Hot: Living Through The Next Fifty Years On Earth (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
I told my mom I was reading a book on climate change and she said "Well, that must be depressing." On Goodreads, folks have criticized the book for being both too depressing and too optimistic! Of course it is scary to think about what's coming, and yet I thought Hertsgaard did a great job focusing on what people can do to both mitigate (lessen) and adapt to the effects of climate change. The book might be overly optimistic but honestly, I see that as a useful way to mobilize people rather than leaving us stuck in despair. I came away from the book feeling like there are some (at least partial) solutions, and with a sense of urgency about making them happen. Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth by Mark Hertsgaard is a thoughtful, pragmatic exploration of climate change impacts and what we can (and are) doing about them. Far from a dry, distant-seeming treatise, Hertsgaard's book has a real heart; he asks us to visualize along with him how his young daughter (and all of our children) will survive the myriad changes that are already locked-in and unstoppable. The challenge, Hertsgaard tells us, is to "avoid the unmanageable and manage the unavoidable."As the author points out, even among those who are not in denial about climate change, there is still confusion about the difference between mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation is what we do to try to prevent man-made global warming from proceeding apace. Adaptation is what we do to live with the consequences: the climate change that, in complex and interconnected ways, already is threatening our very ability to survive. Both approaches are critically important.Hertsgaard devotes much of this book to presenting problems already being caused by climate change and showing how communities, businesses, and governments are responding. Unlike in the U.S., where climate change is still cast in an if-then light or denied outright by corporatist politicians, much of the world is now facing up to the dire facts. Some mitigation and adaptation efforts are doing more harm than good, but some (such as pro-business green development in Seattle, farmer-designed natural regeneration/agro-forestry [FMNR] in Africa, and far-sighted 200-year flood planning in the Netherlands) show much promise.I found it hopeful that the huge global insurance industry already knows what is coming and is making decisions accordingly. This sometimes means refusing to insure people living in areas prone to major climate-driven devastation, but the actions of the insurance industry can be looked to as a barometer of what we need to do to adapt to climate change. Prudent risk management strategies on the part of businesses who are in the game for the long haul can help the planet as a whole adapt; self-interest, a powerful motivator, is not necessarily a dirty word.Acceding the fact that most mitigation and adaptation efforts are large-scale/long-term and therefore must be subsidized by large corporations and governments, Hertsgaard also addresses what individuals can do. Learning about intercropping, permaculture, FMNR and other ways to build soil fertility to help store water and carbon is important. Growing some of our own food and supporting local farmers is something everyone can do. Becoming aware of how precious the water we use is and avoiding wasting it is essential if we are to survive. The interface between business and consumer is an area full of potential for adaptation. For example, I'm hoping we'll soon see reasonably priced family-use products such as biochar burners hit the market so folks can create their own carbon-sequestering/tilth-enhancing garden charcoal out of some of their waste.As Darwin said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives...nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." Hertsgaard makes a strong case that, if humans are to survive, we must get busy NOW adapting to climate change that is already happening and cannot be stopped. This book goes a long way toward helping us think in those terms.
What do You think about Hot: Living Through The Next Fifty Years On Earth (2011)?
Everybody should read this thought-provoking book about our planet's dismal future
—iHeart17
Great book, very informative but slow moving at times.
—Sam
