describes: ‘The real final chapter will not be written for many decades or even centuries to come, well after the 22^nd century comes and goes. All of us, whether we like it or not, will be writing our own story in association with carbon pollution. We are responsible for our own actions and can’t blame insidious creatures for our fate. In the real world there is no willful molecule directing us to use more fossil fuels to pollute the planet. That future is upon us, right now to act wisely.’

As ‘Grim Reaping’ begins, our hero Thermo is hanging grimly onto life, which allows Walton to explore what might happen temporarily without someone monitoring and fighting for the planet. He cleverly allows his characters to explore the psychological and philosophical ‘distances’ that inhibit action. ‘“It is hard for us humans to think of the future beyond our own existence. Some think that they don’t need to care about issues such as climate change when they know they won’t be around to experience any hardship. Some don’t care about the welfare of their progeny. If we were all immortal, I think we would care more about the future environmental shape of this planet.”’ Real world events are allegorically retold by Walton and some are retold directly. The response to the global pandemic is dealt with early in the book and is bitterly reflected in the title of the book. Walton takes an aside to explore the rejection of science that was born in the pandemic by those who put self before society, as well as being unscrupulous and avaricious in their pursuit of short-term gain, while the world suffered.

‘It is interesting that the denial of science indicating that COVID-19 would be a major threat mirrors that of arguments that carbon pollution is not a big problem for our climate.’ 

Walton punctuates his book with cultural and literary references from Edgar Allan Poe to ‘The Princess and the Frog’, to ‘Wellmart’ and ‘President Tweet’, keeping his older readers engaged.

As with the first two books, he follows each chapter with a short summary of the historical details and real personalities involved, rooting the plot details in an understandable and relatable context. There are dark moments in ‘Grim Reaping’ of course, as Walton paints a picture of possible dystopian worlds- as a helpful hint for parents and carers, the chapter called ‘No Way Subway’ might not be a good bedtime story. ‘In the real world, it is only a matter of time before a category three hurricane or higher slams into New York City during the 21^st century. With each passing year sea level rise will make this coming event that much worse.’

All of the topical climate issues are handled expertly by Walton, as he threads the connective tissue and the interconnected nature of these events. Shifting territories of mosquitoes, as well as viruses such as the Zika virus are explored fully; preservation of biodiversity is given the priority it deserves; beef demand and its environmental impact is given a full chapter and overpopulation and non-sustainable, capitalist lifestyles are discussed in depth. Walton never shies away from subjects which others may consider taboo.

Walton warns about the growing desperation of some geoengineering methods and techniques, drawing the valid conclusion that, ‘Just about anytime mankind tries to alter the environment by introducing or growing a species, there are unintended consequences.’

He adds that the priority has to be stopping emissions. ‘This is not to suggest that we depend on technology to reduce carbon pollution. We must stop emissions as soon as possible to let nature begin to decrease carbon, which may take thousands of years.’

As ‘Grim Reaping’ begins to conclude, Walton does well to change the language of science into language of the layperson. He changes the over-used and sometimes inaccurately used, ‘tipping points’, with a more accessible ‘climate dominoes’, highlighting that if one of the unexpected ‘climate dominoes’ were to fall- such as a permafrost methane release- stopping other dominoes from falling could prove to be too much.

All of our hands have been at the climate changing wheel, speeding up its momentum. All of our hands are also needed to slow down the runaway tyre. Walton emphasises how quickly regional instability and conflicts could lead to nuclear weapons being used by countries or organisations, exacerbating climate issues and leading to climate migration. He acknowledges his own concerns and fears over what a lack of regional and global stability could lead to. The lessons of the past cannot lead to a World War 3 or 4. Whether this be over agriculture, water resources, or near Earth space and communications, humanity must come to realise that we have one Earth and one chance. Our threat now is not the external space rock spinning lazily towards us through space, ready to be blasted by intrepid (American) engineers, but multiple internal threats, all of which need to be faced down.

Walton finally takes time to explore the emerging area of climate litigation and argues that responsibility is not too far away from being legally demonstrated, as the scientific facts are not in question. Whether the truth can be seen through the smoke-screens and greenwashing of the fossil-fuel industry remains to be seen, but there is hope that the past is catching up to large industries. ‘“This is my Nuremburg list of reasons why you should die, even though you can’t be killed…Thermo commenced his lecture. “Well, Carbo, here is the list of charges that I personally blame you for the decimation of humanity, not to mention most of the life on this planet.’”

Although I wrote at the start of this piece that all great sagas have an ending, Walton has given us the greatest gift a writer can give a reader. We can write the ending.

As his narrative runs until 2112, he obviously presents one fictitious world and timeline of how we navigate the ‘uncertain and warmer world’ ahead of us. But like all great explorers and adventurers, an undiscovered country now beckons us over the horizon. We cannot no longer stand still. We must set sail like Tennyson’s ‘Ulysses’-

 ‘Come, my friends.

‘T is not too late to seek a newer world.

‘Humanity’s Moment’ is a masterclass in climate communication, with Dr Gergis detailing the climate impacts already being felt and aligning these with real emotional and psychological responses. Dr Gergis served as a lead author for the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and is an authority on the climate science underpinning the report. This is not a dry science textbook however, Gergis draws on the recent work by Rebecca Solnit and Caroline Hickman to explore the climate anxiety felt by many around the world. She argues that ‘Until we are prepared to be moved by the profoundly tragic ways we treat the planet-and each other- our behaviour will never change.’

Her aim in ‘Humanity’s Moment’ is to help people recognise that we are here, at this time, despite our wishes to be alive at any other time, or to quote Tolkien, as Gergis does, ‘”I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.”’ And that we have the capacity for great change, as we have done so many times in the past to come together as a species to recognise our humanity. ‘This book is an invitation to reclaim our shared humanity at this transformative time in history, wherever you are in the world. You want to be a part of the group of people who cared enough to try…How bad we let things get is still up to us- the apocalypse is not a done deal.’

Gergis convincingly outlines thatwe must feel the impacts of climate change- we must connect with the impacts- we must respond to the impacts. She draws attention to the need to remove ourselves from a driving, relentless media which aims to enthral our attention with sensation without substance. She praises the uncertainty of science language, but acknowledges that this approach is now widely understood or necessarily appreciated. ‘Its measured pace is in direct conflict with the relentless speed of the news cycle. This means that the loudest voices- which are not necessarily the most informed, or even sane, often dominate public commentary…Hence our use of carefully crafted uncertainty language, which is at odds with the fast and loose approach others are willing to take. Sensational clickbait always seems to win.’

Gergis outlines her argument early in the text- that an understanding and acceptance of the warnings from climate science, have to be met head on with an understanding and acceptance of climate change on every level- physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

To quote Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’: ‘Dispute it like a man. Macduff: I shall do so, / But I must also feel it as a man.’

‘Climate change is real and it is here, and it’s not going away. We need your help.’

Gergis expertly draws out the conclusions from IPCC reports and breaks this into straightforward, easily understood language, which makes the necessary action explicitly clear. ‘Right now, current policies in place today, will lead to 1.9-3.7°C of warming by the end of the century, with a best estimate of 2.6°C…the best-case scenario could see global warming stabilize between 1.4 and 2.8°C by 2100, with 2°C considered most likely. To have a chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C by 2100, global emissions need to halve by 2030.’

She draws out that the rate of climate change is almost entirely without precedent in the history of the planet and that the last 200 years and the rise of approx. 1.2°C since industrialization, which is around seven times faster than the average rate of warming since the last ice age, where the planet took around 5000 years to warm around 5°C. In short, instead of 0.1°C per century, the planet is now warming at approx. 0.1°C per decade. ‘The current speed of climate change is effectively without precedent in the entire geological record spanning 4.6 billion years. The only exception is the instantaneous meteorite strike that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.’

‘I face them because I must.’

The heatwaves and other climate events of July 2023 have forced the eyes of the public open to an issue, which for many, was ‘psychologically distant’ (to quote Prof Hayhoe). All of a sudden, what seemed a problem for children and grandchildren, was here and now. ‘We know that the planet is warming, but just how quickly and dramatically things are changing is stunning the scientific community.’ It is therefore no accident that Gergis quotes from the World Weather Attribution team- a team which has concluded that the recent heatwaves in Southern Europe were ‘virtually impossible without climate change.’ She additionally makes the case that the IPCC report also can now speak in more absolutes than they have before: ‘Perhaps our most significant conclusion is that it is now an established fact that human activities have altered all aspects of the climate system…In other words, humans are responsible for virtually all observed global warming.’

An aspect that appealed to me about this book was that once Gergis had summarised the scientific conclusions, she then explored what this might mean for individuals and indeed the impact on her herself as a scientist, being deeply immersed in the data. ‘I’m sure you’ll agree that thinking about climate change can be overwhelming. Thinking about it day in day out as a scientist can sometimes feel so crushing…I face these things not because I find it easy or comforting. I face them because I must.’

‘Averting planetary disaster is up to us.’

The first half of ‘Humanity’s Moment’ then, is Dr Gergis succinctly summarising the science that has led us to this point in a rational and reasonably detached manner. Although the book is structured into 3 distinct parts of ‘The Head’, ‘The Heart’ and ‘The Whole’, it felt to me that there was a sense of ‘How we got to this point’, followed by ‘What we do next.’ To truly understand what is at stake, we need to move out of the realm of the head, and into the wisdom of the heart.

The only flaw in Gergis’ approach was perhaps assuming that the scientific information and the rational approach would move people from their entrenched position of denying the impact and extent of climate change.

Gergis could not make it clearer when she writes, ‘It’s a very blunt warning that unless we drastically change course and cut emissions in half by 2030, and reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050, we are on track for catastrophic levels of warning that will profoundly alter all life on Earth.’ The sad point is that this statement still isn’t enough to mobilise the necessary climate action in time, leading Gergis to ask- can we muster the best of humanity in time?

‘The Lost World’

Gergis devotes time in her book to appreciating the beauty of nature and biodiversity and to signpost to others the importance of what can be saved, stating ‘We must re-establish our connection with the natural world, restore our care for the Earth and with it our humanity.’

It is relevant that Gergis also spends time exploring in detail the growing impacts of heatwaves and water crises that are crippling communities around the world, especially as multiple countries around the world are burning with heatwaves and wildfires.

But to appreciate the worlds that might be lost- which are being lost- individuals need to connect with nature spots around them. Gergis highlights several sites that offer her a connection to something larger than herself- whether this be the ocean and therefore ocean communities already suffering the impacts of climate change and forced to become ‘climate migrants’- the first of the projected hundreds of millions, depending on the pathway we choose.

‘The Culture of Uncare’

Gergis then moves into a fascinating space- that of the mental health impacts of the growing climate crisis. She purposefully quotes from Caroline Hickman and the University of Bath’s study, as well as Sally Weintrobe’s ‘Culture of Uncare’. Are governments doing enough to address the crisis? Are governments pretending to do enough? As Gergis states: ‘We know exactly what we need to do, but we still aren’t prepared to do it.’

What impact does this have on the young who will be left with a world that has been created for them by the actions of their elders, who appeared too selfish to care about them? Will we all be like Cain, Abel and Seth, bemoaning our exile from the Garden of Eden, based on the selfish actions of Adam and Eve?

‘The IPCC report clearly states that we know we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent between now and 2030 to keep this goal within reach.’

A new day is dawning

Gergis then completes her book by outlining multiple methods where people can take action and can usefully focus their energies to ensure that the message that people do care is a strong one. She argues, ‘We are witnessing the biggest social movement of our time…When we align our values with our actions, we are unstoppable.’

She defends the efforts of climate scientists who have been informing the public for decades and who in recent years have become climate activists in their own right- demonstrating that ‘activism’ should not be regarded as a pejorative, or a lazy slur used on social media.

‘I want you to know that there are scientists who really care about the future we are leaving our kids and their kids a thousand generations from now. We did all we could to warn the world. We tried to minimise the intergenerational damage. What happens next is up to all of us: who you vote for, what you buy, how you spend your brief time on this planet matter more than ever.’

Gergis concludes by arguing that the coming social revolution is inevitable and that positive urgent climate action, which does not rely on desperate technology that cannot be scaled up, is here, if we know where to look with open eyes. ‘This is humanity’s moment to right the wrongs of the past, to heal our relationship with each other and all life on Earth. We just need the moral compass of our shared humanity to guide us home.’

‘Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.’- Arundhati Roy

2023 has been the year where we have recently seen global temperature records being broken repeatedly, sea surface temperature anomalies in the North Atlantic making the international news, and Antarctica sea ice extent hitting new record lows. 

In a world that has seen the UN describe climate change as being ‘out of control’, Jeff Goodell’s latest book, ‘The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet’ will be required reading for many and will easily act as the only roadmap we have to navigate the extreme temperatures that are impacting our present world.

Goodell achieves the seemingly impossible- he condenses the multiple issues relating to extreme heat within an engaging and detailed structure, which always focuses on the impact on people and connects us with our humanity. ‘Wherever we may be headed, we are all on this journey together.’ He outlines his aim early in the text, ‘In this book, my goal is to convince you to think about heat in a different way. The kind of heat I’m talking about here is not an incremental bump on the thermometer or the slow slide of spring into summer. It is heat as an active force, one that can bend railroad tracks and kill you before you even understand that your life is at risk.’ This book is full of the author’s experiences and direct encounters with the impact of extreme heat. It is not however, a ‘doomist’ mission statement- rather, he clearly states the impacts being felt now in our warming world, highlighting where countries and cities could make the changes necessary to save lives. 

Extreme heat will be the defining feature of the next decade,as it drives climate migration, exposes social injustices, threatens lives, endangers crops and increases the risks of zoonotic diseases- all issues dealt with expertly by Goodell. ‘As the temperature rises, it will drive a great migration— of humans, of animals, of plants, of jobs, of wealth, of diseases.’ This is also a topic addressed by Gaia Vince in ‘Nomad Century’, where the challenge of climate migration is detailed in full and where rising temperatures force people to move out of stable, safe zones.

Goodell outlines at the start that the ‘Goldilocks’ zones that have helped keep the planet stable are now in danger of being pushed to their limits. ‘Extreme heat is remaking our planet into one in which large swaths may become inhospitable to human life. One recent study projected that over the next fifty years, one to three billion people will be left outside the climate conditions that gave rise to civilization over the last six thousand years.’ In recent weeks, we have witnessed residents in China seeking safety underground in air-raid shelters, from the extreme heat, as temperatures remain at record-high levels, with drought compounding the country’s ability to manage and adapt.

‘Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold’

Goodell offers a warning from his opening chapters, where he describes the cautionary tale of a family being overcome and dying owing to extreme heat and hyperthermia while on a hike. The typical structure of most of his chapters is to focus on a specific event where people have been impacted now by extreme heat, in a world that has not yet reached the 1.5°C ‘limit’ agreed in the Paris Agreements. These negotiations had the goal of legally binding countries to hold the increase of global average temperature to well below 2°C. In June 2023, the global average was 1.3°C above the pre-industrial levels.

‘We simply have not come to terms with it, especially in the way I am describing. It is not how anyone expects to die. In part, it’s because we live in a technologically advanced world where it’s all too easy to believe that the rough forces of nature have been tamed. But it’s also because our world is changing so fast that we can’t grasp the scale and urgency of the dangers we face.’

Goodell outlines the historical and evolutionary steps which allowed humans to adapt and become one of, if not the most dominant, life-form on the planet. He describes how walking upright kept us away from the dangers of heat from the ground and how sweat glands allowed us to regulate the temperature of our bodies. ‘But to take the next step in human evolution, to really allow our ancestors to range widely in the newly warmed world, they still needed one more key evolutionary innovation. They needed to learn how to sweat.’ The discovery of ‘Lucy’ in Ethiopia in 1974, a female human ancestor who lived about 3.2 million years ago, brought more clues about how humans operated, managed and developed the expansion of the species.’Heat management is a survival tool for all life on Earth.’ 

A Brave New World

Humans eventually found themselves building modern cities, though the skills of the past in terms of building to be in conjunction and harmony with nature, seems to be lost now, as more and more ‘concrete jungles’ appear. Goodell explains that, ‘By 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities.’ He continues that ‘Modern cities are empires of asphalt and concrete and steel, materials that absorb and amplify heat during the day, then radiate it out at night.’ He carefully outlines the lived experience in cities like Chennai, India, where urbanisation and urban demand has created a melting pot (literally) of extreme issues. ‘“The ancient south Indian port has become a case study in what can go wrong when industrialization, urbanization and extreme weather converge and a booming metropolis paves over its floodplain to satisfy demand for new homes, factories and offices.”’

Goodell additionally explores in detail the issues when culture and extreme heat come into conflict by thoughtfully evaluating the heatwave in France of 2003, where the historical importance of zinc roofs became traps for intense heat. Underlining the fact that when cities were built, they were built for different temperature extremes and range. ‘The last time the Earth was hotter than it is today was at least 125,000 years ago, long before anything that resembled human civilization appeared. Since 1970, the Earth’s temperature has spiked faster than in any comparable forty-year period in recorded history. The eight years between 2015 and 2022 were the hottest on record.’ There are difficulties of trying to retrofit a city to adapt to extreme heat, especially where there is no history of climate culture. ‘There had been hot days in Paris, but nothing like this. For nine days in August, the daytime temperature was above 95 degrees, sometimes spiking up to 104 degrees. It didn’t cool off much at night either…In less than two weeks in 2003, fifteen thousand people in France died as a direct result of the heat wave.’

Moving to hot zones

Life is moving away from inhospitable zones, as people move to these stressed cities, increasing the pressure and demand on dwindling resources. ‘The UN estimates that four out of five African countries don’t have sustainably managed water resources and that seven hundred million people will be on the move by 2030.’ Goodell summarises that ‘Climate change compounds risks for cities: heat, floods, failing infrastructure, displaced people.’ 

Animals are also on the move, meaning more contact between species than before, increasing the risk of zoonotic spillovers- a risk that is being studied carefully by scientists in order to be as prepared as possible. ‘In the past decade, scientists who study the movement of animals have found that of the four thousand species that they’d tracked, between 40 and 70 percent had altered their distribution. On average, terrestrial creatures are moving nearly twenty kilometers every decade.’

Goodell devotes a whole chapter to the emerging and present threat of spillover diseases, while also detailing the spreading impact of mosquitoes and the threat of the dengue virus. ‘But the biggest impact on human health and well-being may be the emergence of new pathogens from animals…By 2080, five billion people, or 60 percent of the world’s population, may be at risk for dengue.’ Furthermore, he highlights the potential dangers currently hiding in the Arctic permafrost, which may yet see the light of day in a warming world. ‘Thawing permafrost in the Arctic is releasing pathogens that haven’t seen daylight for tens of thousands of years.’

‘You owe us, and you need to pay.’

Who is responsible for putting the people of Earth in this situation and what solutions are they offering should be the simplest question to ask. Planetary changes are now underway that will impact most life on the planet- our fingerprint on our planet has been given the name of the Anthropocene, so how has this happened?

The inclusion in Goodell’s book of attribution science and the impact of Dr Friederike Otto and others’ work, is a vital one in identifying whether climate events could have happened without climate change- and identification of responsibility is just the first step on the way to climate justice.

‘“To me, science is— or can be— a tool for justice,” she [Otto] told me. “Extreme event attribution is the first science ever developed with the court in mind.”’

For example, to directly attribute climate change as the cause of an event could eventually lead to the largest fossil fuel companies being taken to court for damages. This is a highly charged financial battlefield, which may resemble the battle to hold Big Tobacco to account for the consequences of their product.

‘ExxonMobil, which, by some measures, is responsible for about 3 percent of historic global CO2 emissions, could be sued for 3 percent of the deaths or property destruction and economic losses from every climate-driven flood and heat wave— past, present, and future. To say that there are hundreds of billions of dollars at stake doesn’t begin to describe it. 

No more ‘Earth is getting greener’

Atmospheric carbon dioxide is now at levels not seen in modern human history and have risen by approximately 50% in the past 200 years, or from the Industrial Revolution. Goodell successfully and thoroughly rebuts the ‘Earth is getting greener’ argument trotted out by those who wish to deny human-caused climate change, whether this will be the final word to this argument though is perhaps wishful thinking on my part. He points out that simplistic soundbites do not scratch the surface of a complicated interconnected issue.

‘And it’s true that as CO2 levels in the atmosphere increase, the Earth is getting greener. But it’s more complicated than that. Like humans, plants also acclimatize, so the effect diminishes with time. CO2 also means more heat, and the effects of heat quickly overwhelm the benefits of higher CO2 . It also makes some plants less nutritious. Rice grown in high-CO2 conditions has lower amounts of protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins.’

When we have a staple crop like rice being threatened by extreme heat, this becomes an issue that needs to be addressed, which Goodell does convincingly. How we feed the world over the next century is not a straightforward problem. ‘In the coming years, the challenge of feeding the world will only get more complex. For one thing, the world population is projected to grow from 8 billion today to nearly 10 billion by 2050. To meet the expected demand for food by midcentury alone, global agricultural output will have to rise by more than 50 percent.’ Threatening food production and agriculture is becoming a military weapon, as demonstrated when Russia invaded Ukraine- whether this could be a future war crime could make an interesting legal argument.

‘Unprecedented conditions’

Goodell does not content himself with dealing with issues on the land either. He details the impact on marine life of rising temperatures. ‘It’s also compelling evidence of how tightly all life on Earth is linked to the ocean. Because we live on land, we often think of heat as a terrestrial event. But as temperatures rise, it’s what happens in the ocean that may have the biggest impact on our future.’ He quotes from the stark 2019 IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which summarised the impact of the unpredictability of the coming decades, ‘Over the twenty-first century, the ocean is projected to transition to unprecedented conditions.’

It is particularly noticeable that food security featured significantly in this report which had the ocean and cryosphere as its focus. As Goodell notes however, ‘The ocean is the main driver of our climate system.’

Making an invisible killer visible

Goodell begins to conclude his book by exploring the difficulty of visual communication surrounding extreme heat. ‘But there are no iconic images of extreme heat.’ He outlines that the poignant images of polar bears or dwindling ice, do create an emotional response, but that all too soon, people forget and go about their daily lives, until the next heatwave. ‘The memory of the heat wave faded, as memories of heat waves always do, until they become like the fleeting images of a nightmare you’re not quite sure you had. Or a future you don’t want to imagine.’ He argues that ‘The way we communicate about extreme heat is often distorted by nostalgia for a climate that no longer exists.’ and that, ‘We are constantly bombarded by images that suggest that if paradise does exist, it is warm and sunny.’ To break this cultural ideology that ‘hot is cool’, will require better language, images and communication, but at present, people simply do not understand the risks of extreme heat with sufficient clarity to perceive it as ‘an extinction force.’ ‘Moreover, people die because they don’t understand the warning signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke or don’t take precautions and ask for help when those warning signs appear. There is so much ignorance and confusion about what to do in extreme heat situations.’

The undiscovered country

Goodell concludes, not with defeatism, but with a sense of challenge and a connected experience with the rest of the world and in that, there is hope. ‘There are no maps for this journey we are taking, no virtual reality tours of the road ahead.’

Extreme heat will affect us all eventually. We can’t simply wait for it to arrive, because for some, it is already a daily threat and we cannot look down from our place of safety and not act. ‘In many places in the world today, heat is rising faster than our ability to adapt to it.’

This book should be branded in the minds of every person on the planet. This is not just the inherited world we will pass on, but the world of today. A world which has been damaged by our indifference to the impact of our actions. ‘We have not only continued burning fossil fuels, we have continued burning them with reckless abandon.’

For me then, it is powerful that Goodell frames this as an opportunity, a challenge and a story- and stories have a long lasting cultural memory.

‘This is the great story of our time, one that I feel privileged to tell. And yes, it gets dark sometimes. But it is also endlessly inspiring because I meet so many people who are fighting for the future and reimagining everything about how we live on this planet.’

‘Wherever we may be headed, we are all on this journey together’

Gleick’s book is an engaging, detailed and yet wide-ranging, authoritative exploration of the relationship between humans and water and how a positive sustainable world is within our reach.

He describes that we have already had the first two Ages of Water, with the Third Age being the positive, equitable vision that realises the benefits of water for everyone. ‘In the First Age of Water, the earliest human relationship to water was both central and unplanned…The Second Age flourished in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when cities around the world were reaching critical size… The Second Age of Water has also brought the first global threats.’

Gleick expertly opens with the story of water from the beginning of time and explores the impact of the presence of water at the start of the creation of the Earth. He then details the existence and possibilities for water elsewhere in the solar system and argues that ‘The creation of life on Earth is bound together with the story of water in both science and culture.’ He closely examines the creation myths across cultures, which all use waters, to either create or destroy. ‘In 4,000-year-old Sumerian creation myths, heaven and earth were formed from a watery chaos by the goddess Nammu.’… ‘The three main Western religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all borrowed themes from Mesopotamian cultures and a describe a god creating the heavens and the earth including the first waters and bringing order and light from chaos.’ It is perhaps no accident that it is four rivers which flow from the Biblical Garden of Eden.

His discussion of water in belief and mythology inevitably brings him to the repeated Great Flood stories that are shared between cultures. ‘Every child of the Western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam hears the story of the Great Flood sent by God.’ He does not limit this evaluation to ‘Western’ religion, but also explores Hindu texts, as well as Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian texts such as ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ to search for geo-physical clues to support a cultural mythology.

The Second Age of Water- Our Age

Human attempts to harness, channel and manage water then become Gleick’s focus, as he outlines the impact of water for the beginnings of agriculture. Aqueducts, wells and dams are all highlighted as innovations to control water through engineering. ‘The era of large-scale water engineering, with succeeding empires learning from and advancing the practice of moving, storing, and manipulating the hydrologic cycle.’ It should be noted that Gleick also emphasises water as part of the story of human migration and dispersal.

He also warns of the unintended consequences of the mastery of water. That the relationship between humans and water has been, up to now, a relationship of power, with humans using water and access to water, for geopolitical ends. ‘The Nile River in Egypt is the only major source of water for the country of 100 million people. Yet ten other countries share the watershed, all of them upstream of Egypt with their own growing populations and demands for water.’

Flowering opportunity unfortunately became opportunities for conflict to dominate others. It sadly remains true that whoever controls the water, controls the power.

‘Ultimately, the need to understand and control nature, and especially fresh water, helped drive the melding of art and science, engineering and technology, and law and economics that defined the advances of the Second Age of Water… And with these advances came the unintended consequences of pollution, ecological disruption, water poverty, social and political conflict, and global climate change.’

Gleick examines some of these unintended consequences, as he turns his attention to water-related diseases in a detailed and comprehensive manner, as he recounts the successes of medical advancement in linking diseases such as cholera with illness and death. He focuses on the scientific and methodical work of John Snow, who demonstrated that cholera was waterborne and therefore managed to save numerous lives. Gleick argues that a lack of access to safe water is still a present threat to people around the world today and that this sadly has not been a problem that has already been eradicated. ‘Deaths from diseases associated with the lack of safe water and adequate sanitation kill on the order of 2 million people a year… Water poverty in a global crisis with victims in every country… In 2020, the United Nations estimated that 2 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water free from contamination.’

He closes this section on the consequences of the Second Age of Water, by stating that we are now in a transformational phase. ‘The Second Age of Water is coming to an end, and not a moment too soon. The world as a whole must make a transition away from its current unsustainable path and forge a new future.’

The Third Age

In his concluding chapters, Gleick acknowledges that, ‘We live on a planet of hydrological extremes.’ And that, ‘This isn’t a book about climate change; it’s a book about water. But you can’t talk about one without talking about the other.’ He once again warns that transformative attitudes must come before transformative actions.Before Gleick turns his attention to the myth of the ‘golden bullet’ of desalination plants to provide technological solutions- ‘The greatest challenge to the widespread use of desalination is the high economic cost of building and operating the plants and providing the energy to strip salt out of water’, he bemoans our negligent ignorance of the precious commodity of water. He stresses the importance of recycling and reusing that is done aboard the ISS and argues that every drop should be viewed as important. ‘When we recognise the true value of water, a whole new way of thinking- and doing- emerges, and water and ecosystems become resources to protect, conserve and even restore, rather than pollute, consume and destroy.’

He repeats his core message of the book that, ‘By learning from the past, humanity can better understand the present and then imagine and build a better future.’

Gleick suggests that our future hopes for a sustainable world for both water and the planet must begin with the vision of a positive, equitable world. ‘Two divergent paths lies before us: one to that dystopian future, the other to a positive, sustainable world. Just as we can imagine a disastrous future, we can imagine a positive one, with a balance between humans and nature.’

In saying this though, his concluding remarks are a stark reminder that we are accountable and responsible for our own future world- that this positive vision cannot simply be wished into being, but rather that it shall not find us afraid to build a new world.

‘If we fail to achieve the positive future for water, it won’t be because we can’t. It will be because we didn’t.’

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‘Breathe, said the wind

How can I breathe at a time like this,
when the air is full of the smoke
of burning tires, burning lives?’

-Lynn Ungar

Despite the frankly ridiculous tearing up of Sadiq Khan’s book ‘Breathe’ by Talk TV presenters on live television a few days ago, no stunt by them can get away from the central point in the book.

Air pollution is killing people in London, and around the world, and it doesn’t have to be like this.

Khan cleverly organises the book into the attitudes-or obstacles- to issues like air pollution that are viewed and displayed- from Fatalism and Apathy, through Deprioritisation and Hostility and Cost and bookends the text with the story of Ella Kissi-Debrah, who is the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. Khan’s book argues how we can avoid any more deaths like this.

Make air cleaner to save lives

Khan makes the early point that the impact of air pollution is linked to social disparities. ‘But while we breathe, we don’t all breathe the same air.’ Although this book is obviously London based, the same impact is felt in other cities. ‘If you’re living in a more deprived area, you’re much more likely to experience the negative effects of air pollution.’ Owing to an accident of geography then, your life span may not be equal to someone else in another area of the same city, simply owing to air pollution levels alone- and the impact of this is worse for the young with their developing lungs. ‘It revealed that hundreds of the capital’s primary schools were in areas where pollution breached the EU’s legal limits. Of these, 83 per cent were considered ‘deprived’ schools where more than 40 per cent of the pupils were entitled to free school meals.’

The World Health Organisation recently described air pollution as being ‘one of the greatest environmental risks to health.’ Khan picks up this point in his book and notes that, ‘The nine million early deaths it causes each year makes air pollution a bigger killer than tobacco smoking. These deaths are disproportionately concentrated among the most disadvantaged people in society.’

Making the invisible visible

Khan openly admits that at times he had viewed climate change, as not the priority issue that he now views it. ‘Climate change had always seemed very far way- both geographically and temporally. It was a ‘tomorrow’ issue rather than a ‘today’ issue.’ He states that through education, as well as personal asthma concerns, he realised the extent of the problem. In essence, this is the crux of the book- identify an issue and then work with interested parties to eradicate that problem in order to help as many people as possible. ‘The climate crisis was an issue right here in London.’ Khan outlines the measures and campaigns that were issued to grow the understanding of Londoners to this issue of air pollution- from graphic campaigns depicting soot, stating, ‘If you could see London’s air, you’d want to clean it too.’ Interactive air-quality maps showing the levels of air pollution in London were also used in attempts to alter the perception issue that climate change is only a problem for ‘them’, ‘over there’, but rather it is a problem for us, here.

The world today is not the world of ten years ago.

Khan takes the time to outline that the climate crisis is not the divisive issue that populist figures would have us believe. Nor is it a ‘political issue.’ Those who have the power to act, to mitigate and to plan, may be the mayors, politicians and councils, but that in itself does not ‘politicise’ the scientific evidence, despite attempts by the current US Republican nominee, Ron DeSantis to ‘politicise the weather.’ As a public, we have to be grown up to spot and ignore these attempts to delay action that can save lives and Khan suggests that the evidence suggest that we are growing up as a society. ‘Voters care about climate more than they ever have before.’ ‘In 2021, 82 per cent of Londoners were concerned about climate change, with more than two-thirds saying their level of concern had risen in the last year. Yet when you read the news or turned on the TV, you could be forgiven for thinking that climate change was a divisive issue.’

Learning the lessons

Khan details in his book the impact of the global pandemic and the impact of coronavirus especially for people in London. He also looks at what lessons could be learned from a global mobilisation to a problem and how to lead people during this time. He makes the point that when faced with a global emergency, working out the priority is key. ‘Rightly, the focus becomes saving lives first, and saving the economy second.’ This does not sound like the worst motto for action to mitigate the climate emergency. Khan notes the actions that have been put in place in London to reduce air pollution- such as ULEZ, building the infrastructure for 15-minute cities and focusing on sustainable transport. He always assesses the impact of his climate policies and records that, ‘The proportion of bicycle and walking journeys had increased from 29 per cent pre-pandemic to an estimated 46 per cent post lockdown.’

Changing the language?

Khan acknowledges that a change of language could be a useful approach- he notes that ‘the solutions to air pollution and climate change are often the same.’ The impression that this creates, is that he does not appear to be too invested in what we call the problem, as long as we enact solutions to the issue. This echoes the recent words of actor and ex-Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, in an interview said, ‘So my thing is, let’s go and rephrase this and communicate differently about is and really tell people we’re talking about pollution. Pollution creates climate change and pollution kills.’

Khan rightly concludes that ‘There is so much more that we have to do.’ It’s beyond time to question why what has been successful in London cannot be rolled out across other major cities, so that we can be the generation who ensures that no more children die from air pollution in our country, because we have been too apathetic to solve the problem.

When did a spacecraft from Earth first land on the Moon?

Who owns the Moon?

How many people have walked on the Moon?

How many flags are there on the Moon?

What legal frameworks regulate space activity and who enforces these frameworks?

Tim Marshall returns in ‘The Future of Geography’, a prophetic vision of what the geopolitics of space could look like over the next 50 years, as countries and private companies compete to control power and access to humanity’s shared future. Marshall’s comprehensive style will be familiar to readers of his previous works, such as ‘Prisoners of Geography’ and ‘The Power of Geography’ and his insights and commentary on the dangers of astropolitics, could help us chart the new frontier of space.

Marshall structures the book highly effectively, paying homage to the scientists and thinking that has helped humanity get to this point in space exploration- then evaluating how each of the three main superpowers of the USA, Russia and China have progressed in their plans and what their ambitions might be- then finally exploring what tomorrow’s world might look like, as private companies and entrepreneurs race to put their stamp on the history books.

He acknowledges that ‘Space has shaped human life from our very beginning.’ He charts the human fascination with the stars from hunter-gatherer tribes to the Babylonians and Sumerians to the Greeks, Romans and the Golden Age of Islam. He tracks the development of scientific exploration through the familiar names of Copernicus, Giordano Bruno, Galileo Galilei, Newton and Einstein and emphasises that the knowledge of the past has been surprisingly accurate in its measurements of the Earth and its place in the stars. He focuses on Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who over 2000 years ago concluded, without the equipment available to use today, ‘that the Earth’s circumference was between 40,250 and 45,900 kilometres. The actual circumference is now usually accepted as 40,096 kilometres.’

Marshall describes how ‘‘Much of human endeavour has been driven by our desire to reach for the stars’ and that the last few decades have pushed humanity to the edgeof tantalising further discovery. ‘And the desire to find out, to know more- and even to go there ourselves- has proved irresistible.’ He also warns that we need to ensure that we do not take our current insular political conflicts with us- that we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past and that advancing into space is for all humanity and should not be controlled by a single entity or a loose, unstable partnership of organisations. ‘If we cannot find a way to move forward as one unified planet, there is an inevitable outcome; competition and possibly conflict played out in the new arena of space.’

‘Earth is the cradle of humanity.’

Marshall quotes the Russian scientist Tsiolkovsky, who said ‘Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot stay in the cradle forever.’  Marshall explores in detail the decades following World War 2, when humanity took its first faltering steps into the cosmos.  ‘We first crossed the border with space less than a century ago. But it was conflict on Earth that finally got us there. The technology that took us to the heavens came from the arms race of the Cold War.’ He notes the number of historical ‘firsts’ that the Russians had in their space progression, much to the Americans’ chagrin, and reminds his audience that Russia reached the moon first, albeit through a ‘hard-landing’, ‘Then in 1959 the Soviets had a hit, literally, when Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon.’ The Space Race that excited the 1960s, appeared to diminish soon after the successful landing, and notably, flag planting, of Apollo 11.Marshall comments that it was a historic global effort that helped Armstrong take that first step. ‘Armstrong is a colossal figure, but he knew he stood on the shoulders of giants such as Gagarin and Tsiolkovsky, Goddard, Oberth, Korolev, von Braun and, before them, the great scientists down the ages.’

There is almost a nostalgic tone from Marshall in this chapter, as if he feels that the late 1960s could have been the moment that fuelled space exploration in a momentous and significant way for the entirety of the Earth. He acknowledges the reasons for the Space Race coming to an end when it did, as budgets and political pressures became important, but also recognises that the Moon still has a hold on us all. ‘It’s estimated that about 110 billion humans have walked on the surface on Earth. Almost all of them will have gazed at the Moon in wonder. But only 12 have walked there.’

It is now over 50 years since humans have walked on the Moon, encouraging Marshall to explore the question- is it now time to go back?

‘Apollo 17 was the last, leaving on 14 December 1972, and since then no one has been back.’

Location, location, location

In a fascinating manner, Marshall outlines the reasons for countries and ‘space superpowers’ to go back to the Moon and indeed continue with space activity. He compares space geography to Earth geography and notes that if an interested party controls access, then they can control the power.

‘If a space superpower could dominate the exit points from Earth and the routes out from the atmosphere, it could prevent other nations from engaging in space travel. And if it dominates low Earth orbit, it could command the satellite belt and use it to control the world.’

Low Earth Orbit, from 160km- 2000km, is one of these key locations, owing to satellite engagement there. ‘Strategically, low Earth orbit is a potential ‘choke point’. ‘Low Earth orbit is an attractive piece of real estate because that’s where most satellites operate.’ He also identifies the 5 Lagrange points of our system as being another key tactical area. ‘The Lagrange points of the Earth-Sun system are advantageous positions to place satellites.’ Marshall indicates that space expansion has led to a crowded low Earth orbit zone. ‘It’s getting busy above Terra, and is destined to become more so. More than eighty countries have crossed the border and placed satellites in space.’

In terms of a return to the Moon, polar exploration may be the focus of future visits with mining of resources, particularly helium-3, being the motivation behind space investment. ‘Many countries have the incentive to go after them [metal oxides], especially those that don’t want to rely on China, which currently holds a third of the world’s known reserves.’

The point being made clearly in Marshall’s book is that an understanding of geopolitics and ‘astropolitics’ is required in space, as our expansion continues. ‘Many of us still think of space as ‘out there’ and ‘in the future.’ But it’s here and now- the border into the great beyond is well within our reach.’ More worryingly, Marshall highlights a key gap in enforcement of space activities– that the ‘laws’ we have, belong to, and were written for, a different time. ‘The ‘laws’ we currently have for activity in space are little better than guidelines. Technology and changing geopolitical realities have overtaken them. With an increasing number of space-based platforms for military and civilian uses- space is becoming a congested twenty-first century environment requiring twenty-first-century laws and agreements.

It is worth noting, however, that it is not a pessimistic picture that Marshall paints. He repeatedly makes the call for global cooperation as the method and vehicle through which, space exploration can continue in a positive manner. ‘The ISS is a symbol of what can achieved in space through cooperation.’ Without global cooperation, his fear is that ‘we may end up fighting over the geography of space, just as we have done over the geography of Earth.’

‘It is space and it needs space laws.’

Marshall continues the point that our current ‘space laws’ belong to another age. He identifies the Outer Space Treaty (1967), The Moon Agreement (1979) and The Artemis Accords (2020) and concludes that, ‘Existing space laws are horribly out of date and too vague for current conditions.’ The legal frameworks and agreements that we do have rely on countries signing up to them and some of the definitions are too loose and hazy to be effective. Perhaps they didn’t imagine a time when non-countries, in the form of private enterprise would be competing for ‘space rights’. Who could be in position to regulate the space activity of Musk’s SpaceX? Perhaps that should even now read ‘Who is regulating Musk’s space activity? To whom could parties appeal and protest? What would be effective sanctions for breaking agreements? ‘Laws and agreements are difficult enough on Earth, where there are clear boundaries and borders, and established precedents. What’s more, in space, it’s not in the interests of the big powers to give up their advantage.’

To emphasise this point, Marshall, explores hypotheticals that need addressing before they happen, not as a belated response after they happen. ‘The presence of corporate and private enterprise in space also raises all sorts of questions unrelated to military activity. Which of Earth’s laws would apply to their ventures- and how would they be enforced?’ Marshall underlines this serious and significant point by arguing that, ‘Technology has outpaced law. Without laws, geopolitics- and now astropolitics- is a jungle.’

There are also pressing issues which need international cooperation, such as the risks from solar flares, asteroids and space debris. ‘There are other, more immediately pressing issues that also require international collaboration. A big one is space debris.’ As Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi, from the University of California notes, ‘To the best of my knowledge, there are no global agreements or plans to deal with a large-scale solar storm.’ The recent DART- Double Asteroid Redirection Test- development, which spent $325 million to change the orbit of another planetary object was regarded as hugely momentous in its success- as well as being an undoubted bargain for the 8 billion inhabitants of planet Earth.

The Big Three

Marshall then dedicates a whole chapter to each of the Big 3 space superpowers of China, the USA and Russia and highlights their respective notable achievements and ambitions for space activity. ‘In 2019, the uncrewed Chang’e 4 became the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon.’ In perhaps, a now expected symbolic tradition, ‘…it planted the Chinese flag on the surface and began digging for rocks in a region it is considering using as a base.’ The USA, on the other hand, ‘plan to construct a Lunar Gateway Space Station near the Moon.’ Russia is developing a new system known as ‘Kalina’, which could focus laser beams to dazzle or ‘blind’ other orbiting satellites, in actions that might normally be seen in a James Bond movie.

There is a growing number of countries and companies, which are trying to elbow their way into the ‘New World’ of space exploration. ‘While China, the USA and Russia are the three main players in space, many others are looking to increase their presence.’ Jeff Bezos has founded ‘Blue Origin’, Richard Branson has Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk has Space X. In addition, there are a host of countries from France, Germany, Japan, Australia, India, the UK, Israel, Iran, India and the UAE, who are all vying for projects, partnerships and prestige in a crowded marketplace. And sadly, this is how space is now being viewed- not as a frontier of hope and expansion for the species, but as an opportunity to exploit and abuse resources. It appears that the lessons of the past have not been learned.

‘Nothing new under the sun’

‘Each time humanity has ventured into a new domain it has brought war with it. Space is no different and the potential battlefield is beginning to take shape.’ Marshall concludes in an even handed manner, by firstly acknowledging our history of conflict and war, ‘Given all recorded human history, it is unlikely that we will recognize our common humanity and work together in space to harvest its riches and then distribute them equally.’ At the same time, he accepts the inevitability of our next steps into space. ‘Humanity has not gone so far only to stand still now.’

By the mid 2030s- only a short 15 years away from now- we may see the first human landing on the planet Mars and it is worth a moment of imagination.

How many people across the world will watch this globally unifying event?

In 1969, we left a message on the Moon that ‘We came in peace for all mankind.’ What will our new message in the stars be? What language will it be in? Will it acknowledge and reflect our shared humanity and shared vision? Or will it reflect our conflicting natures?

‘We are now writing what will be history in space. We already have magnificent pioneers and amazing achievements. Where they went, and what they did, was incredibly hard.’

For their sakes, we have to follow.

In ‘Reconnection- Fixing Our Broken Relationship with Nature’, Miles Richardson charts the causes of nature decline in the UK and convincingly argues that a re-evaluation and a reset of this relationship will help give nature a chance.

Miles Richardson is Professor of Human Factors and Nature Connectedness at the University of Derby and has gained recognition for creating the ‘biodiversity stripes’- a visual which highlights and emphasises the dramatic decline of biodiversity that has been witnessed in recent decades.

Richardson begins this book with the logical position of querying that if the relationship with nature now is patently broken, then at what stage did that occur. He starts with familiar ground for many, who spent their childhoods outside. ‘We spent plenty of time outdoors, but did we have a close relationship with nature? Looking back, I don’t think so. Nature was the setting.’ He argues that there is an intrinsic element to modern day life that has widened the gulf between humans and that a reconnection is vital for both parties in the relationship. ‘There’s something about our modern lives that keeps us apart from nature. There is a real need for reconnection.’

Richardson then moves into a snapshot of the present picture of nature, especially in the UK, with a range of statistics that are meant to be paused over, but sadly fail to connect with the public. ‘69% of animals have been lost since 1970 and that humanity has overseen the loss of 83% of mammals.’ ‘Over two-thirds of the animal population has been wiped away in fifty years.’ These facts and knowledge do not seem to be helping with any break through, wide spread alarm over the human-nature relationship and Richardson argues that this is, in part, owing to the lack of an emotional attachment to nature. He states that, ‘The stark reality is that the UK has one of the worst records for biodiversity in the world.’ And follows that up with the engaging rhetorical starting point of, ‘Why is there a seemingly deep desire for nature yet little care for it?’ Richardson then closes his opening by suggesting that the relationship with nature was lost, when the perception of humanity as the dominant species became prevalent. When nature was viewed as a commodity by humans, this led to the unequal balance. ‘The global destruction of habitats and wildlife, together with the climate emergency, show that the human-nature relationship is broken. Nature is used and controlled by humans.’

Humans became the overlords of nature.

Richardson artfully charts the philosophical and linguistic narratives that have forged this disconnect from nature, especially in Western Europe, where nature is now viewed as the ‘other’- something not to be valued as having intrinsic value for its own sake, but to be stripped of resources and plundered for the benefit of the human species. He traces the rise of dominant ‘self’ philosophies and individualism, from Descartes and Bacon, suggesting that their viewpoint of human dominance over nature was pivotal in promoting scientific investigation of nature, which placed a bias in the favour of the observer over the observed. ‘Descartes wrote of science allowing humans to be masters and possessors of nature. Francis Bacon set a similar tone for scientific investigation, asserting that humans have power, command, dominion and rights over nature by divine request.’

Richardson’s focus is that this growing unequal balance in the relationship, exacerbated by the spread of empire and conquest, created the divergence of understanding of humanity’s place in the world. ‘The reality is that humanity exists embedded within nature.’ He supports this viewpoint by emphasising that nature is not a static object to be dissected and resourced, but rather life that needs to be recognised as equal. Nature itself is not defined in this book and I found this to be helpful, as the subjective identification and answer to ‘What is nature?’ can change dramatically depending on the audience of the question. Richardson contends that the relationship with whatever we understand nature to be is of more value than a narrow definition. ‘Relationships matter. Nature is embedded, interdependent and dynamic.’

These inherent questions of what is nature; how do we know when we are in nature; how do we value nature, and what do we value it for, resonate throughout the book. Richardson argues that as soon as nature is seen as separate and as the background setting to be used only when beneficial for humans, then our actions will continue to negatively impact nature. ‘If everyday speech and metaphors suggest that nature is an other, separate from humans, a resource to be controlled and exploited, this will inform our viewpoint and actions.’

It is a strong argument that when, ‘Humans celebrated their greatness and became addicted to individualism. Nature was diminished.’ Although nature was celebrated by artists and writers, the rise of the Industrial Revolution and the driving forces of capitalism and consumption, overwhelmed and dominated the language and narrative. ‘Wordsworth saw how the emerging modern age disconnected people from nature, people who then became egocentric. We celebrate the poets that resisted this vision of industrialisation, but their defeat is a story not often told.’

Time in nature

Despite this rise in technology and the growing distance with nature, including on a linguistic level- with words for nature dropping out of modern-day dictionaries, particularly ones for children, our cultural understanding of nature is one that can be regained. Richardson notes the cultural ‘othering’ and fear of nature that has its echoes in fairy tales and monsters. He balances this with the present modern fears of natural disasters and wildlife to suggest that ‘The power of negative cultural associations can also impact the positive emotions brought by interactions with the natural world.’

In saying this however, he contrasts this view by examining the medical evidence to support the beneficial impacts of nature for humans. ‘Although many may feel disconnected from nature or not even think about it, research shows that humans are deeply embedded and interconnected with the rest of the natural world.’ Richardson cautiously welcomes the rise of prescriptions for connections with nature and supports this with the Edinburgh prescription pilot for nature. ‘In the pilot, five GP practices prescribed nature to 350 patients, and the results revealed that 91% of prescribers would continue to prescribe it, and 87% of patients would continue to use nature for wellbeing.’ He is at pains though to acknowledge that ‘using’ nature simply for wellbeing is another form of exploitation. He states bluntly that, ‘If we do need a dose of nature, we need it like we need a dose of air.’ A connection to nature should therefore happen when humans also feel healthy, as well as when under prescription. ‘Nature’s story is one of relationships. Nature should not have a ‘part-time role’ in our wellbeing.’

Nature wellbeing is about moments, not minutes

Richardson is also at pains to clarify that although time in nature can be a useful starting point, it is not the quantity of time that is the key component on building relationships, but on how that time is spent. ‘Yet time in nature may not involve active engagement with it. What matters is how that time is spent.’ Repeatedly, Richardson draws the comparisons with human relationships and connections and argues that relationships are difficult, but that the real world is all about building relationships. He draws on scientific research about neighbourhoods and communities with access to nature and those lacking access and concluded that ‘Presence of green space did not equate to use of green space’. This part of the book was interesting, as potentially this was ‘the quick-fix’ to build the human-nature relationship back up again. To make the human comparison again, simply having access to someone else may not mean that the relationship is a strong one, where both parties are understood and valued. Richardson argues that, ‘Bluntly, improving access isn’t fundamental to addressing climate warming and biodiversity loss; it can form a part of a new relationship with nature, but does not get to the root of the issue.’

The element of understanding nature, rather than simply using nature as the setting and backdrop for a different activity, was one carefully drawn out by Richardson. ‘Where science is about understanding nature, connection is nature better understood. This subtle distinction is important.’ He challenges his readers into stopping and pausing within nature, not ‘to do’, but ‘to be’. To notice the details and to listen. He promotes the view that‘Nature always has a story to tell’ and concludes that for the relationship to work, humans need to listen better.

How to create nature positive societies

Richardson poses the challenging question in the book, ‘Can humans ever truly live in harmony with the rest of nature?’ and acknowledges that, ‘Transformational societal change for a close relationship with nature is a challenge of the highest order.’ He answers both of these issues in the same way- that we simply have to try- as what we have been doing up to this point has only driven the wedge deeper at great cost. He states that ‘The climate and biodiversity crises cannot be solved without addressing the causal issue: how people relate to the wider natural world.’ He concludes by highlighting the problem of the shifting baseline syndrome, that creates the perception that the decline of nature is not really as severe as the objective stance demonstrates. He laments that, ‘A vibrant natural world has been lost…A lost right most don’t know they should have, which is why they settle for less.’ Richardson highlights that this has not been an accidental loss of nature, but rather one that has been done by design for human gratification. ‘Loss is normal, but this is not loss; they are not missing or misplaced. They have been decimated and taken from us, by us.’

To transform this horrific decline in nature and biodiversity, Richardson argues that several steps should be taken and that these could be amplified by powerful feedback cycles. ‘Realising we are part of nature and living that reality through seeking a closer relationship with it would lead to change.’ He argues that when ‘people take actions to create visible biodiversity, it boosts noticing nature which brings people closer to nature, which motivates actions for biodiversity.’ I enjoyed his cautious approach in describing this future relationship, as the intention and motive of those wishing to change the relationship needed to be part of the discussion. ‘When presented with a vision for the future, it is perhaps wise to ask whose worldview we are looking at and what intentions lie behind it.’

As humans, we once told stories about our place in the world. We can become better story-tellers, by changing our language to one of nature connectedness, which emphasis the reality of our place within nature, rather than human dominance. As Richardson clearly argues, ‘Reconnection is simply about being a human within the rest of nature.’

It is time to celebrate the meaning and joy of nature once again and to build a lifelong connection with nature, before we lose a central understanding of what is to be a human after all.

‘Not Too Late’ is a collection of climate hope messages from climate scientists, organisers and activists, who challenge us to recognise that the future is yet to be decided and that our actions do matter. Solnit opens the collection in a powerful manner, stating the current state of affairs. ‘It is late. We are deep in an emergency. But it is not too late, because the emergency is not over. The outcome is not decided. We are deciding it now.’ She rightfully addresses climate despair versus climate hope in the opening chapter and acknowledges the importance of being aware of our emotions. ‘To hope is to accept despair as an emotion but not as an analysis. To recognize that what is unlikely is possible, just as what is likely is not inevitable.’ She quotes the playwright, Vaclav Havel, who commented: “Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something is worth doing no matter how it turns out.”

Solnit concludes the opening chapter by reminding us that not all successes are visible and so therein lies the danger when we look for evidence for climate hope- the evidence may be invisible, but that does not mean that it does not exist. ‘Sometimes victory leaves nothing to see, the trees that weren’t cut down, or the drilling permits that weren’t issued.’

We are challenged to remember that we are simply the last in a line of courageous humans who have come before us to overcome incredible odds that seemed insurmountable- whether those be in the guise of slavery, pandemics, or migration.

‘We need to remember our own heroic nature, our capacity for courage, compassion and action, to remember those who came before us who took action against the odds and sometimes won.’

‘Change happens gradually, then suddenly’

This point of humans successfully overcoming the odds is reinforced by the climate scientist, Dr Joëlle Gergis, in her chapter on hope, where she comments, ‘What gives me hope is that human history is full of examples of people across the ages who have risen to face the great challenges of their time and have succeeded. Victory is not the arrival in some promised land; it is the series of imperfect victories along the way that edge us closer to building the critical mass that eventually shifts the status quo.’ She indicates that the ‘status quo’ of reliance on fossil fuels is at an end and welcomes everyone to the global movement to save as much as we can. ‘Change happens gradually, then suddenly. It’s never too late to be part of the social movement that will help heal our world.’ For Dr Gergis then, the alternative of doing nothing is not an acceptable one. ‘Are we really going to sit back, watch, and declare it all too late, that there is nothing worth saving? Is this really the best we can do?’

The scientific argument is also supported by one of the 2022 lead IPCC authors, Edward R. Carr, who insists that, ‘A climate-resilient future is still possible.’ He cautions though a drastic shift in mindset is now required. ‘This is a message of catastrophe, but it does demand we think transformationally.’

‘Nothing is inevitable’

Thelma Young Lutunatabua addresses the other major issues after climate despair- that of the conflict between individual action and responsibility and collective responsibility. Waiting to act only after other people act will delay any response and mitigation we are going to have to the climate crisis. Lutunatabua states: ‘The question shouldn’t be Will my actions be enough? But Will our actions be enough? This is a communal quest in which everyone can bring their talents, visions, desires, access- and if one person struggles, we can help each other up.’ The collective approach as a core theme is picked up by Mary Annaïse Heglar, who argues that, ‘What if your power in this fight lies not in what you can do as an individual but in your ability to be part of a collective?’ Heglar applauds and welcomes that climate is no longer a niche topic to be discussed in isolated groups, but is now globally mainstream, despite efforts from Big Oil to delay and confuse. ‘Climate is no longer niche. It’s mainstream. It’s about time.’

‘We Have The Solutions Now’

Dr Leah Cardamore Stokes outlines the continued efforts from the fossil fuel industry in continuing to thwart action that will alleviate the climate crisis, especially when the issue of alternative power sources is discussed. She points out that there has been a shift in strategy from the industry and that that this shift has been a self-serving one. ‘When denial became indefensible, the fossil fuel industry started singing a new song: the crisis can’t be solved. Delay paid them in cash. When we hear stories about the harms posed by clean energy technologies, we should take a beat and ask: who profits from telling this story? Too often, the fossil fuel industry is seeding propaganda to make us feel hopeless and defeated. If we delay, they profit.’

There are, of course, real issues and concerns that need to be addressed through climate hope and climate action, instead of listening to the fossil fuel industry playbook. Actions that can help give hope to those who are already suffering the ‘first and worst’ impacts of a warming world. Professor Farhana Sultana notes that climate reparations and loss and damage are still a contentious issue and that the financial support which could offer hope to struggling people on the ground, has not been there in sufficient amounts. ‘Colonialism haunts the past, present, and future through climate.

The debates around climate reparations remain contentious, as loss and damage acknowledgement has not been followed through with sufficient financial support.’ She urges that the global collective should focus on reparative climate equity.

‘Looking back From the Future’

‘Not Too Late’ then begins to shift its focus into powerful imaginative messages, which look back to how much progress we have made, as well as imagining what a climate resilient future might look like with global cooperation rather than discord.

As climate is all a form of time travel, these chapters and visions were illuminating in demonstrating that humans have an opportunity to take advantage of their ‘span’ on the planet to change it for good, rather than stamp their activity into the geological record through the Anthropocene.

As Dr Jacquelyn Gill questions: ‘What could we accomplish if we stood together and faced the danger? What if the future was better than the past? What if it was beautiful?’

Change can happen quickly and the span of fifty years outlined in the book illustrate this point wonderfully. Attitudes, innovation and behaviour can all transform, as what was once held up as ‘normal’, turns demonstrably unhealthy. Perhaps we can imagine a world where we state, as Mary Anne Hitt imagines:

‘It takes my breath away to write these words, but we did it.’

‘People often talk about the future as if it already exists’

We get to choose our future. We are the ones in control. We are the future creators. The future is not decided yet.

Finally, the words of Arundhati Roy are quoted perfectly in this book, “There is beauty yet in this brutal, damaged world of ours. Hidden, fierce, immense. We have to seek it out, nurture it, love it.’ Or if you prefer your messages to be more prosaic, but no less heartfelt, the words of Tolkien come to mind. ‘That there’s some good in this world Mr Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.’

Solnit notes that ‘People often talk about the future as if it already exists.’ But highlights that this is far from the case and that the actions of an individual, a community, a city, can send ripple effects into the world in a positive manner, creating more hope and helping people realise that it is ‘Not Too Late’ in the fight against the climate emergency. To despair and say that it is too late, is to give up on all that we value and hold dear, without a fight.

Mary Annaïse Heglar declared in 2022, “If you are worried that it’s too late to do anything about climate change and that we should all just give up, I have great news for you: that day is not coming in your lifetime. As long as you have breath in your body, you will have work to do.’