How to Change Everything
Author: Naomi Klein
Publisher: Atheneum Books
An empowering, engaging young readers’ guide to understanding and battling climate change from the expert and bestselling author of This Changes Everything and On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal.
Warmer temperatures. Fires in the Amazon. Superstorms. These are just some of the effects of climate change that we are already experiencing. The good news is that we can all do something about it. A movement is already underway to combat not only the environmental effects of climate change but also for climate justice and make a fair and livable future possible for everyone. And young people are not just part of that movement; they are leading the way. They are showing us that this moment of danger is also a moment of great opportunity—an opportunity to change everything. Full of empowering stories of young leaders all over the world, this information-packed book from award-winning journalist and one of the foremost voices for climate justice, Naomi Klein, offers young readers a comprehensive look at the state of the climate today and how we got here, while also providing the tools they need to join this fight to protect and reshape the planet they will inherit.This 300-page book, dubbed “the young human’s guide to protecting the planet and each other,” offers a brief history of climate change and some hopeful suggestions for a better future. It is an important book for the climate emergency of our time. Chapter notes at the back of the book, along with links to online resources and books, offer further information to the reader.
With stories of climate destruction around the world (coral bleaching, sea levels rising, permafrost melting) and devastating natural disasters (hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes), Naomi Klein explains how we need to change our infrastructure, policies and daily practices if we are to prevent global temperatures from rising so high that it creates irreversible damage to the natural cycles and systems of our Earth. The author also illustrates how climate change has created inequalities for humans. Those already living in poverty are, and will continue to be, affected more severely by heat waves, hurricanes, water pollution, floods, fossil fuel pollution and rising sea levels.
This book briefly reviews how the industrial revolution 250 years ago gave rise to capitalism and our global dependence on fossil fuels. In this way, a history of global warming is presented to the reader. Some scientific processes such as the greenhouse effect are described with diagrams and simple language that are easy to understand. The book also provides photos to illustrate the effects of hurricanes, tornados and air pollution, contributing to climate injustice around the world.
What this book does best is highlight the environmental activism of youth and Indigenous groups around the world over recent years; it challenges readers to continue advocating for and creating social and environmental change to prevent further global warming. Many photos and stories of protests are intended to inspire youth to stand up to corporations that pollute and the laws that enable them to do so.
As this book was published by Penguin Random House/Puffin Canada, I was expecting more Canadian content. Although there were stories from other parts of the world, including Canada, it was largely focused on American events and youth leaders, and an entire chapter was devoted to The Green New Deal, an enviro-political movement originating in the USA during its last election. This book does a good job describing global warming and how to respond to it, but some readers may be left wanting for more stories from Asia, Africa and Europe.
- D.G.