{"id":6634,"date":"2020-12-21T22:51:15","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T22:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-hiltner-english-ucsb-edu-v05.pantheonsite.io\/?page_id=6634"},"modified":"2020-12-28T21:12:35","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T21:12:35","slug":"6634-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hiltner.english.ucsb.edu\/index.php\/6634-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Readings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Back to Main Page<\/a><\/p>\n

CLIMATE CRISIS 101<\/span><\/p>\n

(A.K.A. ENGLISH 23)<\/span><\/p>\n

Introductions to Course Readings<\/p>\n

Page Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/a><\/p>\n

The Uninhabitable Earth<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

2\u00b0C: Beyond the Limit, Fires, floods and free parking<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Walden<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The Waste Makers<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Project Drawdown, Summary of Solutions<\/a><\/p>\n

Social justice, environmental justice, climate justice, and the injustice of it all<\/a><\/p>\n

Communicating the Climate Crisis: vegans and freegans, vegetarians and climatarians<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Drawing down greenhouse gas emissions by being the change<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Readings, Introduction<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As far as I am concerned, nearly every university course in the humanities needs to have at its core a group of readings. This course is no different. The good news is that you do not need to purchase any of them, as they are all available online, free of charge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why read these texts?<\/span><\/p>\n

Each in its own way provides an interesting insight into the climate crisis. Not only what it is, but what we can do about it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some like Henry David Thoreau\u2019s Walden<\/i>, published in 1854, and Vance Packard\u2019s The Waste Makers<\/i> – which is\u2026well\u2026as old as I am – have nothing to say about the climate crisis. Yet, both writers seriously questioned the lifestyle choices that have profoundly exacerbated this crisis. Unfortunately, we largely ignored both writers – though there is still time to act on what they had to say. <\/span><\/p>\n

Others, like \u201cThe Uninhabitable Earth\u201d by David Wallace-Wells, look squarely at the climate crisis and its future – and what the future may hold if we do not respond to the crisis, immediately. <\/span><\/p>\n

Still others, like Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming<\/i> have been generated by fossil fuel interests in order to cause us to doubt that there even is a crisis. The goal is not necessarily to convince us that the climate crisis does not exist, but rather to raise doubts in our minds about its nature and severity so that we will be slow to act, thereby allowing the fossil fuel industry to continue business as usual for as long as possible. While this might be good for their bottom line in the short term, it would be disastrous for the future of our planet. <\/span><\/p>\n

Having read all or most of these texts, you should have a better idea of what the climate crisis is – and what each of us can do about it. <\/span><\/p>\n

The uninhabitable (or at least unwelcoming) earth<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In December of 2015, 196 nations of the planet Earth agreed to to do their best to keep global temperature rise \u201cto well below 2 degrees Celsius\u201d from a preindustrial baseline. This was at the 21st annual session of the Conference of the Parties, also known as COP21. The agreement reached has become known as the \u201cParis Agreement.\u201d What\u2019s more, these nations agreed to also \u201cpursue efforts to\u201d limit the temperature increase to just 1.5\u00a0 <\/span>degrees Celsius. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sounds good, right?<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is that the global temperature has already risen by two thirds that amount (1 degree Celsius from preindustrial levels). What\u2019s more – and worse – the United States, which is second only to China in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, has since withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and the rest of the nations involved have only promised<\/i> to reduce emissions, as the Paris Agreement has no enforcement mechanism. <\/span><\/p>\n

In less than two years after the COP21, the IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change appointed by the United Nations to study the climate crisis) released a Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 \u00b0C<\/i> that suggested that a 1.5 degree Celsius rise could happen in as little as 11 years (just ten years from the time that I am recording this) and almost certainly within 20 years if major cuts on global greenhouse emissions were not made immediately. Since we are not yet taking the necessary steps to make these cuts, a 1.5 degree rise seems inevitable and 2 degrees likely. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, as the IPCC Report made clear, even a 1.5 degree rise would have profound global consequences – and a 2 degree rise would obviously be still worse. <\/span><\/p>\n

But what sort of consequences would we be facing if we fail to stop global temperature at 2 degrees, which now seems entirely possible, if not in fact likely? <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the question taken up by David Wallace-Wells in July 2017 New York Magazine<\/i> article entitle \u201cThe Uninhabitable Earth\u201d. Wallace-Wells has, incidentally, subsequently written a book with the same title and published as followup article entitled \u201cWe\u2019re Getting a Clearer Picture of the Climate Future \u2014 and It\u2019s Not as Bad as It Once Looked.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2017 article lays out the consequences of climate change if we do not act quickly and decisively. Wallace-Wells explains: <\/span><\/p>\n

This article is the result of dozens of interviews and exchanges with climatologists and researchers in related fields and reflects hundreds of scientific papers on the subject of climate change. What follows is not a series of predictions of what will happen \u2014 that will be determined in large part by the much-less-certain science of human response. Instead, it is a portrait of our best understanding of where the planet is heading absent aggressive action. It is unlikely that all of these warming scenarios will be fully realized, largely because the devastation along the way will shake our complacency. But those scenarios, and not the present climate, are the baseline. In fact, they are our schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n

While many authors focus on the impact of 1.5-2 degrees (Celsius) of global temperature rise, Wallace-Wells rightly notes that such a small rise in temperature is a best-case – and at this point probably unlikely – scenario, especially as human activity has already warmed the earth by 1 degree Celsius. With this in mind, Wallace-Wells takes up the question of what the earth (and our lives) would be like with a 2-4 degree Celsius rise – which is where we are headed if we do not act quickly. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Uninhabitable Earth\u201d generated quite a bit of controversy, as many people (including some climate scientists) thought that he was being too alarmist. However, as Wallace-Wells makes clear in the above quote, he is portraying just one possible future. He notes that it is unlikely that all of this will happen, as humanity will at some point hopefully wake up and act. However, if we do not, Wallace-Wells paints a picture of where \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d (BAU) will take us. <\/span><\/p>\n

Incidentally, because a number of individuals have questioned the scenarios that he lays out, Wallace-Wells has also created an annotated version of the article where he notes and responds to the objections. <\/span><\/p>\n

A few questions for thought: <\/span><\/p>\n

1) Is Wallace-Wells too alarmist? While his objective seems to be to startle us into action by laying out what the future could hold if we do nothing, does he risk doing the exact opposite by incapacitating us with fear? There is certainly quite a bit of doom and gloom in the article. Expressed another way, how did you feel, or what did you want to do, after putting down the article? Did you feel prompted to action? Or did you simply want to cry? <\/span><\/p>\n

2) Regarding the above question, does taking an alarmist tack risk alienating certain readers? Climate change deniers and skeptics frequently refer to people who are trying to alert us to the dangers of climate change as \u201cclimate change alarmists,\u201d as they characterize them as trying to frighten us into action. As an obvious alarmist in this sense, Wallace-Wells fits into a category that some people might summarily dismiss. <\/span><\/p>\n

3) Wallace-Wells focuses on a number of specific consequences of climate change, including Heat Death, The End of Food, Climate Plagues, Unbreathable Air, Perpetual War, Permanent Economic Collapse, Poisoned Oceans. Which did you find the most compelling and worrisome? Why? <\/span><\/p>\n

A final thought: some people might be quick to dismiss Wallace-Wells as he is looking forward to an uncertain future. However, a quick look to the recent past makes it hard to dismiss Wallace-Wells as simply an alarmist. At the close of 2019, journalists Sarah Ruiz-Grossman and Lydia O\u2019Connor published an article on \u201c7 Numbers Show How Dire Climate Change Got This Decade<\/span><\/a>\u201d (meaning the twenty-teens). Allow me to end by repeating them:<\/span><\/p>\n

1) The past five years were the hottest ever recorded on the planet<\/span><\/p>\n

2) Four of the five largest wildfires in California history happened this decade<\/span><\/p>\n

3) Six Category 5 hurricanes tore through the Atlantic region in the past four years<\/span><\/p>\n

4) Arctic sea ice cover dropped about 13% this decade<\/span><\/p>\n

5) Floods with a 0.1% chance of happening [i.e. a one in a thousand chance of happening] in any given year became a frequent occurrence<\/span><\/p>\n

6) There were more than 100 \u201cbillion dollar\u201d climate disasters, double from the decade before<\/span><\/p>\n

7) Meanwhile, we pumped a record 40.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air in 2019<\/span><\/p>\n

“2\u00b0C: Beyond the Limit, Fires, floods and free parking”<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you asked most people a decade or so ago what they thought that the consequences of global warming would be for California, they would likely have mentioned sea-level rise. After all, with over 800 miles of coastline and roughly two thirds of its 40 million people living in coastal counties, it seemed as if flooding was the greatest danger to the state from the climate crisis. <\/span><\/p>\n

As it turns out, it\u2019s not. <\/span><\/p>\n

The problem, having to do with temperature rise and corresponding wildly unpredictable weather and environmental conditions, has really hit home for Santa Barbara and the surrounding area. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the Washington Post\u2019s<\/i> article on California\u2019s changing climate makes clear, <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince 1895, the average temperature in Santa Barbara County has warmed by 2.3 degrees Celsius, according to The Post\u2019s analysis. Neighboring Ventura County has heated up even more rapidly. With an average temperature increase of 2.6 degrees Celsius since preindustrial times, Ventura ranks as the fastest-warming county in the Lower 48 states.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWarming here already has exceeded the threshold set in the 2015 Paris climate accords, which President Barack Obama joined and the Trump administration has promised to leave. The agreement concluded that average warming worldwide should be held \u2018well below\u2019 2 degrees Celsius to avoid potentially catastrophic consequences \u2014 but it already has warmed by more than 1 degree Celsius.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With such extraordinary temperature increase, all sorts of impacts follow. For example, fires are now a reality of life due to dry conditions and lack of rain. The 2017 Thomas Fire at Santa Barbara, at 281,000 acres, was the largest wildfire to date in California in modern history, though it was surpassed in size by the Ranch Fire less than a year later. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is not an isolated problem, as \u201cA quarter of California\u2019s 40 million residents now live in high-risk fire zones.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It is not just fires, as the article reveals, what California locals call \u201cglobal weirding\u201d has resulted in strange midday temperatures soaring to 115 degrees Fahrenheit followed by sudden cooling, which resulted in deaths of livestock animals and scorched orchards. <\/span><\/p>\n

Something startling happened while I was writing this short lecture snippet.<\/span><\/p>\n

I penned the above paragraphs, which explained that California would likely experience far more than just sea level rise as a result of climate change, on Christmas morning, 2019. My plan was to come back the next day and finish this lecture. <\/span><\/p>\n

But that night my phone flashed with an alert that a rotating storm cell was off the coast of Santa Barbara and that the city needed to immediately brace for a tornado. Everyone was advised to take shelter in the their homes and \u201cmove to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building and avoid windows.\u201d While a tornado did not hit Santa Barbara that night, the National Weather Service confirmed that one touched down in the nearby Ventura harbor that was generated by a different storm cell. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, if you are in another state or part of the world, this may not seam like a big deal. But the central coast of California is one of just a few true Mediterranean climates on the planet. The Ancient Romans had a name for this sort of welcoming climate, they called it locus amoenus<\/i> a \u201cpleasant place.\u201d For over two thousand years, people across the world have wistfully pinned for such a perfect pastoral climate, with none of the temperature variations and various storms that most of the planet experiences. <\/span><\/p>\n

While a handful of small tornados have been recorded over the past hundred years in the Santa Barbra area, they are extraordinarily rare and generally insignificant. That two rotating storm cells capable of generating dangerous tornados formed during one storm is exceptionally unusual and perhaps unprecedented. <\/span><\/p>\n

I mentionable this because it underscores that climate change will likely produce a range of consequences that, like these tornados, may well be altogether unexpected. This is not to fault the predicative computer models produced by climate scientists, but rather to underscore that in addition to the sort of things that we can model and expect, like protracted drought conditions that set the stage for wildfires, there may be a range of others that we just don\u2019t see coming. <\/span><\/p>\n

And this is not just limited to the physical consequences of climate change (like droughts, fires, and tornados), but even more so when the human implications are taken into account. California produces almost half of fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the U.S. If there is significant change to the climate of this region, it could have profound consequences for the food supply and security of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

The climate crisis is not only here. The climate crisis has now come home to California. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming<\/a> \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you ask me, education can play a crucial role in the climate crisis. Coming from an educator, it’s probably not surprising that I believe this.<\/span><\/p>\n

What you may find surprising is that climate change deniers also find educators and education of central importance. And, they are doing something about it \u2013 in a big way. <\/span><\/p>\n

A 2016 report from the National Center for Science Education<\/span><\/a> (NCSE) revealed that as many as 30% of K-12 teachers teaching climate change teach that this is a two-sided argument and that \u201c\u2018many scientists\u2019 see natural causes behind recent global warming.\u201d Conversely, more than half of K-12 teachers do not teach climate change at all. And those who do teach it only devote an hour or two to the issue. <\/span><\/p>\n

Part of the problem is that many of these teachers are themselves unclear on the facts. The most referenced of all papers on climate change notes that 97% of scientists are in agreement that anthropogenic climate change is real and happening. However, when questioned about this scientific consensus by the NCSE, only 30% of middle-school and 45% of high-school teachers selected the correct answer from a broad range (\u201c81 to 100%\u201d). In other words, even if they thought that just 80% or 90% of scientists were in consensus, they would have still selected the right answer – but they didn\u2019t. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, what are so many teachers confused about the climate crisis? <\/span><\/p>\n

This confusion is not too surprising, as teachers have been targeted by fossil fuel affiliates like the Heartland Institute (I will talk more about this organization in a minute or two), which mailed 300,000 unsolicited and free copies of the book\u00a0 <\/span>*Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming<\/span><\/a>*, a portion of which we are reading, to K-12 teachers across the U.S. in 2017. As the Heartland Institute<\/span><\/a> notes, this book purports to explain \u201cwhy the claim of \u2018scientific consensus\u2019 [in other words, that 97% figure] on the causes and consequences of climate change is without merit. The authors comprehensively and specifically rebut the surveys and studies used to support claims of a consensus. They\u2026then provide a detailed survey of the physical science of global warming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Although sent to K-12 teachers, the real targets are – of course – children, as the goal is to teach them climate change skepticism by way of the people that they trust most in this regard: their school teachers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Assuming that each of the teachers that received this book teaches around 30 children, this approach could potentially teach climate change skepticism to 10 million American children. <\/span><\/p>\n

As you will see when reading Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming<\/i>, this does not read like the rants of a fringe group, but rather is built upon carefully constructed arguments. Don’t be at all surprised if it causes you to become a little skeptical yourself. That\u2019s why it was written – and written carefully.<\/span><\/p>\n

Incidentally, even if K-12 teachers are correctly informed and desire to teach the climate crisis, in a number of states (Maine<\/span><\/a>, South Dakota<\/span><\/a>, and Virginia<\/span><\/a>, for example) bills have recently been introduced that would hamper their efforts. The Virginia bill argues that this is necessary because \u201cmany teachers in public elementary and secondary school classrooms are abusing taxpayer resources and abusing their ability to speak to captive audiences of students in an attempt to indoctrinate or influence students\u2026under the guise of \u2018teaching for social justice\u2019 and other sectarian doctrines.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Some states are attempting to go even further in mandating that students be taught that the scientific consensus on climate change is simply wrong. A bill introduced in Montana in 2019<\/span><\/a> states that \u201cwhen providing educational and informational materials on climate change,\u201d the following findings should be observed: \u201creasonable amounts of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere have no verifiable impacts on the environment; science shows human emissions do not change atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions enough to cause climate change; claims that carbon associated with human activities causes climate change are invalid; and nature, not human activity, causes climate change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As the book Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming<\/i> makes clear, Americans are clearly being influenced by a massive campaign of disinformation that has been ongoing for decades now, supported by a range of groups that includes a number of conservative think tanks (generally referenced as CTTs), such as the Cato Institute, the Heartland Institute, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which are funded by fossil fuel companies (like the Koch brothers) and interests.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dating from the Reagan administration and earlier, these groups have long seen themselves, to quote the Cato Institute, as the defenders of \u201cAmerica\u2019s heritage of individual liberty, free markets, and constitutionally limited government.\u201d In practice, the Heartland Institute, which published the book that we are reading from, Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming<\/i>, has, example, fought bitterly against issues like tobacco regulation, which was one of its earliest initiatives in the 1980s. At the time, it received massive funding from the tobacco industry. <\/span><\/p>\n

With respect to climate change, a 2013 study by two scholars, Riley E. Dunlap and Peter J. Jacques, which looked at over 100 English-language books denying anthropogenic climate change dating from the 1980s to 2010, found verifiable links to CTT groups for 87% of those emerging from publishing houses (links with self-published denial books, now proliferating, are more difficult to trace). That number was once even higher: 100% of all books from the 1980s and 95% from the 1990s. <\/span><\/p>\n

Simply put, if you pick up a book denying that anthropogenic climate change is real, it is very likely that it was published or financed by a conservative think tanks funded by the fossil fuel industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And this is just the tip of the iceberg; CTTs support a range of websites, blogs and other online activities, as well as more traditional advertising. A billboard campaign by the Heartland Institute featured a photograph of convicted \u201cUnabomber\u201d Ted Kaczynski, who thinks of himself as an environmentalist, beside the words, \u201cI still believe in global warming. Do you?\u201d A television commercial by the Competitive Enterprise Institute argued that the greenhouse gas CO2 is not, in fact, a contributing factor to climate change. To the contrary, it is represented as \u201cessential to life. We breathe it out. Plants breath it in\u2026They call it pollution. We call it life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

These conservative think thanks also directly attack science and scientists. In response to the definitive reports on climate change produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Heartland Institute commissioned its own group, the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC), which has produced over a dozen reports, comprising thousands of pages. <\/span><\/p>\n

The book from which we are reading, Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming<\/i>, is in some sense similar to the IPCC Summary for Policymakers<\/i>, as it is produced by the NIPCC in order to deliver its findings to policymakers and others.\u00a0 <\/span>With this goal in mind, \u201c[m]ore than 50,000 copies of the first edition were sold or given away in five months to elected officials, civic and business leaders, scientists, and other opinion leaders\u201d (pages xv-xvi). <\/span><\/p>\n

With the second edition, from which we are reading, the Heartland Institute widened their free distribution of the book, as they posted the entire book online as a free PDF (which we are reading). In addition, as noted above, the Heartland Institute mailed 300,000 copies of the second edition of this book to teachers across America.<\/span><\/p>\n

In short, Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming<\/i> is designed to make a range of individuals question whether anthropogenic climate change is real: policymakers (i.e. politicians and business leaders), educators – and by extension, millions of children – and others, by making the text available to everyone as a free PDF. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am curious to hear what you think about the portion of Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming<\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>that you read and the larger issue of this campaign of disinformation in general, as well as how it is specifically being aimed at children by way of educators. <\/span><\/p>\n

Walden<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Henry David Thoreau\u2019s 1854 classic Walden<\/em> is a fascinating book that has been read very differently at different times.<\/a><\/p>\n

Walden<\/em> recounts (in literary form) Thoreau\u2019s experience of living a rustic life on the shores of Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts. In the second half of the 20th century especially, readers were fascinated by Thoreau as a proponent of a back-to-nature lifestyle. The idea of leaving our overly mechanized lives behind in order to live simpler lives closer to nature fascinated the 1960s generation, some of whom actually built wilderness cabins and communes in emulation of Thoreau. He also played a role in inspiring books such as Into the Wild<\/em>.<\/p>\n

However, Thoreau can also be seen as the great grandparent of the modern minimalist movement, as he famously reduced one of Walden\u2019s<\/em> core messages to a two-word imperative: \u201csimplify, simplify.\u201d This is arguably Thoreau\u2019s most useful message for the 21st century.<\/p>\n

In this sense, Thoreau did something altogether extraordinary (arguably far more extraordinary than living in a semi-wilderness setting) – yet, nonetheless, something all of us should arguably do at some point in our lives: He stepped out of his regular routine to ponder the sort of life that he considered worth living. In practice, he took a couple of years of his life to, as he puts it, \u201cfront only the essential facts of life.\u201d He wanted to strip away all the stuff and crap surrounding him to find the meaningful life under it all. Among other things, he considered housing, clothing, and food.<\/p>\n

Distressed by his neighbors, who even in the 1850s were building increasingly lavish houses, Thoreau pondered what would be the simplest dwelling possible for a single person. His answer? A wooden version of a single-person tent, with a floor just big enough for a bedroll. To keep things simple from the start, he proposed recycling a used railway storage box, which could be purchased at the time for a dollar, for the purpose. Ultimately, he settled on a larger structure, which at 150 square feet may seem lavish by comparison but is nevertheless about the size of an average garden shed (which his cabin at Walden Pond resembled).<\/p>\n

When Thoreau turned his attention to clothing, he railed against the fashion industry, which even then was centered in Paris, for encouraging us to buy into fleeting trends: \u201cThe head monkey at Paris puts on a traveler\u2019s cap, and all the monkeys in America do the same.\u201d Because \u201cevery generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new,\u201d clothing was (as it is even more today) being discarded as unfashionable when it was still quite usable. To simplify things, Thoreau suggested not giving in to the whims of fashion. Instead, own just a few pieces of sturdy clothing and, for good measure, \u201cbeware of all enterprises that require new clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n

With respect to food, Thoreau made repeated appeals for the simplicity of vegetarianism: \u201cI have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals.\u201d As early as Walden<\/em>, he also rejected imported foodstuffs, like coffee and tea. His last work, unpublished in his lifetime, was a celebration of local and seasonal wild fruit, which he extolled as superior to their imported counterparts, such as oranges and bananas that were being shipped into U.S. ports (like nearby Boston) by way of sailing ships.<\/p>\n

In general, though he was certainly given to his share of philosophical musing, throughout his life Thoreau repeatedly drew his (and our) attention to the most basic of our day-to-day needs, which, he provocatively argued can be satisfied far more simply than we usually imagine.<\/p>\n

But Thoreau did something more, something bigger and altogether extraordinary: he challenged us all to ponder the role that we were given at birth. This has profound environmental implications.<\/p>\n

Think of life like a play, a theatrical performance, that has been scripted for you. When you were born, you stepped into a role<\/em>, exceptionally intricate, that was written long before you were even conceived. For example, where you would live, how you would get around, what you would eat, all this was spelled out for you, in detail. It’s not that you weren’t given some latitude in playing the role. For example, you could choose the car that you wanted and could afford. However, you could not easily choose to forgo having a car – not if you wanted to play the role successfully (i.e. be seen as a success<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Like many generations before, my generation lived the life scripted for us. In that sense, we did not take up Thoreau\u2019s challenge to reconsider the life written for us. What\u2019s worse, in many ways ours was an over-the-top performance in the role, as we did so many things bigger and more outlandishly. For example, in dramatic contrast to Thoreau, we live in houses that are 2 1\/2 times larger than those of our parents (which, incidentally, were already six times larger than Thoreau\u2019s cabin on Walden Pond).<\/p>\n

The new generation coming on the scene, that of my students, cannot live the life scripted for them, as this would be environmentally disastrous. To some, this will be frustrating, perhaps enormously so, as the pressure to conform to that role (which comes from a thousand directions in our culture) can be pretty intense. Even little things, like forgoing a car and meat-eating, can be met with a backlash from those, happily living the scripted role, who see this as a threat to that way of life.<\/p>\n

If you happily accept the role handed to you, this might be especially frustrating. Yes, the generations that came before you had lots of things that you will not have. Let\u2019s face it, we had awesome amounts of stuff. However, it is not at all clear that any of this made us happy. Indeed, it has arguably done just the opposite.<\/p>\n

In any event, what this new generation needs to do is to take up Thoreau\u2019s challenge and reconsider and rewrite the script. This can be seen as an opportunity \u2013 a huge and exciting one. However, it is also an enormous challenge.<\/p>\n

So, my question is just what do you make of Thoreau and his challenge to an overly bloated life? Given that he is responding to life in nineteenth-century America, imagine what his reaction would be to our consumer world. Is Thoreau onto something, should we all \u201csimplify, simplify\u201d?<\/p>\n

As usual, I will select a number of your comments and respond to them in a future episode.<\/p>\n

The Waste Makers<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

Have you ever wondered how, why, and when Americans became rampant consumers? As consumerism has a profound environmental and climate footprint, it is worth pausing on this question and its history.<\/p>\n

In one sense, unchecked consumerism has been going on for a very long time. In my course on literature and the environment, we read a blistering attack on consumerism by the English writer Sir John Denham from nearly 400 years ago. And he is hardly the first. However, in the U.S., consumerism really ramped up in the seventy years separating us from the Second World War.<\/p>\n

Radical cultural change is it interesting phenomenon. Once it has taken place, we often quickly adjust to the new normal. To people born into a changed era, it generally doesn’t seem unusual at all, as it is all that they have ever known. The new normal is simply normal.<\/p>\n

However, people caught in the middle of profound cultural change have an interesting vantage point, as they can see the changes particularly clearly – and hence often react to them strongly.<\/p>\n

In the 1950s, as consumerism really took off in the U.S., journalist Vance Packard was a particularly keen observer of the change in American culture. Immediately after that decade closed, Packard published a best-selling, scorching indictment of consumerism entitled The Waste Makers<\/em>.<\/p>\n

While Packard was not an environmentalist per se, and Rachel Carson\u2019s Silent Spring<\/em> (which in many ways inaugurated the modern environmental movement) would not be published until two years after The Waste Makers<\/em>, from the title onward the book focused on consumerism as a culture defined by the production of waste – which is obviously environmentally disastrous. Although Packard didn\u2019t take up industrial waste, he focused in on the fact that American consumerism was quickly evolving into a waste machine.<\/p>\n

Although we don’t often think much about it, as the words suggests, \u201cconsumerism\u201d is the process of consuming<\/em> stuff and eventually discarding what we have consumed as waste. Packard drew attention to the fact that Americans were increasingly being encouraged to both consume more stuff and to discard it more quickly.<\/p>\n

Born in 1914, Packard matured during America\u2019s Great Depression. Hence, \u201cnormal\u201d to him meant consuming something as completely as possible before discarding it. A jacket, for example, might be worn for many years, even though it would become frayed and need assorted repairs along the way. However, the \u201cnew normal\u201d of 1950s consumerism meant that we would keep a jacket a fraction of that time, discarding it as soon as it went out of fashion – which the industry that produced it made sure that it quickly did. If you look carefully, you can see the early roots of fast fashion here.<\/p>\n

While the garment industry arguably pioneered this model of discarding what is entirely usable but no longer fashionable – which is why we call it the \u201cfashion\u201d industry – Packard drew attention to the fact that all sorts of additional industries were jumping on the fashion bandwagon.<\/p>\n

The automobile was a prime example. The ubiquitous car that Packard grew up with, Henry Ford\u2019s Model T, famously came in just one color (actually, that’s a lie marketed by Ford, but that’s neither here nor there) and didn’t significantly changed much over it’s 20-year production history. In contrast, taking its cue from the fashion industry, in the 1950s automobile mobile manufacturers were significantly changing cars every two or three years in a successful effort to sell more and more cars – and in the process create more and more waste.<\/p>\n

But is this as bad as it sounds? Aren\u2019t the needs of individuals and corporations arguably both served when they provide us with stuff? The problem is that time and time again corporations have chosen their needs over those of consumers, often with a horrific results. Let’s look at an example.<\/p>\n

Since the 1920s, scientists have known that there was a link between smoking cigarettes and cancer. By the early 1950s, the American public was alerted to the problem through series of articles entitled \u201cCancer by the Carton\u201d in the Reader\u2019s Digest<\/em>, which was an incredibly popular magazine at the time. By the end of the 1960s, all cigarettes sold in the United States were required to have a prominent label informing consumers that \u201cCigarette smoking can cause lung cancer and heart diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knowing that they were selling a poisonous substance that was, moreover, addictive, what did the tobacco industry do? Did they, horrified at what they had done, apologize to the public and immediately stop? To the contrary, they doubled down, denied the science, and did everything they could to continue profiting from extraordinary human suffering for as many decades as possible. Even today, when a successful campaign has significantly reduced cigarette smoking in the United States over the past few decades, even today half a million people in the U.S. die every year from smoking. Smokers, on average, die ten years sooner than nonsmokers. (source<\/a>)<\/p>\n

But, wait, it gets worse. In 1987 – 35 yers after the articles on \u201cCancer by the Carton\u201d made Americas aware that cigarettes killed – the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company launched its Joe Camel advertising campaign for its for Camel cigarette brand. Four years later, an article in the Journal of the AMA (American Medical Association) revealed that this cartoon camel had become nearly as recognizable to six-year-old children as Mickey Mouse. One third of all cigarettes illegally sold to minors by this time were – you guessed it – Camels.<\/p>\n

Astonishingly, the tobacco industry got into the business of making consumers out of children. As unbelievable as it may sound, the goal was to addict them to a poisonous substance that would take 10 years off their lives – all in order to keep profits up.<\/p>\n

Are all corporations as evil as the tobacco industry? No, of course not. Nonetheless, this is in instructive example, as it reveals that, unchecked, corporations have been willing to do extraordinary things in the name of profit. Even knowingly kill people, by the millions.<\/p>\n

As the publisher of The Waste Makers<\/em> notes, it was \u201cAn expos\u00e9 of \u2018the systematic attempt of business to make us [into][ wasteful, debt-ridden, permanently discontented individuals\u2019\u2026[and]\u2026how the rapid growth of disposable consumer goods was degrading the environmental, financial, and spiritual character of American society.\u201d<\/p>\n

I am curious what you make of The Waste Makers<\/em>. In particular, what do you think of the various types of planned obsolescence that he outlines? He also weighs in on an issue that I took up in discussing the film The True Cost<\/em>: just who is responsible for out obsession with consumer stuff that is wreaking havoc on our planet? Is it us consumers? Or is it the companies that manufacture all this stuff?<\/p>\n

Incidentally, Packard continued writing books for some time. Like The Waste Makers<\/em>, his last book, published in 1989, is arguably as timely today as it was then: The Ultra Rich: How Much Is Too Much?<\/em><\/p>\n

As usual, I will select a number of your comments and respond to them in a future episode.<\/p>\n

Project Drawdown<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

Ok, let\u2019s say that we get serious about not only stopping the rise of global greenhouse (GHG) gasses, but getting to the point where these emissions are actually declining. How do we even begin such an undertaking? Specifically. what do we need to do? Install more wind turbines? More solar? <\/span><\/p>\n

There are two ways of approaching this problem, one personal, one global. Let\u2019s start on a personal level, as we hear all sorts of solutions bandied about, from switching lightbulbs to\u00a0 <\/span>unplugging our phone chargers. <\/span><\/p>\n

In his book Sustainable Energy \u2014 without the hot air<\/i>, the late David MacKay drew attention to the fact that the BBC News noted that \u201c[t]he nuclear power stations will all be switched off in a few years. How can we keep Britain\u2019s lights on? \u2026 unplug your mobile-phone charger when it\u2019s not in use.\u201d This is certainly a good thing to do, but, as MacKay aptly notes, <\/span><\/p>\n

Obsessively switching off the phone-charger is like bailing the Titanic with a teaspoon. Do switch it off, but please be aware how tiny a gesture it is. Let me put it this way: All the energy saved in switching off your charger for one day is used up in one second of car-driving.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what then are the big offenders in terms of our individual climate footprints? <\/span><\/p>\n

A few years ago the ever-reliable Union of Concerned Scientists put together a concise article on the subject that, among other things, explained where our primary personal emissions come. <\/span><\/p>\n

1) Transportation. For the average American, owning and driving an automobile accounts for around a quarter of our individual climate footprints. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

2) Housing can account for another quarter of your climate footprint, especially if you live in a large suburban or rural home. The main problems are heating, cooling, and home energy use. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

3) The production of our food also is responsible for an extraordinary greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

As I noted in a previous lecture, if you just addressed these issues (by getting rid of your car, living in efficient housing, and eating a largely plant-based diet and wasting less food), as well as reconsider your relationship to stuff, you could likely cut you climate footprint in half, perhaps even a good deal more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alternately, we can approach this issue globally rather than personally. Project Drawdown, which is arguably the \u201cmost comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming,\u201d considered and ranked the \u201c100 most substantive solutions to global warming.\u201d If enacted, these solutions could not only halt the rise of GHGs, but actually drawdown these emissions. <\/span><\/p>\n

While all of these solutions are needed, the top 25 are particularly noteworthy, especially as, taken together, the top three solutions would do more to drawdown global GHG emissions than the bottom 75 combined. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is perhaps surprising is that many things that we might imagine would be in the top 25 are absent and, alternately, some that we may have never heard of top the list. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, we are often told that switching to energy-efficient lighting in our houses can make a meaningful difference in the climate crisis. While doing so is certainly important and can indeed make a difference, its relative importance needs to be taken into account, as globally reducing food waste can have nearly ten times the impact of switching to LED lightbulbs residentially. Hence, perhaps not surprisingly, this lightbulb switch does not even enter the top 25 most important changes, while reducing food waste is number three. <\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, even though electric vehicles have taken on an iconic, almost savior-like status as a solution to the climate crisis, they are also not among the top-25 solutions, while the #1 solution, eliminating the use of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in refrigerant and air conditioning systems, is rarely mentioned in the press – especially when compared to electric vehicles. <\/span><\/p>\n

If we combine and consider together related solutions that are near the top of the list, they clearly then lead the list. Perhaps surprisingly, the #1 thing that we can do to roll back global greenhouse gas emissions does not involve wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, or any sort of similar technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, when taken together, wasting less food and eating a largely plant-based diet (#3 & 4 on the list) is bigger than anything else on the list, including wind or solar. Food production is the second largest producer of greenhouse gases on the planet. Yet, we waste between 1\/3 and 1\/2\u00a0 <\/span>of the food that we produce. For Americans, much of this happens at the consumer level. <\/span><\/p>\n

I know, this shift in diet doesn’t sound nearly as glamorous as a self driving electric car, but it would nonetheless be ten times better for the planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, combining and considering together the education of girls family planning, would bring them to #2 together. Simply put, we need to educate more girls and women (which dramatically curbs population growth, as the more education a woman has, the fewer children she has) and promote family planning (globally, there are roughly 85 million unintended pregnancies every year). These two things together would roll back 103 gigatons of GHG emissions.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not to say that we should place responsibility for this particular issue with girls and women. To the contrary, the responsibility lies with the institutions that restrict a woman\u2019s access to education and control of her own body. And too, it is obviously the case that contraception is a male responsibility as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is population so important? Sixty years ago, the global population was about 3 billion. At the time of this recording, it is 7.75 billion. By 2050 it will be approaching 10 billion. The simple fact is that this many people are profoundly taxing the resources of our planet. Hence, reducing the population of our species is one of the main things that we can do to mitigate the climate crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taken together, these two cultural changes alone can take us nearly a quarter of the way to where we need to go to get GHG emissions under control. Note that very little is needed by way of technology here, as the necessary changes can be made right now by both individuals and a range of groups and institutions. <\/span><\/p>\n

Note also that quite a few of the suggestions made by Project Drawdown involve land use, relating to tropical forests, silvopasture, regenerative agriculture, temperate forest, peatlands, and so forth. In fact, eleven of the top 25 things that we can do to draw down emissions involve land use of one sort or another. <\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly, nine of these eleven issues related to land use also involve food production. Hence, eleven of the things that we can do to draw down emissions involve food, if we add to this list reducing food waste and switching to largely plant-based diets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, while land use and food production dominate the top 25 \u201csolutions\u201d suggested by Project Drawdown, all-in-all, a diverse group of actions are required to draw down GHG emissions. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am curious what you make of this compelling list of solutions to the climate crisis. <\/span><\/p>\n

After all, this is what many, many people have been asking for: a roadmap to globally reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. <\/span><\/p>\n

Social justice, environmental justice, climate justice, and the injustice of it all<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s do something different today. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since this week\u2019s short films are on the Green New Deal, it would be pretty redundant if I made two videos on the Green New Deal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s take up the climate crisis and justice, which are in ways related to the Green New Deal. <\/span><\/p>\n

As I have repeatedly noted (you’re probably tired of hearing me say it!), this course focuses on the sort of cultural changes that we need to make in response to the climate crisis. While, as I noted in a previous video, personal actions (like switching to largely plant-based diets and away from flying and automobiles) are absolutely essential, we need to do more. <\/span><\/p>\n

We need to collectively address this problem. Although the climate crisis is obviously a global problem, different parts of the world (i.e different countries) have their own individual challenges with respect to the crisis. <\/span><\/p>\n

In some, like the U.S., the challenge is to reel in our environmentally disastrous lifestyle. Economically, this means that we arguably need to enter into a period of degrowth, where we work out how to live rich and meaningful lives while reducing our population and economy – and in the process emitting far fewer greenhouse gases. <\/span><\/p>\n

Alternately, in the developing world, the challenge is how to raise the quality of life for everyone, so that everyone there can also live rich and meaningful lives, while not raising greenhouse gas emissions to unacceptable levels in the process – which is, sadly, exactly what the U.S. and the developed world did.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because every country is facing somewhat different problems, the Paris Agreement signed at the COP21 in 2015, left decisions on climate action up to individuals countries. <\/span><\/p>\n

In some cases, these climate actions may be related, as countries in the developed and developing worlds will both will need to rely on renewable energy sources like wind and solar. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, in the developed world, part of the challenge will be to use far less energy than we currently are using. In the developing world, by contrast, the challenge will be to use more energy – such as by electrifying villages across the planet – but to do so responsibly and sustainably. <\/span><\/p>\n

Simply put, the developed world needs to enter into a period of degrowth; the developing world, sustainable, responsible growth. In both cases, this will involve profound cultural change. <\/span><\/p>\n

Because this is a course taught in the U.S., it has addressed a range of what might fairly be called \u201cfirst-world\u201d problems. To much of the world, these may well seem absurd.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, this course has considered reducing our meat consumption, which is hardly a problem for places like Bangladesh, where the per capita meat consumption is 4 pounds per year (compared to 265 pounds per year in the U.S.)<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span>To put that in perspective, people in American not only eat more meat than people in Bangladesh, we eat 6,600% more meat. <\/span><\/p>\n

I know, it is difficult to even imagine such a huge difference, especially when it comes to food. Nonetheless, the U.S. has an obesity epidemic, which impacts 40% of Americans<\/span><\/a>, while one in ten people across the globe experience chronic hunger daily<\/span><\/a>. Returning to the example of Bangladesh, approximately 40 million people are close to starvation<\/span><\/a> there and \u201c40% of the country falls under three categories: hunger, starvation and chronic hunger.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We have also taken up the issue of air travel. In the U.S. there are 2.5 flights per person per year<\/span><\/a>. While not everyone is taking this many flights, as a country we obviously fly quite a bit, with frequent flyers flying a great deal. In contrast, in Bangladesh just 1 in 55 people fly every year. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you had trouble wrapping your head around the fact that the average person in American eats 6,600% more meat than the average person in Bangladesh, the difference with air travel is even harder to imagine: as the per capita air-travel in the U.S. is 14,000% greater than in Bangladesh. <\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, we have also taken up car ownership, which is hardly a problem in a country like Bangladesh, where only four people in a thousand own a car. In contrast, in the U.S. 838 people in a thousand have cars<\/span><\/a>. The difference here is even more mind boggling, as per capita automobile ownership in the U.S. is 21,000% greater than in Bangladesh. <\/span><\/p>\n

Recall from the documentary The True Cost<\/i> that Bangladesh is where the Rana Plaza disaster happened. In case the film left you wondering why people would take jobs in such horrible conditions for such low salary, if one out of four of your friends was starving, it would probably be quite an incentive to take any job on offer.<\/span><\/p>\n

All this brings us to the questions of social justice, environmental justice, and climate justice, which are all interrelated. <\/span><\/p>\n

The horrific conditions under which people are forced to work in Bangladesh is an example of a \u201csocial-justice\u201d problem. <\/span><\/p>\n

The environmental damage done to the places by, for example, factories that pollute there, (which we often call point-source pollution) is an example of \u201cenvironmental justice.\u201d The phrase is a little confusing, as we really are talking about injustice here, which includes the facts that these factories are frequently located in areas where people are generally quite poor. Bangladesh is an obvious example: as poverty there is so great that the people have little choice but to take any sort of development, even if it destroys their local environment. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cClimate justice\u201d looks to how global climate change impacts people across the globe, with the poor being impacted the most. For example, by flooding related to sea-level rise. \u201cEach year in Bangladesh \u202610,000\u2026square miles\u2026(around 18% of the country) is flooded, killing over 5,000 people and destroying more than seven million homes<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Let me just repeat that: this many people, 5000, are killed and this many homes, seven million, are destroyed each and every year. \u201cDuring severe floods the affected area may exceed 75% of the country<\/span><\/a>\u201d of Bangladesh. The last time that this happened, \u201c30 million people were made homeless.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

There is an extraordinary, deadly gulf between the wealthiest and poorest people on earth. It not only impacts our planet\u2019s poor directly through things like working conditions, it also does so indirectly through the contamination of their countries, such as Bangladesh. <\/span><\/p>\n

Climate justice also comes into relief here, as wealthy counties are far better equipt to protect their people from its impacts. <\/span><\/p>\n

Take the Thomas Fire, which I have previously mentioned and which came pretty close to my house in December of 2018. At one point, 8,500 firefighters mobilized to fight it<\/span><\/a>. And then there was the firefighting equipment, including aircraft from across the nation and nearly 300 fire engines from eight nearby states. All told, it cost hundreds of millions of dollars to fight this wildfire. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am, of course, profoundly grateful for all this, especially for the firefighters who risked their lives putting out this fire.<\/span><\/p>\n

But how many other countries could have afford to mount a response like this? How many would even have the equipment on hand to mobilize? <\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, if I lived pretty much anywhere in the developing world, during the Thomas Fire my little old wooden house would have burned to the ground along with all my possessions – and the rest of my town. Perhaps my family and I would have survived, perhaps not. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is an example of climate justice – or more accurately, climate injustice. <\/span><\/p>\n

In part because my country put 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, we now have the wealth to protect ourselves from the devastation that the climate crisis is already bringing to our planet. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, the 30 million people made homeless by the last great flood in\u00a0 <\/span>Bangladesh, have no such protection. <\/span><\/p>\n

Incidentally, in 2018 the Trump administration slashed funding to Bangladesh to two thirds the level of the previous administration<\/span><\/a>. The slash was even greater with respect to the health sector, where funding was reduced to less than half by the Trump administration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, what can be done regarding all this? <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, we can buy fewer clothes, but what about the social, environmental, and climate justice issues in places like Bangladesh? <\/span><\/p>\n

The Green New Deal – which I think is absolutely necessary – is primarily focused on the U.S. economy. But what responsibility does the U.S. have to the rest of the world, to places like Bangladesh? <\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, as a trading partner – and in terms of social justice – what responsibility do we have to mitigate the sort of cultural problems that led to the Rana Plaza disaster? <\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding environmental justice, should we play a role in making sure that countries like Bangladesh have strong environmental laws – which would prevent the production of stuff for the U.S. and the rest of the world from destroying the environment of Bangladesh? <\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, with respect to the climate crisis, should we help Bangladesh when they suffer the consequences of it? <\/span><\/p>\n

Communicating the Climate Crisis: vegans and freegans, vegetarians and climatarians<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

So, in addition to personal action (i.e. lifestyle changes), climate activism, and becoming politically active, today I would like to talk about yet another thing that we can each do to intervene in the climate crisis: communicate. <\/span><\/p>\n

The reading for this week is the chapter by Professor Richard Somerville on \u201cCommunicating Climate Change Science\u201d (Chapter 8) from the book Bending the Curve: Climate Change Solutions<\/i>, which is, incidentally, a University of California publication. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the Overview to the chapter notes, in it you \u201cmeet \u2018Uncle Pete,\u2019 a fictional character closely based on fact. Uncle Pete does not accept climate change science. Many people know a real person who strongly resembles Uncle Pete.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The chapter thus seeks to prepare you for encounters for your own \u201cUncle Pete\u201d – and similar skeptics that you may have already met. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since the article takes up the formidable challenge of communicating the reality of the climate crisis to skeptics, in today\u2019s talk I would like to consider a related but in many ways very different challenge: how to communicate action to people who are not skeptics, like your friends.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are like me, many of your friends are already convinced of the reality of the climate crisis, as we often surrounded, for a variety of reasons, by people who see such issues similarly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hence, it may well be the case that what interests your friends most is knowing what can be done about the climate crisis. More to the point, what they can do about it. <\/span><\/p>\n

While such people are very different from Somerville\u2019s \u201cUncle Pete,\u201d they offer a very real opportunity for communication, though of a very different sort. Moreover, many of the things that Somerville underscores, like preparation, stories, metaphors, and language, can also help you communicate with your friends and family. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, exactly how does one open up a space for such communication?<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though it sounds paradoxical, I would argue that the best thing is to not initiate talking about the climate crisis, let alone initiate talking about your personal actions. <\/span><\/p>\n

In a book on mindfulness mediation, Jon Kabat-Zinn nicely suggests the same regarding meditation \u201cEvery time you get a strong impulse to talk about meditation and how wonderful it is, or how hard it is, or what it\u2019s doing for you these days, or what it\u2019s not, or you want to convince someone else how wonderful it would be for them, just look at it as more thinking and go meditate some more. The impulse will pass and everybody will be better off – especially you.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

We’ve all had friends who became enthusiastic about something and then immediately began to talk ears off about it. This is, unfortunately, not a very successful way to spur people to action.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, when is the best time to communicate new ideas? In general, I wouldn\u2019t decide this for others, but leave it to your friends to tell you when they are ready to hear about it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Allow me to give a few examples.<\/span><\/p>\n

Up until relatively recently, I was a pretty hardcore vegan for five years straight. Before that I was a vegetarian. Before that a pescatarian. Before that, I did not eat a whole lot of animal products. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whenever I was out to dinner with friends, this sometimes became obvious before I even ordered, as I would often ask the server for information about the food. Consequently, friends frequently asked me about my eating habits. When I replied that I was vegan, that often shut down the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why? Well, because people know what being a vegan entails. Hence, for most people there is little need to ask about veganism as a lifestyle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, as many people are vegans because of strong ethical convictions, they are often seen as feeling particularly virtuous and morally superior. Mind you that this may well not be the case, but, having been a vegan for years, I can tell you that people often assume that this how you feel – and<\/i> how you feel about them, and their moral decisions (i.e. what they imagine that you perceive as their moral failure). <\/span><\/p>\n

Consequently, experience has taught me that announcing that you are vegan can not only pretty much shut down all conversation on the subject, but can make for an uncomfortable meal for all involved.<\/span><\/p>\n

How, then, does one go about communicating the importance of diet with respect to the climate crisis? <\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my approach to such communication. I\u2019m not saying it’s perfect, but it has generally been working for me. It is certainly better than announcing to the world that I was vegan.<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked about my dinner choices, I generally reply that, while I have been pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan, I now largely think of myself as a \u201cclimatarian,\u201d though I admit to being intrigued by friends who are \u201cfreegans.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

As you might imagine, people almost always immediately ask \u201cWhat\u2019s a climatarian<\/span><\/a>?\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s a freegan<\/span><\/a>?\u201d Instead of shutting down conversation (i.e. communication), as the label \u201cvegan\u201d risks, these words initiate it. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, I explain that a climatarian is a way of eating, like the similarly sounding \u201cvegetarian.\u201d A relatively new term, as it was coined in 2015, it denotes someone who eats with the climate in mind. For example, a climatarian would choose a turkey burger over a beef one, as 2.5 times more greenhouse gases are emitted in producing a pound of beef than a pound of turkey. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, eating a pound of lentils is far better than either a pound of turkey or beef, as the beef requires – astonishingly, as I noted in another talk – the release of 30 time more greenhouse gas than the lentils. However – and this is an important point to communicate – not all climatarians are purists. The main thing is to try, as much as possible, to be aware of the climate impact of the food that you eat, and to act on this knowledge the best that you can. <\/span><\/p>\n

But is this enough? Shouldn\u2019t we all be eating a largely plant-based diet and forgoing turkey along with beef? Yes, that is true, but we are not only talking about bringing about greater awareness here (i.e. communication), but starting people on a path. <\/span><\/p>\n

Because becoming a vegan can entail radical lifestyle changes and the notion of being vegan carries with it a great deal of cultural baggage – and, let\u2019s be honest, much of it negative in the eyes of the carnist public – it risks being seem like an alien, far-off shore. <\/span><\/p>\n

Climatarianism, by contrast, can be seen as a bridge to that other shore – a welcoming bridge that anyone can step out on to, at any time. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, on hearing about climatarianism, people often ask me, if we are at a restaurant, to walk through the menu in our hands to compare the relative climate impact of the food on offer. As a consequence, more than once my dinner companions have chosen more climate friendly options right then and there. As with the example of beef and turkey, people are often surprised that one tasty menu item can sometimes have half the climate impact of a similar option. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, Somerville\u2019s advice regarding preparation is worth repeating, as researching the relative climate impacts of different foods in advance is necessary here. However, this is the sort of knowledge that we all need to acquire if we want to eat with the climate in mind. <\/span><\/p>\n

In any event, a single meal can thus result in someone not only learning about the relative climate impact of different foods, but also result in them acting on that knowledge, on the spot. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, it would be great if telling people that you are vegan could instantly result in them swearing off of animal products, but, in my experience, this can completely backfire and have the opposite effect. <\/span><\/p>\n

Climatarianism, however, offers them a new way of thinking about food choices – and, for many people, thinking about the climate impact of their food choices is indeed entirely new. If everyone were to think this way, it could have profound climate impact. <\/span><\/p>\n

Climatarianism is fundamentally different from veganism insofar as it does nor present people with an either\/or choice of either animal products or not. You’re not telling people to stop eating that pizza, but maybe to decide to get one covered with veggies rather than three different kinds of meat. <\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of overall climate impact, it would be better if most Americans cut their climate footprint from food in half with choices like turkey over beef then if just 5 or 10% of the population switched to largely plant-based diets. <\/span><\/p>\n

And, who knows, perhaps climatarianism will serve as a bridge to veganism for some people, as it offers them the first tentative steps in that direction, even though it my take years – as it did for me, as I went from being pescatarian to vegetarian to vegan.<\/span><\/p>\n

As with \u201cclimatarian,\u201d just the mention of the word \u201cfreegan\u201d opens the door to climate communication – and perhaps action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since many people have never even heard the word \u201cfreegan,\u201d it is a wonderful opportunity to explain that, while eating a largely plant-based diet can have profound climate consequences, wasting less food can have an even greater impact. It has been my experience that most people are truly startled by this fact. <\/span><\/p>\n

Incidentally, as Wikipedia concisely notes<\/span><\/a>, \u201cFreeganism is often presented as synonymous with \u201cdumpster diving\u201d for discarded food, although freegans are distinguished by their association with an anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist ideology.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that some people are pretty hardcore freegans. For example, Peter Kalmus, who is a climate scientist at\u00a0 <\/span>NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, collects food to eat that has been put out by his local supermarket because it is past its expiration dates. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, as with being climatarian, being freegan is pretty flexible. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, if we are at a restaurant, we can take home everything that we order – and actually eat it at some point. When at home, we can prepare sensibly-sized portions and eat everything on our plate. Similarly, we can work at being freegan when we cook as much of what we have purchased as we can – such as leafy beet tops, as well as the root.<\/span><\/p>\n

True, we have not dumpster dived for our meal, but we have eaten food that otherwise have likely wound up in landfill. <\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, as with climatarianism, freeganism is not an either\/or lifestyle choice like veganism. Instead, anyone can make freegan decisions throughout the day. <\/span><\/p>\n

Communicating through your actions can be a very effective form of climate activism. It at once underscores that you really care about this issue (rather than just give it lip service) and that anyone can do the same, even if doing so just involves ordering a turkey burger. <\/span><\/p>\n

After all, to get anywhere you need to make a first step. <\/span><\/p>\n

Such communication can happen in all sorts of ways. People are always asking me about my electric bike, as they are truly curious about just what is. It is even the case that, noticing that I have a limited wardrobe (OK, noticing that I wear the same clothes a lot), people sometimes find polite ways of asking if I am a minimalist, which is, in fact, something that I work at being. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, I get asked about lots of things: being an urban farmer, living in a small (though not tiny) house, swearing off flying, having only one child, climate activism, my meditation practice, and so forth. I do not advertise any of these lifestyle choices, but rather wait until people want – and are themselves ready – to hear about them. <\/span><\/p>\n

When they are finally ready, people often come to me with scores of questions, as they really want to learn about sometime like urban farming or meditation. <\/span><\/p>\n

This communication strategy also leverages<\/i> personal climate action. Not only do these actions have direct impact on the crisis, but they encourage others to act as well, as they underscore how seriously you take this crisis – and that you are willing to \u201cwalk the talk,\u201d as they say.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Such personal actions also underscore an often ignored truism: Before you can change the world, you need to change yourself. Otherwise, to be honest, you may well cause more trouble than good. To again echo that injunction often attributed to Gandhi, \u201cBe the change you want to see you in the world.”<\/span><\/p>\n

In any event, I am curious to both hear what you think about Somerville\u2019s advice on how to talk to \u201cUncle Pete\u201d about the climate crisis, as well as ways of communicating with concerned friends and family who want to do something about this crisis, but are not quire sure just how to go about it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Drawing down greenhouse gas emissions by being the change<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

You may be wondering why I included Peter Kalmus twice in this course, first in the documentary on Being the Change<\/i> and now in the book of the same title upon which the film is based.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, I find this week\u2019s reading to be more akin to Project Drawdown than the documentary on Kalmus. <\/span><\/p>\n

Project Drawdown gave us a glimpse the big picture, what we need to do to globally bring down greenhouse emissions. However, as someone in our class aptly noted, \u201cMost of the solutions\u2026are not things that I can do personally right now. I cannot switch to wind power, solar power, or nuclear power when I am currently living on campus. I also cannot implement agricultural practices or improve my rice cultivation methods.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, Peter Kalmus looks at what each of us can do to drawdown our own greenhouse emissions, like bike and eat with the climate in mind. <\/span><\/p>\n

True, we have been discussing theses things for a number of weeks now, but not through the eyes of a scientist. As a climate scientist, Kalmus is able to do the same sort of calculations that we saw in Project Drawdown, but, in his case, he focuses on the issue in a far more personal way.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, he notes that when he went vegetarian 2012, it reduced his greenhouse gas \u201cemissions by about 1,500 kg CO2e per year. \u201d Going freeganism reduced his \u201cfood emissions by an additional 1,000 kg CO2e per year.\u201d As he notes, Kalmus\u2019s vegetarian and freeganism hence reduce his food emissions to 400 CO2e per year, which is .4 metric tons. Since he also \u201cbegan growing food, [and] trading surpluses with neighbors,\u201d presumably this number is even lower. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is interesting here is that Kalmus is not just calculating what sort of emission reductions are possible, he is actually testing to see if this is possible, let alone rewarding. <\/span><\/p>\n

He also does a great job of bringing the relative impact of his actions into focus. \u201cMy five most effective actions were quitting planes, vegetarianism, bicycling, freeganism, and composting.\u201d In this class we have, of course, talked about cars, planes, and animal products as a problem, but Kalmus not only underscores that these are major issues, he shows how he acted on them and the results. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kalmus also draws attention to seemingly little things that might escape our attention.For example, \u201c[w]hen we first moved into our house in 2008, there were five pilot lights emitting a whopping 1,600 kg CO2e per year.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>This translates into 3527 pounds, or over 1.5 metric tons. Recall that we each should annually be emitting no more than 2 metric tons each. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am curious which reductions in particular that Kalmus calms and his family took interested or surprised you most. For example, he notes that by switching to using a clothesline they reduced their \u201chousehold CO2e emissions by 550 kg.\u201d This one little change saves half of a metric tons of CO2 or equivalent gases annually. Note too that there is an incredibly small amount of CO2 embedded in a clothesline, especially when compared to the manufacture of a clothes dryer. <\/span><\/p>\n

Because he is a climate scientist, Kalmus really likes to backup what he says with cold, hard facts. For example, he that \u201c[t]he average American diet emits 2,900 kg CO2e per year,\u201d which is almost 3 metric tons – and hence can completely blow your individual carbon allotment. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another eyeopening statistic is that \u201ceach dollar spent on new stuff represents roughly 0.5 kg embodied CO2e emissions (counting manufacturing, packaging, and shipping).\u201d As \u201c[t]he average US person spends a little over $6,000 per year on new stuff\u2026average emissions are something like 3,000 kg CO2e,\u201d which translates into three metric tons per American – and hence can also completely blow your individual carbon allotment. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kalmus also notes that \u201cUS landfills emit 1,300 kg [i.e. 1.3 metric tons] CO2e per person per year. Let this sink in for a moment: our society has reached a point where even one person\u2019s trash, taken by itself, generates more CO2e than the average Bangladeshi generates for everything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While you might expect Kalmus to focus solely on personal actions, his chapter on \u201cCollective Action\u201d reveals that he has more holistic view of the situation. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, he succinctly notes that \u201cGlobal warming is a market failure. Burning fossil fuels imposes huge costs on society that aren\u2019t included in the price of the fuels, primarily by causing global warming and respiratory illness. It\u2019s crucial to fix this market failure because few of us will voluntarily stop burning fossil fuels in a society that still strongly rewards this behavior.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As Kalmus notes, he takes up the the question of activism, in order to \u201cbalance\u201d his focus on personal action: \u201cIn this chapter, I\u2019ve presented my opinions as a human, not as a scientist. Although my job is to do science, as a human I have as much right to respectfully express my opinions as anyone else. I\u2019ve done so here in order to balance my emphasis on individual action and emissions reduction elsewhere in the book<\/span><\/p>\n

I am interested to hear what you make of both Peter Kalmus\u2019s approach to the climate crisis through personal action, as well as his underscoring the need for activism.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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California’s Folsom Lake Reservoir During the 2011-17 Drought<\/p>\n

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Top Ten Environmental Films (and some bonus suggestions)<\/a><\/p>\n

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Films, Introduction.<\/a> Watch video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While I am a specialist in the written word, I really like films. Don\u2019t get me wrong, a writer can be incredibly expressive, but a picture \u2013 and in some cases, even better, moving pictures \u2013 add something entirely new to the equation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consequently, even though I am not a fan of listicles, I have put together a list of my top ten environmental films, along with alternative or supplemental suggestions for most of them. And, for good measure, I have thrown in a quick list of ten more films that you might find interesting.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a variety of different ways, these films all take up the climate crisis. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some take up the job of introducing the sheer breath of the problem, while others focus in on specific aspects of the crisis. Some lay out the problem, while others offer up solutions. Some take a somewhat detached stance, while others are far more personal, introducing us to the people who are rolling up their sleeves and doing something about the crisis. In some cases, these people have made radical changes to their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not all these films are perfect. Some even have major flaws, like Cowspiracy<\/i>, which greatly exaggerates the impact that a switch to largely plant-based diets could make. Why, then, recommend such a film? Every one of these films made me stop and think – and taught me something new. <\/span><\/p>\n

Just watching these films will likely give you better understanding of the climate crisis and what people are doing about it than most Americans have. This is not to say that it would not be useful supplement screening these films with a range of complementary readings. Consequently, I also have created a top-ten list of environmental readings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Look at it this way, in the same amount of time that it would take to binge watch a single season of a TV show,\u00a0 <\/span>you can get an interesting window into the climate crisis – and what we can do about it – just by watching these films.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the Flood <\/em>and An Inconvenient Sequel<\/em> (Films 1)<\/a> Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you could know the truth about the threat of climate change \u2014 would you want to know?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the question posed by the National Geographic film Before the Flood<\/i>, which features Leonardo DiCaprio. It is a great question that throws down the gauntlet to potential viewers, as hitting the pause button would obviously answer with a decided \u201cNo\u201d – although, presumably, you would not have even purchased or clicked on the film if you did to what to know the truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what is the truth and, as a filmmaker, how do you present it in about an hour and a half? Keep in mind that we are not taking up how to present one aspect of the climate crisis, such as wildfires or climate migration, but the whole shebang, from the fact that Miami is now flooding on sunny days to the disturbing fact that fossil fuel interests are spending millions of dollars trying to convince the public that the climate isn\u2019t even changing. <\/span><\/p>\n

The approach that the film takes is interesting and arguably effective. You introduce the audience to a protagonist, DiCaprio, who wants to know the truth about the climate crisis and sets out to find it – in this case, by traveling the world in search of answers. Along the way, he talks with people as diverse as as Barack Obama, Pope Francis, Elon Musk, and Dr Sunita Narain (The Director of India\u2019s Centre for Science and Environment, who really takes the U.S. to task in the film for failing to lead in the crisis). <\/span><\/p>\n

In a sense, DiCaprio acts as a surrogate for the viewer, who also wants to know the answer to the question with which I opened: \u201cIf you could know the truth about the threat of climate change \u2014 would you want to know?\u201d If you answer \u201cYes\u201d by not hitting pause, then buckle in, as you and DiCaprio are embarking on an epic, whirlwind journey. Incidentally, the climate footprint for all this travel and production was, according thot the filmmaker, \u201coffset through a voluntary carbon tax.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This general approach is, incidentally, used by a range of environmental films, from Gasland<\/i> to Cowspiracy<\/i>. In Gasland<\/i>, Josh Fox\u2019s family receives a letter from a gas company wanting to lease their property to set up a fracking operation on it. Knowing little or nothing about hydraulic fracturing, Fox then sets out on a journey for answers, with you, the viewer, along for the ride. Similarly, in Cowspiracy<\/i> you and Kip Andersen embark on a quest to learn about the environmental impact of eating animal products. (A little trivia: DiCaprio, who has long been a committed climate activist, was an executive producer of Cowspiracy<\/i>.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Are Fox, Andersen, and DiCaprio really as uninformed as their onscreen personas appear? Probably not. Still, what do you think, is this an effective rhetorical device? <\/span><\/p>\n

In Before the Flood<\/i> the approach is notably somewhat different. Unlike Josh Fox in Gasland<\/i>, DiCaprio\u2019s online persona is not professing ignorance of the situation. He hardly can, as early in the film he draws attention to the fact that in 2014 he was appointed as the UN climate ambassador. Still, he acknowledges that, since he is hardly an expert in the climate crisis, he still has much to learn. He then sets out to learn it, with viewer in tow.<\/span><\/p>\n

In both of his \u201cInconvenient\u201d films, Al Gore takes an entirely different approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gores 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth<\/i> was a phenomenon. Although it is not in the top-ten highest grossing documentaries of all time, it is number eleven. Partly on the merit of the film, Gore was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with 1500 scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Gore received half, the scientists split the other half).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A good deal of an An Inconvenient Truth<\/i> was given to establishing Gore\u2019s credibility. No, he is not a scientist, but he has been working on the climate crisis since the 1970s. He also works with a range of climate scientists. In short, the film hopes to make clear that you should listen to him, as he is presented as the right person to deliver this message. In Gore\u2019s 2017 followup to An Inconvenient Truth<\/i>, aptly named An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power<\/i>, the filmmaker takes largely the same approach by working to establish Gore as an internationally recognized expert. <\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, early on in Before the Flood<\/i>, DiCaprio wonders if the UN did the right thing in appointing\u00a0 <\/span>him as their climate ambassador. As he baldy puts it, \u201cI mean to be honest they may have picked the wrong guy.\u201d If you have watched Before the Flood<\/i> and An Inconvenient Sequel<\/i>, I am curious to hear what you think about these different approaches. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the reasons that the iconic An Inconvenient Truth<\/i> did not make my list of best environmental films is that a great deal has changed in the fourteen years since its release. For example, while Gore was correct in asserting in the film that climate change played a role in exasperating Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 storm that divested Florida and Louisiana, killing 1,200 people, scientists now have a much clearer understanding of how this works. And, sadly, there have been a rage of horrifying storms since Katrina, like Superstorm Sandy and hurricanes Mathew, Harvey, Irma, Michael, Maria, and Dorian. <\/span><\/p>\n

An Inconvenient Sequel<\/i> also takes on the job of introducing viewers to the politics lurking behind all this (which Gore, a former vice president for two terms, is obviously in a position to know a good deal about), including visiting a Texas city with a Republican mayor who firmly believes in renewable energy. The film also introduces the viewer to the COP 21, where the Paris Agreement was signed, by taking us there with Gore. Another little piece of trivia: after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, an An Inconvenient Sequel<\/i> was edited to include Donald Trumps\u2019s announcement that he would withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement – along with Gore\u2019s response.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the Flood<\/i> and An Inconvenient Sequel<\/i> are different films with very different approaches, they both take up the formidable job of communicating the breadth of the climate crisis to viewers in about an hour and a half. I am curious to hear what you think of each – or both, if you have watched each and are thinking about the two of them together. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fire in Paradise <\/em>(Films 2)<\/a> Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

So, just what are the consequences of the climate crisis? (Note that I said \u201care,\u2019 rather than \u201cwill be,\u201d as the consequences of the crisis are now, sadly, here – and more are arriving daily.) <\/span><\/p>\n

The fact is there are many, many consequences appearing across the planet. <\/span><\/p>\n

The documentary Fire in Paradise<\/i> looks at just one: wildfires caused by drought conditions exacerbated by the climate crisis. In fact, it looks at just one such fire.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike many of the documentaries that we are watching in this class, this film does not focus on the climate crisis in the sense that it does not survey the problem or offer solutions. To the contrary, while Fire in Paradise<\/i> does spend some time addressing the climate crisis, the focus is really on the horrific consequence for one Northern California town. <\/span><\/p>\n

Consequently, if you didn’t first watch this little blurb of mine, you might wonder why I even included this film in a course on the climate crisis. Fair enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the climate crisis entered into the public imagination in the closing quarter of the 20th century, we generally referred to it as “global warming” and saw the potential consequences in these terms. In other words, the big concern was sea level rise. As nearly half of the worlds population lives on or near the coast, sea level rise was rightfully an issue of great concern.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, for the other half of the worlds population, it was often seen an issue of less immediate concern. <\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, it seemed rather far off to many Americans, not only in the sense of being far off in time (decades from now), but also not much of an issue close to home in the United States. The countries that would suffer, like the island nation of the Maldives in South Asia, where are the average ground elevation is just 1.5 meters, seemed far away. And since scientists were predicting a gradual<\/i> increase in sea level, it seem like we would have time to respond, perhaps by building levees and other infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n

We now know, however, that not only will climate change bring about many more changes than just sea level rise, but that they will come far faster than we imagined and hit close to home – regardless of where your home is on the planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since this course is taking place in California, I thought it appropriate to consider the impact that it is having here, and now. <\/span><\/p>\n

Four of the five largest wildfires in California history happened in the past decade (the teens). <\/span><\/p>\n

One of them, the Thomas fire, happened here in Santa Barbara just two years ago. At the time, it was the largest wildfire in California\u2019s recorded history, though it has now been surpassed.<\/span><\/p>\n

We could approach this from a statistical, scientific perspective. Doing so would reveal that we are in the midst of an ever worsening situation with respect to wildfires in California.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But what does this mean in human terms? As we are approaching the climate crisis from a human, cultural perspective in this class, this is an important question. The\u00a0 <\/span>documentary Fire in Paradise<\/i> takes it up. <\/span><\/p>\n

As it turns out, I can also address this question personally, as the Thomas fire came within almost a mile of my house. At one point, it was spreading at one acre per second, which is absolutely astonishing. The smoke was so bad that I needed to leave town, as I was very concerned for my daughter (and her lungs), as she was a just a toddler of the time. It was an emotional moment when we left, as it was not at all clear that we would have a home to which to return. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, our home, as well as the city of Santa Barbara, was spared. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many people in nearby Montecito also thought that the danger was over, only to be caught in mud and debris flows a month later. Because vegetation had been burned by the Thomas fire, there was no sufficient plant and root structure to deal with an extraordinary (and extraordinarily unusual) weather event, when 1\/2\u201d of rain fell in a five-minute period. Because this downpour took place at 3am, many people were not even aware of what was happening. In some places, the debris flow was over 15 feet in height, moving entire boulders with it. Moving at a speed of up to 20 miles an hour, it was impossible to out run. Over 20 people were killed. In some places, the debris flow continued all the way down to the ocean, crossing a major interstate highway (Route 101) in the process. Because it deposited nearly 12 feet of mud, water, and debris on the 101 at some places, it was closed for nearly 2 weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having burned over 280,000 acres, there had never been anything like the Thomas fire in recorded history in California. However, in just half a year, it would be surpassed by the Ranch fire, which burned nearly a half a million acres. <\/span><\/p>\n

Astonishingly, Ranch fire would be surpassed in the same year by the Camp fire, which is the subject of the PBS documentary Fire in Paradise<\/i>. Surpassed not in the sense of burning more acres, which it didn\u2019t, but rather by being the most destructive. In fact, it was the most expensive natural disaster in 2018 – not only in California, but worldwide<\/i>. In addition, it was the deadliest wildfire in the California history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The documentary Fire in Paradise<\/i> puts a human face on the climate crisis, which will impact all sorts of people across the planet, in all sorts of ways. <\/span><\/p>\n

Although some people (climate change deniers) would like us to believe that the climate crisis is just scientists wildly speculating on the future, incidents like the Camp fire make clear that the climate crisis is all too real \u2013 and that it is here, now. Even in sunny California. Even in incredibly wealthy parts of California, like Montecito, where scores of celebrities have homes.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am curious to hear what you think – as well as how you feel – about of all this and the documentary Fire in Paradise<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

As something of a postscript, as I am writing this (the first week of January in 2020), wildfires are burning across Australia. Currently, over 12 million acres have been burned. Of the 20 largest wildfires in California history, 15 took place in the 21st century. The fires burning in Australia are four times as big as all these 15 wildfires combined<\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let me repeat that, four times as big as 15 of the largest wildfires in California history, combined.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Climate of Doubt and Merchants Of Doubt <\/em>(Films 3)\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

A great battle is underway. Millions of lives hang in the balance. Hundreds of people millions risk becoming refuges in what may well be the greatest diaspora in human history. The world economy may teeter; entire nations disappear. As in all wars, animals and plants will also suffer; tens of thousands of species will become extinct. No place on the face of the globe will be left untouched, from the upper limits of the atmosphere to the deepest ocean floors. <\/span><\/p>\n

What will cause all this? Climate change brought about by a range of human practices. To mitigate as best we can the above and a great many more consequences, we need, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other experts, to limit global warming to a maximum of two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit). To do this, something like 88% of the earth\u2019s coal reserves, 35% of its oil, and 52% of its natural gas must remain in the ground, unextracted. <\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is that these resources are of enormous economic value. Some of the wealthiest companies on the planet are in the fossil fuel business. For the most part, they primarily measure their worth not in terms of money in the bank, but rather by the value of unextracted fossil fuels that they control. <\/span><\/p>\n

If we mandated that the above percentages of these resources remained in the ground, it would staggeringly reduce the values of these companies. Imagine having $100 in the bank and being faced with the prospect that 88% of it could never be taken out. For all practical purposes, you would now have $12, not $100. You would not likely be pleased. Not surprisingly, these companies are not at all happy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Consequently, these companies have doubled down and are now fighting for their financial interests, rather than those of the planet and its life, including human beings. When I said that a great battle was currently underway, this is what I meant: a battle between the fossil fuel industry and its many affiliates and champions (such as politicians who it funds) and, on the opposing side, a range of individuals who want to act quickly and decisively to mitigate the climate crisis, thereby keeping the earth as welcoming and habitable as possible for human and a range of beings with which we share the planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you ever wondered how climate change became such a political issue, such a battleground, in America? Like everything else, this has a history. While we can see it as a long history spanning decades, the last dozen or so years has been incredibly important.<\/span><\/p>\n

The documentaries A Climate of Doubt<\/i> and Merchants of Doubt<\/i> both take up this history, though in somewhat different ways. <\/span><\/p>\n

A Climate of Doubt<\/i>, which is a PBS Frontline<\/i> documentary, chronicles a decisive moment in American history when the politicalization of climate change came to a head. Although the film is now eight years old, it is of historical interest, as it chronicles when the tide began to turn in favor of fossil fuel interests. <\/span><\/p>\n

While you might have been under the impression that this sea-change took place with the election of Donald Trump in 2016, the situation really goes back a few years further. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here is how the filmmakers described their documentary in 2012: <\/span><\/p>\n

Four years ago, climate change was hot. Politicians from both parties, pressed by an anxious public, seemed poised to act. But that was then. Today [i.e. 2012], public opinion about the climate issue has cooled, and politicians either ignore the issue or loudly proclaim their skepticism of scientific evidence that human activity is imperiling the planet. What\u2019s behind this reversal? FRONTLINE correspondent John Hockenberry\u2026goes inside the organizations that fought the scientific establishment, environmental groups, and lawmakers to shift the direction of debate on climate issues and redefined the politics of global warming.<\/span><\/p>\n

But how exactly, is this battle being fought? <\/span><\/p>\n

At first glance, this may seem to be a battle for scientists to wage with the fossil fuel interests. However, the underlying science is no longer seriously in question. As you may have heard (I mention this fact elsewhere in this series and the paper introducing it has been referenced in the media more than any other on climate change), a 2013 study that looked at roughly 12,000 journal articles dealing with climate change found that 97% of these scientists concluded that it is real, underway, and is principally anthropogenic. <\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, this is largely – as amazing as it may seem – a battle of words. A debate on whether the climate crisis is real or not being staged for the public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, as years pass and the real-world consequences of anthropogenic climate change become impossible to deny, fossil fuel companies and their allies will lose this war. However, each year that they sway public opinion away from the truth regarding climate change and our acting on that knowledge, the more severe will be the consequence, as many more trillions<\/i> of pounds of fossil fuels will annually be extracted and burned while we wait. <\/span><\/p>\n

From the point of view of the fossil fuel industry, their goal is to take every last dollar that they possibly can out of the ground before legislation hampers them from doing so. How much will be extracted? Quite a bit depends on this debate over the nature and validly of climate change. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is fascinating here is that there is no real debate. The thousands of scientists researching this issue have concluded beyond any reasonable doubt (they certainly no longer debate the issue among themselves) that anthropogenic climate change represents a real, pressing, and significant global danger. Nonetheless, a media spectacle is being staged by fossil fuel interests with the goal of influencing public opinion. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike many debates, winning over opinion to one side or the other isn\u2019t necessarily the goal. True, on the one side, scientists would like to convince us that anthropogenic climate change is indeed real, but, as far as climate change deniers are concerned, all that matters is that a broad swath of the public is confused or unsure whether human beings are indeed significantly changing our planet\u2019s climate. In this sense, their goal is to create doubt, as an individual doubting the validity and scope of a problem is unlikely to make sweeping life changes and support the spending of trillions of tax dollars in an attempt to remedy it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In their 2010 book Merchants of Doubt<\/i>, two historians (Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway) explored how effective campaigns of disinformation were waged by tobacco and fossil fuel interests in order to block government interventions into their industries. Surprisingly, as Merchants of Doubt<\/i> made clear, these two campaigns used some of the same rogue scientists to build their cases.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2014, a documentary of the same name was made of the book. Here is how the filmmakers describe it: <\/span><\/p>\n

Merchants of Doubt<\/em> takes audiences on a satirically comedic, yet illuminating ride into the heart of conjuring American spin. Filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the curtain on a secretive group of highly charismatic, silver-tongued pundits-for-hire who present themselves in the media as scientific authorities \u2013 yet have the contrary aim of spreading maximum confusion about well-studied public threats ranging from toxic chemicals to pharmaceuticals to climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am curious to hear what you thought of either one of the other (or both) of these \u201cdoubt\u201d documentaries and the battle underway for the support of the American public. <\/span><\/p>\n

Minimalism <\/em>(Films 4)<\/a> Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the films that was in the running that I did not select as one of my top 10 (or top 20) was the 2009 film No Impact Man<\/em>. There is, however, an interesting scene in the film where the title character, no impact man Colin Beavan, has a discussion with his toddler daughter about consumerism. As he explains to her, a consumer desiring to make environmentally sound purchases is faced with an extraordinary job, as this can require a great deal of research. In an effort to short circuit all this, Beavan suggests simply consuming less, a lot less.<\/p>\n

It’s a simple idea. So simple in fact that even a toddler can apparently understand it. In a certain way, it also forms the basis of the response to consumerism known as \u201cminimalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one sense, minimalism is hardly new, as most human beings throughout history have probably gotten by with the bare minimum, or nearly so, needed for life. Even today, for a broad swath of people across the planet, this is likely still true. But what we were talking about here is voluntary<\/em> minimalism. Relatively wealthy people who could buy lots of stuff, but choose not to for environmental or other reasons. In that sense, minimalism is a First World solution to a First World problem.<\/p>\n

In America, at least as early as the nineteenth century, people began amassing stuff as consumer culture began to build momentum. One of the earliest critics of this phenomenon was Henry David Thoreau who, I think, can rightly be considered one the great grandparents of American minimalism, as he pondered the bare minimum necessary for life – and then acted on what he learned during his relatively short Walden experiment.<\/p>\n

<\/a>In recent years, minimalism has emerged as a cultural movement designed to counter rampant consumerism. Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, featured in the film Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things<\/em>, are two leading proponents of the minimalist lifestyle. As this film makes clear, one of the interesting aspects of minimalism is that people are not necessarily adopting this lifestyle for environment reasons. As Millburn and Nicodemus explain on their website<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cMinimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we\u2019ve built our lives around. Real freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many people believe that responding to the climate crisis on a personal level will mean we have to do without quite a bit, which means that we will have to live drab lives of deprivation. What I find intriguing about minimalism is that this group of individuals voluntarily has decided to do without quite a bit because they they believe that this is a better way to live. This was also Thoreau\u2019s message. Intriguingly, after experimenting with a life of minimalism, Thoreau, Millburn, Nicodemus, and many others have all confirmed that this is indeed a better life.<\/p>\n

So, is minimalism an important response to the climate crisis? One thing to consider is no impact man Colin Beavan\u2019s assertion that simply consuming less is enough. It would be great if it were, in fact, this simple, However, seemingly similar products and practices can have very different environmental footprints, especially when you consider the energy used to make them, their useful lifespans, this sort of materials of which they are made, the conditions under which they are manufactured, and so forth. Hence, it is not enough to just consume less: we need to make sure that we make the right decisions when we do consume.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, although Minimalism<\/em> is not an environmental film, per se, living a minimalist lifestyle can have significant environmental impact. I am curious to hear what you think about the film. Is minimalism a viable and meaningful option?<\/p>\n

While minimalism is a great start, a number of theorists have been considering the next step. Two such thinkers are Juliet Schor in her book True Wealth: How and Why Millions of Americans Are Creating a Time-Rich, Ecologically Light, Small-Scale, High-Satisfaction Economy<\/em> and Tim Kasser in The High Price of Materialism<\/em>. While both books are well worth reading, New Dream has conveniently put together two short videos that nicely introduce both works.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, New Dream, formerly The Center for a New American Dream was, as their website explains<\/a>, \u201cfounded in 1997 by a group of forward-thinking activists and philanthropists who sought to draw greater attention to the links between individual action, social justice, and broader environmental impacts, and between excess materialism and negative impacts on human well-being, including children\u2019s development.\u201d<\/p>\n

InTrue Wealth<\/em>, Schor in many ways takes a minimalist approach. However, minimalism, from Thoreau through to modern minimalists, has largely been a personal choice. Schor considers what if an entire society took up a similar approach by adopting a new economic model, what she calls a \u201cplentitude economy.\u201d The idea is simple, people would work less (maybe a lot less, like in Sweden, where the workweek is 30 hours) and hence have more time for things that would make their lives better and more rewarding, like growing some the their own food and other DIY projects. They would also have far more time for activities that would make them happier.<\/p>\n

In short, Schor\u2019s message is that while personal changes (of the minimalist variety, for example) are obviously terrific and absolutely necessary, we also need to think in terms of larger system change, involving the sort of economic and political change that she recommends.<\/p>\n

Tim Kasser\u2019s The High Price of Materialism<\/em> (both the book and the video snippet from New Dream) considers the impact that materialism, in the sense of ramped-up consumerism, has in our lives. It is not a pretty picture, as materialism makes us less happy and more anxious, depressed, and selfish, for a start.<\/p>\n

Again, I am curious to hear what you think. Can we maximize minimalism (so to speak) by to building our society and economy on less materialistic values? Would this indeed be better for us and the planet? Could we actually make this happen? In other words, could we get enough people to go along with it to actually re-invent our materialist culture?<\/p>\n

As usual, I will select a number of your comments and respond to them in a future episode.<\/p>\n

The True Cost<\/em> (Films 5)<\/a> Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

As the film The True Cost<\/em> makes clear, in the developed world, we consume an extraordinary amount of stuff. And its not just clothing, but all sorts of stuff. From small stuff like smartphones to big stuff like cars. Incidentally, my country, the United States, arguably leads the world when it comes to consuming all this.<\/p>\n

Environmentally, this is a double edge sword, with each side cutting both people and the earth.<\/p>\n

First, all this stuff is made of natural resources. A smartphone, for example, is made of dozens and dozens of different materials. Some of them, like the lithium used for the battery, cause significant social and environmental problems through their mining, which directly harms workers (including children working in mines), as well as the environment by contaminating air, land, water, etc.<\/p>\n

Second, making stuff requires an enormous amount of energy, which in turn emits greenhouse gases. The manufacturer of an automobile releases at least a dozen tons of carbon dioxide or equivalent gases into the atmosphere. Some luxury SUVs are responsible for three times as much (35 metric tons).<\/p>\n

So, just who is responsible for all this? Is it as consumers? Or is it the companies that manufacture all this stuff?<\/p>\n

A variety of corporations and their advocates have long argued that we consumers are the problem. After all, they just make what we want. If we didn’t want it, they wouldn’t make it, and there wouldn’t be a problem. So, it sounds simple enough. If we are to believe them, we consumers are to blame.<\/p>\n

But are we?<\/p>\n

Something to think about is that corporations have long been in the business of making consumers out of ordinary people. Ideally, insatiable, rampant consumers. It sounds a little like The Matrix<\/em>, but corporations are in the business of making us into the beings that serve them best: consumers. Unfortunately, neither we nor the earth are much served by this enterprise. To the contrary, it can be incredibly detrimental to our species and our planet (as well as all the other species with which we share the earth).<\/p>\n

In order to help explain all this, please allow me to repeat a story that I included in my most recent book on Writing a New Environmental Era [and] Moving forward to Nature<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Quite a few years ago, while visiting friends, I noticed that their young daughter, who was six or seven at the time, was watching TV. Glancing over from time to time, it was obvious that the show was geared toward young girls. What caught my attention were the ads. Most were selling what you would expect: toys, sugared breakfast cereals, a local theme park.<\/p>\n

One ad, however, was another sort of beast altogether. It was for a major cosmetic corporation, showing models having fun on a Caribbean beach. It repeatedly cut to scenes of them applying makeup, which they were having a frolicsome good time doing. Realizing that this ad was running on a show pitched at young girls, I waited to see how it would end. Were they really trying to sell lipstick to six-year-olds?<\/p>\n

As it turns out, they weren\u2019t. The ad was not designed to sell a particular product, but rather to sell a brand that makes a broad range of products. It was really just sixty seconds of young women made happy by cosmetics (well, made happy by a particular brand of cosmetics). So, were they trying to get six-year-olds to switch to their brand of eyeliner? If they really were trying to sell cosmetics to young girls, you would expect that at least some of the models would have been children. Why where there instead just young women onscreen?<\/p>\n

After thinking about it, the frightening answer hit me like a ton of bricks. This cosmetic company decided that they needed to make more than just cosmetics. Astonishingly, they had also taken up the business of making consumers.<\/p>\n

First, they present girls with images of happy and appealing young women. Next, they cut to the source of the happiness: applying and wearing makeup. There is no suggestion that young girls themselves should be wearing the makeup; instead, it is held up as an essential part of what it is to be a woman.<\/p>\n

It may take a decade or more, but by repeatedly and subtly suggesting to girls that the road to womanhood is paved with cosmetics, a generation of consumers is created whose very sense of self (in this case their gendered self) depends on the products on offer. With so much at stake – indeed, the fragile, emerging self-identity of a human being – the desire to have, and fear of being without, the product becomes extraordinarily important, as it is presented as an essential part of a happy and successful adulthood.<\/p>\n

Although we may think that industries exist to serve us by providing all sorts of appealing consumer goods like cosmetics, it is arguably the other way around: human beings exist to serve these industries. Human consumption is what empowers them. An enormous amount of care and attention is thus given to fashioning human beings willing to work long hours making disposable income so that these industries can thrive. (It really does sound a little like The Matrix<\/em>, doesn’t it?)<\/p>\n

Today, the project has been profoundly ramped up, as girls and young women are themselves recruited to help create this new generation of consumers. They do so by first cultivating a following on social media. Once a trendsetting young woman has a sufficient number of subscribers on YouTube, she can monetize this achievement by, for example, selling cosmetics on her channel. In this sense, the project comes full circle, as the trendsetter herself was arguably fashioned by the cosmetic industry for this role. Ironically, she may see having been conscripted by the cosmetic industry as a great personal achievement. Maybe it was, as girls and young women are certainly encouraged to look up to individuals of this sort.<\/p>\n

Of course, all sorts of industries are in this business and it certainly doesn’t just involve girls and young women.<\/p>\n

The film The True Cost<\/em> shows us the ugly underside of this consumption machine, which is disaster for both us and the planet and especially for the people making our clothes. In terms of clothing, the average American purchases over sixty new items of clothing every year, not including incidentals like socks and underwear. Thus, although we consumers are seemingly the ones that benefit by this, it is the corporations selling all this stuff that really profit. Our job is to buy, briefly wear, and then dispose. And repeat. And repeat. While The True Cost<\/em> focuses on the fashion industry, this ramped up consumerism impacts all sorts of products.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, 150 years ago Henry David Thoreau desperately tried to convince us of the truth about all this when he argued that the goal of the clothing industry was \u201cnot that mankind may be well and honestly clad, but, unquestionably, that corporations may be enriched.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, at the risk of repeating myself, \u201cjust who is responsible for all this? Is it us consumers? Or is it the companies that manufacture all this stuff?\u201d Thoreau certainly thought that industry was principally to blame.<\/p>\n

I am curious what people make of all this. Do you agree with Thoreau? Having been given a glimpse inside of the fast fashion industry by The True Cost<\/em>, what is your response? While this film is about the fashion industry, are other industries now following suit? In other words, in addition to fast fashion, do we now also have things like fast consumer electronics?<\/p>\n

The episode of Patriot Act<\/em> on \u201cThe Ugly Truth Of Fast Fashion\u201d provides an interesting supplement to The True Cost<\/em>. Although it doesn’t shockingly take us inside of the fashion industry, as The True Cost<\/em> did with the scenes from the Rana Plaza disaster, this Patriot Act<\/em> episode nonetheless makes, it seems to me, an effective critique of fast fashion. However, what I find particularly interesting here is the format. At one third the length of The True Cost<\/em>, quite a bit has to be crammed into this episode, yet it does not feel rushed. And, of course, it manages to make us laugh out loud in spite of the horrific subject matter.<\/p>\n

To me, this episode of Patriot Act<\/em> raises an important question: how should we go about informing the public of issues like this? A full length documentary is a traditional – and I would argue nonetheless great – approach, but it is not without its shortcomings, as it may not attract a huge audience. So, should we be experimenting with other ways of getting the message out, like the biting comedy of \u201cPatriot Act\u201d? Any other ideas for spreading the message?<\/p>\n

As usual, I will select a number of your comments and respond to them in a future episode.<\/p>\n

Cowspiracy<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Wasted<\/em><\/a> Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

Author Jonathan Safran Foer recently published a book entitled We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast<\/i>, where he argued that each of us should adopt a plant-based diet if we want to save the planet from catastrophic climate change. <\/span><\/p>\n

Hence, saving the planet begins when we eat, breakfast and otherwise. Since such a switch could make a significant dent in the climate crisis if adopted by everyone, I definitely applaud this as a step in the right direction and think that is on to something. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to Project Drawdown, which is the most comprehensive plan ever put forth to reverse global warming (and which is a reading for this course), the #1 thing that we can do to roll back global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions does not involve wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, or any sort of similar technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, what is required is a cultural change regarding food: we need to waste far less of it and to switch to largely plant-rich diets. Doing so will result in a staggering reduction of 137 gigatons of CO2 or equivalent gases.<\/span><\/p>\n

In comparison to this reduction, globally shifting from fossil fuels to electricity generated by photovoltaic (solar) panels will roll back less than half this amount of emissions. The adoption of electric vehicles? Far less than ten percent. We should, of course, work on exploring a variety of technologies to help reduce our emissions, but it is important to keep their relative impact in perspective.<\/span><\/p>\n

Worldwide, agriculture is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, yet between 1\/3 and 1\/2 of all the food that we produce on this planet is wasted. Regarding the switch to a largely plant-rich diet, the same amount of greenhouse gasses are released in producing one pound of beef as are released in producing thirty pounds of lentils, also a great source of protein.<\/span><\/p>\n

I know, changing how we eat doesn\u2019t sound nearly as sexy as a self-driving electric car, but it would nonetheless be ten times better for the planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not to say that these changes will be easy. Indeed, it is arguably far easier to change cars (such as by making them electric) than to change people\u2019s actions. And what and how we eat is deeply personal and often central to our cultural identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, we need to seriously roll up our sleeves and address the climate crisis at the breakfast table.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cowspiracy is a documentary on the environmental impact of eating meat. Here is how the filmmakers describe it:<\/span><\/p>\n

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret is a groundbreaking feature-length environmental documentary following intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today \u2013 and investigates why the world\u2019s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution, is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry, and is a primary driver of rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean \u201cdead zones,\u201d and virtually every other environmental ill. Yet it goes on, almost entirely unchallenged.<\/span><\/p>\n

Please note that filmmaker Kip Andersen gets a few of his facts wrong. Animal products account for about 15% of total greenhouse gas emissions, not over 50%. Nonetheless, it is still a striking, though-provoking film. <\/span><\/p>\n

By the way, what do you make of the fact that Andersen builds his argument on incorrect facts? Does it help it, by making the situation seem worse than it is? Or undercut it by harming his credibility?<\/span><\/p>\n

You may already know about the environmental implications of large the plant-based diet, but here is a little fact that may come as something of a surprise: while how we eat (at breakfast and otherwise) can have a real impact on the climate – and the environment more generally – switching to a largely plant-based diet is not the biggest thing that we can do in terms of food. <\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, we need to waste less food – far less food. This, as Project Drawdown made clear, would have a bigger impact in dealing in climate change than switching to largely plant-based diets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hence being freegan can be even more important than being vegan. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not sure what a \u201cfreegan\u201d is? This is hardly surprising, as the word only recently entered the English language. As the venerable Oxford English dictionary notes, a freegan is a \u201cperson who eats discarded food, typically collected from the refuse of shops or restaurants, for ethical or ecological reasons.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I know, when you put it that way, it doesn’t sound very appetizing. <\/span><\/p>\n

But the idea is important, as food markets throw away an enormous amount of food. For example, if one egg in a carton of 12 is broken, supermarkets are required (at least here in the state of California) to discard the entire carton. If they do so with freegans in mind, they might coordinate with local freegans to allow them to pick up this and all sorts of otherwise discarded food, such as those past the sell-by date listed on the package.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sound like \u201cdumpster diving\u201d and the fringe activity? In many ways it is, but in one of the films that we will be watching, Being the Change<\/i>, Peter Kalmus, who is a climate scientist at NASA jet propulsion laboratory in Pasadena, notes how he and his family are freegans. Well not mainstream yet, it certainly is gaining momentum. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wasted!<\/i> is a documentary on food waste. Here is how the filmmakers describe it:<\/span><\/p>\n

Wasted! The Story of Food Waste<\/em> aims to change the way people buy, cook, recycle, and eat food. Through the the eyes of chef-heroes\u2026audiences will see how the world\u2019s most influential chefs make the most of every kind of food, transforming what most people consider scraps into incredible dishes that create a more secure food system. Wasted!<\/em> exposes the criminality of food waste and how it\u2019s directly contributing to climate change and shows us how each of us can make small changes \u2013 all of them delicious \u2013 to solve one of the greatest problems of the 21st Century.<\/span><\/p>\n

Produced by the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, Wasted! The Story of Food Waste takes up this issue in interesting ways and considers whether we need to develop new relationships to food.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my little lecture that asks \u201cAre you an architect of the future,\u201d I take up the issue of food and climate further.\u00a0 <\/span>But, for now, I am curious to hear what you make of Cowspiracy<\/i> and Wasted<\/i>!<\/span><\/p>\n

The Green New Deal, films<\/a> Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

In a way, the Green New Deal, and the debate over it, pulls into sharp focus much of what we have been considering in this course.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I have repeatedly suggested, if we are to successfully mitigate the climate crisis, we will need to make sweeping changes to human cultures across the planet – especially the American consumer culture that we have exported nearly everywhere at this point.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the case of the U.S., this is a big job, as it will require us to rethink the American Dream, at least insofar as we in the U.S. (as well as the rest of the developed world) need to take a long hard look at the aspects of our culture that require the emission of enormous amounts of greenhouse gases. <\/span><\/p>\n

This fact is not lost on the opponents of the Green New Deal, such as Donald Trump who tweeted<\/span><\/a>, who tweeted that \u201cI think it is very important for the Democrats to press forward with their Green New Deal. It would be great for the so-called \u2018Carbon Footprint\u2019 to permanently eliminate all Planes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas & the Military – even if no other country would do the same. Brilliant!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To be clear, the Green New Deal proposed by AOC and her colleagues did not suggest that \u201call Planes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas & the Military\u201d be \u201cpermanently eliminate[d].\u201d Nonetheless, Trump has certainly put together a nice, short list of issues that we need to consider. <\/span><\/p>\n

We have already taken up the first three, cars, planes, and cows, as largely writing these three things out of our lives would, for quite a few Americans, cut their climate footprints in half – perhaps far more than half if you are a frequent flyer. <\/span><\/p>\n

And we have also noted that it is imperative that we dramatically reduce fossil fuel extraction, which includes the next two things on Trump\u2019s list: leaving oil and gas in the ground as much as possible. <\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, some Green Party candidates<\/span><\/a> (not to be confused with the Green New Deal\u00a0 <\/span>that we are considering) have suggested that we cut military spending in half, in part because the US military is frequently used to protect fossil fuel interests, which was arguably the case with both Gulf Wars, rather than protect our land and people. Hence, they argue, if we stop acting as a global police force for the fossil fuel industry, the U.S. could cut its military spending in half. <\/span><\/p>\n

(Incidentally, have you ever wondered why the U.S. military has been so active in the Middle East? In recent decades, we have fought two Gulf Wars there, costing billions and billions of taxpayer dollars and where thousands of U.S. lives were lost. Well, 80% of the planet\u2019s proven oil reserves are located in this region of the world. Maybe this is just a coincidence\u2026)<\/span><\/p>\n

In any event, it is important to note that that the Green New Deal proposed by AOC and others (House Resolution #109 of the 116th Congress<\/span><\/a>) makes no mention, to use Trump\u2019s list, of \u201cPlanes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas & the Military.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

With respect to transportation, for example, the Green New Deal proposes \u201coverhauling transportation systems in the United States\u2026including through investment in (i) zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and manufacturing; (ii) clean, affordable, and accessible public transit; and (iii) high-speed rail.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Since the wording here is not specific, there is still room for zero-emission cars. Similarly, although the inclusion of high-speed rail seems to be offered up as an alternative (at least in certain instances) to air travel, there is no mention of eliminating planes in the Green New Deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moving down on Trump\u2019s list to \u201ccows,\u201d the Green New Deal proposes \u201cworking collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the United States to remove pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible.\u201d As farmers are generally people who raise crops and ranchers raise livestock like horses cows and sheep, the wording here is interesting, as beef and lamb, the two chief problems with respect to methane, or not at all ruled out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, regarding Trump\u2019s final three issues, \u201cOil, Gas & the Military,\u201d the Green New Deal proposed by AOC makes no mention of any of these, nor, for that matter, does it reference coal or fossil fuels at all. It also makes no mention of the military. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why isn\u2019t any of this mentioned when it is obvious that we will need to confront \u201cPlanes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas &\u2026Military\u201d spending to protect fossil fuel interests? <\/span><\/p>\n

Having not drafted it, I am not exactly sure, but it seems likely to me that, at least in part, the proposal is intentionally vague to avoid the sort of attack that Trump made on it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why was Trump eager to discuss these issues and AOC and her colleagues reluctant – especially when these issues will clearly need to be addressed if we are to substantially mitigate the climate crisis?<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems pretty clear: in drawing attention to them, Trump is hoping to turn public opinion against the Green New Deal, as Americans like beef, cars, air travel, and all the things that fossil fuels give us. Americans also tend to get anxious at the suggestion that we won\u2019t have a strong military to protect us from the rest of the world, as the rest of the world is not always happy with us (often for a variety of pretty good reasons relating to our military acting as an international police force for the fossil fuel industry).<\/span><\/p>\n

Knowing this in advance, AOC and her colleagues likely pulled all references to \u201cPlanes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas\u2026the Military\u201d and a range of similar issues, lest public opinion be swayed away from the proposal because Americans tend to like these things. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, as Americans, we could, and arguably should, be doing far more than is even intimated in the Green New Deal. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, \u201cOne out of every five people around the world without access to power lives in India<\/span><\/a>.\u201d The government of India would, quite reasonably, like to see this situation remedied. One easy solution would be coal, as India is sitting on vast stores of it. However, it would, of course, be a worldwide climate catastrophe if all this coal was dug up and burned in order to generate electricity. <\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s to be done?<\/span><\/p>\n

As Naomi Klein notes, some people have called for a \u201cMarshall Plan for the Earth<\/span><\/a>,\u201d which would involve the developed world helping the rest of the world, like India, develop sustainably. In practice, this could involve knowledge and technology exchange, as well as loans and funding. <\/span><\/p>\n

How might this work in practice? If you watched Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Sequel<\/i>, you might recall that at COP21 Gore was feverishly negotiating with the U.S. company Solar City to license part of their solar technology to India – free of charge, which they quite commendably agreed to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why should be developed world, and the US in particular, go along with this proposal for a Marshall Plan for the Earth? There are a number of reasons, but two stand out:<\/span><\/p>\n

1) The U.S. \u201chas been the world\u2019s leading economic power since 1871<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Not coincidentally, this corresponds with our developing a massive fossil-fuel economy. Unfortunately for our global climate, this had a byproduct: as I have noted before, 25% of the carbon dioxide put into our planet\u2019s atmosphere by human beings was put there by the U.S. Since we caused so much of this problem, we have a clear – as least as far as I am concerned – moral obligation to help remedy what we have done.<\/span><\/p>\n

2) Even if we are not moved by the above moral argument, it is in America\u2019s best interest to help the world develop sustainably. Why? If the rest of the world follows our lead and develops by way of fossil fuels, it will be a disaster for the planet. Sooner or later, that coal burned in India will translate into problems for the US, such as coastal flooding, wildfires, extreme weather, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

But here is the problem, if just mentioning the fact that we will need to curb our love of beef and cars risks turning the American public against climate action, how do we get Americans to go along with something like a Marshall Plan for the Earth in an era increasingly defined by nationalism, reduced international aid, and closed borders? <\/span><\/p>\n

This takes us to the root of the problem with climate action. At least climate action in America. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the one hand, we need to make sweeping changes to our America way of life that will involve cars, planes, cows and a whole lot more. In this sense, the Green New Deal does not go far enough – at the very least it could be far more specific – in outlining just what sort of changes that we will need to make if we hope to get through this crisis, such as a Marshall Plan for the Earth. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, just mentioning cultural changes related to beef, cars, and airplanes risks turning Americans away from serious climate action – which is likely why AOC and her colleagues didn\u2019t mention them but Trump did. <\/span><\/p>\n

To put the issue more simply: while the Green New Deal is the best proposal for climate action that we currently have – and, let me be very, very clear in noting that I certainly endorse it and will vote for it – it is at once not doing enough and at the same time is too much for many Americans to get behind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am curious to hear what you make of the Green New Deal, now that you have read the legislation proposing it and watched some short documentaries on it. Is it enough? Or is it too much to endorse? Most importantly, how exactly do we get enough Americans to go along with the Green New Deal to vote it into being?<\/span><\/p>\n

Being the Change <\/em>or Tomorrow<\/em><\/a> Watch video<\/a><\/p>\n

Ok, we have talked quite a bit about what each of us can do about the climate crisis. This has included personal actions, climate activism, becoming political active, communication, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of personal actions, we have talked about largely plant-based diets, food waste, automobile ownership, air travel, a minimalist approach to stuff, and so forth.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what if you wanted to jump ahead to the endgame? In other words, what if you wanted to actually live a largely sustainable life right now? Would it be possible, here, in America, in California? <\/span><\/p>\n

To be clear, what we are talking about here is reducing our greenhouse emissions to 1\/10 of the average American\u2019s climate footprint.<\/span><\/p>\n

And would it be possible for more than just an individual? In other words, could a family, let’s say two parents and two children, live this sort of lifestyle in America today? <\/span><\/p>\n

If so, what kind of life would it be? Could it possibly be a good life? A fulfilling life that made everyone happy?<\/span><\/p>\n

At one point in the 2009 documentary No Impact Man<\/i>, the lead character, his partner, and their small daughter are huddled in their dark Manhattan apartment, with seemingly no electricity and only candles for light. Is this what a sustainable future would be like?<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are other options.<\/span><\/p>\n

The documentary Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution<\/i> chronicles the life of Peter Kalmus and his family (Kalmus, his partner, and their two children) as they attempt to live sustainable lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Incidentally, as Peter Kalmus is a climate scientist at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, he is particularly well position to accurately assess his own climate footprint. <\/span><\/p>\n

And that footprint, as it turns out, is exceptionally small.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Kalmus notes in the book of the same name upon which the documentary is based, his personal greenhouse gas emissions are about 1\/10 of the average Americans. Specifically, Kalmus\u2019s emissions are about two metric tons annually. You might recall that this is about where we should all be to be in accord with the Paris Agreement from the COP 21.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Kalmus notes in the book, \u201c[t]his level of reduction, while incomplete, allows my family and me to continue a normal suburban life. This suggests that a similar reduction is well within reach for many of us. And as more people make significant reductions, and systemic alternatives to fossil fuel become increasingly available, going the rest of the way will become easier\u201d (page 145, Kindle location 2561). Kalmus adds that \u201cI still emit nearly twice the average Bangladeshi, and infinitely more than a wild, nonhuman Earthling [ i.e. animals].\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

It is interesting to note that this approach comes from a scientist – and a climate scientist at that. Given his background, we might expect that Kalmus would advocate for technological solutions like self driving electric cars and a new generation of solar cells made with nanotechnology, instead he talks about bicycle riding and humanure. <\/span><\/p>\n

By the way, the title, Being the Change<\/i>, is a reference to that quote attributed to Gandhi that I keep mentioning: \u201cBe the change you want to see you in the world.” What might being the change be like in this context? Watch the film or read the book. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here is how the publisher describes the book on which the film is based:<\/span><\/p>\n

We all want to be happy. Yet as we consume ever more in a frantic bid for happiness, global warming worsens. Alarmed by drastic changes now occurring in the Earth’s climate systems, the author, a climate scientist and suburban father of two, embarked on a journey to change his life and the world. He began by bicycling, growing food, meditating, and making other simple, fulfilling changes. Ultimately, he slashed his climate impact to under a tenth of the US average and became happier in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being the Change explores the connections between our individual daily actions and our collective predicament. It merges science, spirituality, and practical action to develop a satisfying and appropriate response to global warming\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

The core message is deeply optimistic: living without fossil fuels is not only possible, it can be better.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wait, \u201cliving without fossil fuels is not only possible, it can be better<\/i>?\u201d Really? <\/span><\/p>\n

We are often told that the climate crisis will mean that we will need to do without a great deal: cars, planes, spacious houses, beef, scores of appealing consumer goods, and so forth. At face value, this sounds like a bland life of deprivation, especially when we think about the people that have all this – people who, as we say, \u201chave it all\u201d – like some people in my generation in the developed world. <\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, influencers – the people that we are encouraged to want to be – unabashedly flaunt the fact that they have mountains of this stuff. <\/span><\/p>\n

Consequently, it may seem that the road to happiness is paved with carbon. Or more accurately, that you need to be responsible for the release of literally tons of carbon per month if you want it all – if you want happiness. <\/span><\/p>\n

Peter Kalmus, in his own humble way, boldly suggests otherwise. That, in fact, we have it all wrong; this stuff (and our preoccupation with it) will not make us happy. In fact, such preoccupations will likely have the opposite effect. <\/span><\/p>\n

I know, this runs completely counter to what the companies hourly selling us all this stuff tell us: that having it will make us happy – and not having it will make us miserable. And all those images of contented influencers posing in private jets confirms it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only does Peter Kalmus believe – from personal experience – otherwise, a range of people are now coming to the same conclusion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The film Tomorrow<\/i> (Demain<\/i>) documents the lives and efforts of some of theses people. Here is what the filmmakers have to say about it:<\/span><\/p>\n

TODAY, we sometimes feel powerless in front of the various crises of our times.<\/span><\/p>\n

TODAY, we know that answers lie in a wide mobilization of the human race. Over the course of a century, our dream of progress commonly called \u201cthe American Dream\u201d, fundamentally changed the way we live and continues to inspire many developing countries. We are now [however] aware of the setbacks and limits of such development policies. We urgently need to focus our efforts on changing our dreams before something irreversible happens to our planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

TODAY, we need a new direction, objective\u2026 A new dream! The documentary Tomorrow sets out to showcase alternative and creative ways of viewing agriculture, economics, energy and education. It offers constructive solutions to act on a local level to make a difference on a global level\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

TOMORROW is not just a film, it is the beginning of a movement seeking to encourage local communities around the world to change the way they live for the sake of our planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am curious to hear your thoughts on Being the Change<\/i> and\/or Tomorrow<\/i>. Is this indeed \u201cthe beginning of a movement,\u201d the beginning of a profound change in the way that our species inhabits this planet? <\/span><\/p>\n

Are we destroying the planet in a misguided pursuit of happiness?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Happy<\/i> is not an environmental film. Why, then, are we watching it?<\/span><\/p>\n

Lately I have been thinking about what may well be the greatest irony of the human race. If we do not survive the climate crisis, it will be a sad epitaph for our species.<\/span><\/p>\n

From even before Plato, thinkers in the West have long pondered what constitutes the \u201cgood life.\u201d In the United States, we have been preoccupied with this question ever since we declared ourselves an independent country and made the \u201cpursuit of happiness” one of three “unalienable rights” in our Declaration of Independence. <\/span><\/p>\n

What now constitutes the \u201cgood life\u201d in the U.S.? In other words, how are we pursuing happiness? The American Dream now seems to center on wanting more, wanting bigger, and wanting better. More stuff, bigger houses, better cars, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is that this has not at all made us happy. In fact, in recent decades, Americans have become less and less happy. While this would be a sad irony in itself, the great tragedy is that many of these pursuits are destroying our planet. Americans put nearly a quarter of all greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Indeed, at the same time that Americans have been becoming less happy, we have been pumping more greenhouse gases into our planet\u2019s atmosphere. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is in many ways even worse is that we are now exporting this environmentally disastrous aspect of the \u201cAmerican way of life\u201d to the rest of the planet. It would be one thing if we were releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere for more noble reasons, such as to ensure that everyone on the planet received enough to eat, but this is all largely unnecessary. Do we each really need sixty or more\u00a0 <\/span>items of new clothing every year?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In short, we have frenetically and futilely been pursuing happiness at the cost of the planet. As noted above, the great irony is that, as greenhouse gas emissions soared as a result of our pursuit of happiness, our happiness has actually declined. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, here is my question: Are we indeed destroying our planet in a profoundly misguided pursuit of happiness?<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to wrestle with this question, let’s look at happiness compared to greenhouse gas emissions for a number of pretty happy countries. <\/span><\/p>\n

First, it\u2019s true: after many decades of studying depression and unhappiness, a range of scholars, from psychologists to sociologists, have recently turn their attention to happiness, as has the United Nations. The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, using Gallup Polling data, released the World Happiness Report in 2019. <\/span><\/p>\n

The report revealed that United States ranked #19 worldwide in terms of happiness (source<\/span><\/a>). With respect to the climate crisis, we emit about 16 metric tons of CO2 per person (source<\/span><\/a>), which gives us the dubious distinction of being one of the world leaders when it comes to GHG emissions. <\/span><\/p>\n

Alternately, the five countries with the happiest people on the planet (Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and the Netherlands) all have individual emissions that are on average about half<\/i> of the United States, in spite of the fact that they are all in very northern climates and hence use quite a bit of energy just for heating. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, a whopping 81% of Finland\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions comes from the energy sector (source<\/span><\/a>), which is hardly surprising, as the capital of Finland, Helsinki, is further north than the capital of Alaska, which is Juneau. In general, living in a cold climate demands far more energy than living in a warmer one, even if air conditioners are widely used in the later. One study found that living in Minneapolis demanded three-and-a-half times more energy than living in Miami (source<\/span><\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n

Living in places that are even further north consumes even more energy. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions for the average Alaskan are twice as large as the average person in the U.S. (source<\/span><\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n

Moving from Finland to the sixth most happy country in the world, Switzerland, average per capita greenhouse gas emissions there are one third<\/i> of the United States in spite of the fact that it too is not a very warm country (two thirds of Switzerland is in the Alps mountain range).<\/span><\/p>\n

Number seven on the list of happy countries in Sweden, also a pretty cold place (Sweden\u2019s capital, Stockholm, is also further north than Juneau, Alaska). Nonetheless, their per capita greenhouse omissions are approximately one fourth<\/i> of the United States. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s pause for a moment on this: the seven countries on the planet with the happiest people, in spite of demanding significantly greater energy use because of their northern locales, have climate footprints that are one half, one third, or one fourth ours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The climate footprints of happy people can be even smaller if they live in warmer climates. Costa Rica, which ranks number 12 in terms of worldwide happiness (hence Costa Ricans are significantly happier that Americans at number 19) has greenhouse gas emissions that are about one seventh<\/i> of the United States. That\u2019s right, the average American contributes as much to the climate crisis as seven pretty happy people in Costa Rica.<\/span><\/p>\n

The example of Costa Rica reveals an interesting element here, as the average American is thirteen times wealthier<\/i> than the average person in Costa Rica (as measured by mean wealth per adult, source<\/span><\/a>). As our relative climate footprints reveal, we Americans are presumably using quite a bit of this wealth in ways that are damaging the planet. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, with respect to income, let’s face facts: it is difficult to be happy if you are a very poor. If you are trying to raise a family in the U.S. on an annual income of, say, $40,000, a range of hardships would certainly threaten your happiness. However, studies have found that beyond a certain point, more money does not bring greater happiness. That number may be lower than you would imagine, as these studies revealed that it is around $75,000 in annual income for an individual (source<\/span><\/a>). While this is more than the annual median personal income in the U.S., it is certainly not Kardashian wealth. <\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, no one (to my knowledge) has attempted to isolate and remove the influence of the overwhelming marketing bombarding us, which tells us daily (or hourly or even by the minute. especially online) that we need to buy a range of products to be happy. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s return to the example of Costa Rica, as it reveals, simply put, that you don\u2019t need a lot of money to be happy. Nor does a greater happiness necessarily come with, comparatively, a relatively high climate footprint.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s return to those very happy but very cold Scandinavian countries. For the most part, their economies and cultures are built on something called the \u201cNordic model.\u201d While these are, of course, democratic countries, they also very much embrace things like collective bargaining and strong unions. Hence, they are sometimes called \u201cdemocratic socialist\u201d countries. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bernie Sanders nicely explains what these countries offer: \u201cSo long as we know what democratic socialism is. If we know that in countries, in Scandinavia, like Denmark, Norway, Sweden \u2014 they are very democratic countries, obviously, the voter turnout is a lot higher than it is in the United States. In those countries, health care is the right of all people. And in those countries, college education, graduate school is free. In those countries, retirement benefits, child care are stronger than in the United States of America, and in those countries, by and large, government works for ordinary people in the middle class, rather than, as is the case right now in our country (the U.S.), for the billionaire class.” (source<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though we might think that happiness is a deeply personal matter, governments have a major role to play in facilitating our \u201cpursuit of happiness.\u201d When they are doing their job responsibly, caring for the wellbeing of their citizens rather than large corporate sponsors, we are likely to be much happier. <\/span><\/p>\n

But, specifically, how are people in these Scandinavian countries happier and how does this relate to the climate crisis? <\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s look at Sweden. Recall that the average Swede is considerably happier than the average American even though their climate footprints are one fourth of ours. <\/span><\/p>\n

The average person in Sweden, who makes almost as much money as the average person in the U.S., works five days a week, six hours a day. That’s right, the average work week is 30 hours. Only a very tiny percentage of people (1%) work more than 50 hours per week. By contrast, 40% of Americans work more than 50 hours per week; half of them work than 60 hours per week (source<\/span><\/a>). Hence, one in five Americans literally works twice as many hours per week as the average Swede. <\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone in Sweden receives 25 paid vacation days per year, and larger companies typically offer even more. All parents receive 480 days of paid paternity leave to split between them (source<\/span><\/a>). As there are 235 working days per year (52 weeks times 5 day minus 25 vacation days), that’s one year of paternity leave – per parent.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are, of course, differences between Sweden and the U.S that impact their climate footprints. For example, Sweden currently relies more on nuclear energy than the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, over a third of their electricity comes from hydroelectric sources – a whopping three times more than the U.S. (source<\/span><\/a>). In terms of consumption rather than production, we have twice as many cars per person as they do. Our houses are, on average, roughly twice as larger than theirs.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am not saying that life in Sweden is perfect. There are problems there, like everywhere else. <\/span><\/p>\n

But just look at the relative climate impact between Sweden and the U.S. Everything else being equal, the average Swede has a carbon footprint that’s a quarter of the average Americans. But everything is not equal, as it is a much colder climate. Americans living in a comparable climate (Alaska) are emitting twice as much carbon dioxide as our nation\u2019s average. Hence, adjusted for their colder climate, the average Swede is may well be emitting something like one eighth of the average American\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions. <\/span><\/p>\n

Currently, the average person in Sweden is responsible for 4.54 for metric tons of CO2 per year. If, for reasons of argument, we adjusted that for the average American climate, it would then get cut in half, to around 2.25 metric tons of CO2 for American – which would be right around where we need to be to meet the goals of the Paris Accord signed at Cop 21.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, these are back-of-napkin calculations, but people in the developed world can – and do! – not only get by, but live quite well with relatively small climate footprints. <\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of our current discussion, they can also live happier lives than most Americans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are often told that adapting to climate change will mean that we have to live drab of deprivation and require us to do without quite a bit. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, if we make this sort of changes that we have been looking at in this course, might we come out the other end, decades from now, happier? I will leave you with this question.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/p>\n

Copyright 2020 by Ken Hiltner<\/p>\n

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