Eaarth
I'm not sure why Eaarth freaked you out so much, wemblee! It's actually pretty optimistic, at least as far as modern convenience in Western nations goes. I get the conclusion from it that when the shit hits the fan, poor people will suffer immensely, but our lives, while changing, will not be much worse off in the end. There will be natural disasters until we figure out that this is our new normal, then there will be relocation (and foreign refugees), but the systems that will replace the oil-based one have already been born and need only to be called upon when we as a nation and a global society finally figure out that it's all over for fossil fuel and our previous way of doing business. It seems to me to be only a matter of how much shit gets spread around before the denialists get over themselves. We'll lose Las Vegas, Phoenix, and New Orleans, and Los Angeles will at least shrink (a lot), along with any number of other unforeseen disasters (things I wish he'd spent more time exploring, actually), but I don't think any of those things will lead to the great collapse of civilization, or even our country. A depression, however, seems not only possible but likely, and food prices are going to spike immensely (they will never be as artificially cheap as they are now again). How well we as individuals fare when this happens (and I'd bet a lot that it will be in our lifetimes) will depend on to what extent we have plugged into these nascent local food, energy, and community movements.
The (amazing) book Half the Sky is low on statistic-lobbing, citing the research that says such a technique tends to numb people, not change them. Unfortunately, McKibben didn't get that memo. The statistics are important, but I don't think he includes quite enough colorful language, human experience, and specific anecdotes to balance them out. The result is that not a lot sticks in my brain. Part of this may also have to do with the fact that I listened to the audiobook and was often multitasking, but that was also true with Sex At Dawn and I think I retained that better.
I also find that I wanted a more vivid picture of what's to come, a timeline of destruction, you know, the "apocalypse pornography," as he calls it, not because I get off on it, but because I think it would illustrate the situation in a more immediate way that is more likely to affect people. I realize that there is the danger of playing fortune-teller, and we can't predict exactly what's gonna happen or when, but a better ballpark would've been nice. Especially since he ends with all the optimistic stuff, I kind of got the sense that "Oh things won't be that bad," even though I know they will be.
That said, this book provides an effective underscoring of the fact that our world has been forever changed - NOW, not for our grandchildren - and it's not going back, not for centuries at least. I think the most effective message, though, is that the best way to deal with the "endtimes" is not to hoard and hide, but to connect with and build up your local community. We evolved in small, egalitarian, cooperative social groups, and when the hard times come, that's how we'll survive.
The (amazing) book Half the Sky is low on statistic-lobbing, citing the research that says such a technique tends to numb people, not change them. Unfortunately, McKibben didn't get that memo. The statistics are important, but I don't think he includes quite enough colorful language, human experience, and specific anecdotes to balance them out. The result is that not a lot sticks in my brain. Part of this may also have to do with the fact that I listened to the audiobook and was often multitasking, but that was also true with Sex At Dawn and I think I retained that better.
I also find that I wanted a more vivid picture of what's to come, a timeline of destruction, you know, the "apocalypse pornography," as he calls it, not because I get off on it, but because I think it would illustrate the situation in a more immediate way that is more likely to affect people. I realize that there is the danger of playing fortune-teller, and we can't predict exactly what's gonna happen or when, but a better ballpark would've been nice. Especially since he ends with all the optimistic stuff, I kind of got the sense that "Oh things won't be that bad," even though I know they will be.
That said, this book provides an effective underscoring of the fact that our world has been forever changed - NOW, not for our grandchildren - and it's not going back, not for centuries at least. I think the most effective message, though, is that the best way to deal with the "endtimes" is not to hoard and hide, but to connect with and build up your local community. We evolved in small, egalitarian, cooperative social groups, and when the hard times come, that's how we'll survive.