On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal Hardcover – September 17, 2019

Thank the 'Great White North' for Naomi Klein and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; Klein for her succinct summaries of almost 10 years of environmental analysis in this gem of a brief book - - and Trudeau his very human response to change. Like Rachel Carson and 'Silent Spring', Klein will be remembered for explaining the attitudes, inactions and complacency that will shape our environment over the next century. Her book is a concise gem. Likewise, we can thank Trudeau for helping make it happen. Had her warnings been heeded over the past four years, he'd now be bouncing about boasting, "We're No. 1! We're No.!" - - instead of worrying about being "bounced" in his re-election bid. Let's start with Trudeau who, in 2017, told a cheering crowd of oil executives in Houston, "No country would find 173 billion barrels of oil in the ground and just leave it there." (If Trudeau loses his re-election bid, his outlook will seem benign compared to the likely fate of the Alberta tar sands in the hands of Conservative cretins.) Klein succinctly outlines the impact of such decisions. (However, on a personal basis, I think humans are a "super virus" that is ravaging our planet. But, I'm also an optimist. After a few billion deaths, the planet and enough humans will survive in a new mutual understanding of Mama Nature. Am I right? Well, consider the May 6 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report, based on 15,000 research papers. It predicts the extinction of a million species of animals, insects and plants by the end of the century. In other words, at the present of pollution and exploitation, almost everything but 'Indifference' is threatened.) It's time to listen. What is possible? Well, consider the impact of the 'Silent Spring' by Rachel Carson, the early disaster warning in 1962 that is becoming the reality cited by Klein. People always ignore the impact of pending disaster; it's why there have been 10,000 "civilizations" in the last 5,000 years and none have survived its forecast of demise. Carson's working title for the manuscript? 'Man Against the Earth'. Instead of Klein's "Green" response, it's likely people will use the tradition approach - - engineering. It will be called 'geo engineering', and if it's very expensive, 'Brilliant Engineering'. It may shield the planet with a near-space blanket of chemicals (or dust) as an umbrella to block sunlight. Brilliant engineering created our modern world, but its dark side is always the "unknown unknowns." Unk! Unk!! Just how does "life" deal with a "virus" such as humanity? If the past offers any guidance - - the first response will be a 'DDT' quickfix solution. It's nice to invent the future; it's something else to make it work. On that note: Where are the flying cars we were promised in 1945? We don't even have 'smart' cars yet. Granted, she's optimistic. It's the saving grace of her book, and a reason for all to trust in "just a bit of global disaster, nothing too serious." In engineering we trust, all else is rust, dust and bust. Remember the old saying from the 1930's Dust Bowl devastation? "In God We Trusted, In Kansas We Busted." Let's do it again?

As I’m sitting in CT on January 12th... it is 70 degrees and feels like Summer. Last year at this time I was shoveling my driveway every morning. Watching the fires burning in CA and Australia mainly on social media, not cable news, has been a shock.. However it’s just what Naomi talks about in her book. At the same time, governments continue to hide climate truths from the general public. Most people still don’t take it seriously in America. We are going down a path that is not good unless we stand up to big oil, chemical corporations and corrupt governments. It’s scary to see how late we are to confronting the climate crisis. It’s a battle for all life on earth and every plant and creature. Thank you Naomi for your honest and truthful book. I will continue to buy more books from this author.

This book is a series of articles from Naomi Klein which attempt to bring a greater awareness to the climate urgency in conforming our lifestyles to sobriety, commitment and hopefulness. Political action plays an important and she values this role more than the role on an individual. I understand, but billions of individuals decide to play a role, this human tsunami would change the world. The universal language which brings awareness is yet unknown.

An absolutely brilliant book. Comprehensive a analysis of how the issues of environmental justice, social and economic justice and racial justice can effectively be addressed through an integrated transformation of our social, political and economic system. An inspirational book based on encyclopedic knowledge, 360 analysis and a dedicated commitment - and hope for - a fairer and livable world for all. A call for justice and a call for action. An absolute must read. I have been gifting it to all my relatives !

The fate of our planet depends upon taking a simple leap into sanity, and Naomi Klein clearly shows us the way. Unfortunately, we as a people suffer from the insanity forced upon us by power and money, so Klein's book can merely offer fanciful hope for a possible green future as we continue to suffer drought, famine, floods, and extreme heat. I highly recommend this book if only for the awareness it brings that there are still intelligent people in the world who have a hope for human civilization.

As a lifelong environmentalist who was vastly impressed by her earlier book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism versus the Climate, I’m a big fan of Naomi Klein. I was not disappointed with this newer book. I wish everyone everywhere would read it and embrace the Green New Deal. On Fire certainly makes an excellent case for the cause it espouses.

Like most, I shrink from facing the climate catastrophe. Who can deal with the despair and the powerlessness? But reading this book was so helpful for me in coming to grips with the greatest challenge we have faced. Denial and avoidance are more painful and more numbing than facing the truth in this book and I am so glad I read this because I feel more ready to do my part to make the big changes we need to make.

Klein's passionate about the subject but I had to read this as it was a required reading for one of our textbooks. I found the content frustrating.

Molti anni fa avevo comprato No Logo e lo avevo lasciato sullo scaffale, senza leggerlo, per questo ho preso Green New Deal, per superare un senso di colpa ormai ventennale.All'inizio ero scettico e dubitavo che Naomi Klein potesse aggiungere qualcosa di rilevante su un argomento del quale ho letto in abbondanza, invece mi sono ricreduto.L'approccio al tema è coraggioso e netto perché scarta ogni soluzione fatta di piccoli passi e di compromessi, ritenendola inefficace dopo 40 anni persi, e soprattutto dichiara che l'unica possibilità è affrontare di petto la causa principale: la politica economica ultra liberale.A partire dagli anni '80 il sistema economico ha imboccato la strada di un liberismo senza freni e controlli che produce sfruttamento scriteriato delle risorse naturali e altre gravi conseguenze, come la crescente diseguaglianza di ricchezza, di reddito, di lavoro, e di opportunità in generale per una porzione crescente della popolazione mondiale.Quindi per la giornalista canadese la soluzione è un eco-socialismo democratico che risolva la questione alla radice, affrontando la crisi climatica e contemporaneamente le altre crisi collegate.Chiarezza e grande onestà intellettuale, purtroppo la conferma che avrei dovuto all'epoca leggere anche No Logo.

Important read for our times - a call to action

Astonishingly it is 20 years since Naomi Klein wrote No Logo which focused on the how big brands simultaneously control the lives of consumers in the developed world and exploit workforces in the poorer countries who manufacture their products. This shook many people into action and affected the public profile of at least some of the global companies who adjusted their ways as a result.Naomi Klein is now focused on wider issues associated with the climate change emergency and, in this book, she echoes the voice of Greta Thunberg (who was not even born when No Logo came out), to appeal for us all to act as if this was an emergency. Klien calls for a Green New Deal similar to FD Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930's that turned the United States from the depths of economic depression to a global superpower in less than a generation. The book consists of a series of essays that Klein has written between 2016 and 2019 in response to the current issues and, in particular, the obvious candidates who are the non believers who continue to plough on with destructive fossil fuels.The case for a Green New Deal is compelling and this book is as relevant as anything written on the subject of the climate emergency. If this book is as successful as No Logo in changing both public perception and that of those in power then there might just be a chance. We live in hope.

This is a very important book and it is very important that we do everything we can to slow down the process. In my opinion it is already way too late, All the kickback mechanisms are already working. For example as the ice melts there is less white reflective surface to send the energy back into space and more dark. Surf fish to absorb the energy. As the permafrost melts it releases the frozen methane which is a much more powerful greenhouse gas then she 02. The more it is released the faster it will be released. Venus is an excellent example it used to have a climate very much like ours and oceans of water. Now it’surfice Temperature is about 800° lead would melt on the surface of Venus, it’s oceans have boiled awayi We still have to fight to slow things down but he’s way way too late to stop it. Ivan

If the climate action, the climate emergency and the idea of a green new deal are still subjects on which you feel shaky, then this book isn't a bad place to start, in looking at the politics of climate change. There are other books which go deeper into the scientific basis for various scenarios or which go into the technological options for mitigation and for a more sustainable future. This book, does what it says on the cover: it makes the case for a green new deal - in essence, pointing the way to the politics and economics of the future, in a way which will leave you excited and curious to learn more - rather than in a way that gives all the answers in great detail. It's an effective argument, not a manual.