Clearing the Air by Tim Smedley

Being Friday, there were more climate protests today and new books related to environmental issues continue to appear. One is CLEARING THE AIR by Tim Smedley which was shortlisted for the 2019 Royal Society Science Book Prize. In the prologue, Smedley notes his initial surprise when he started to learn more about “the most immediate environmental issue of all: the air we breathe.” He certainly does cite disturbing statistics: “In late 2016, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that outdoor air pollution caused over 3 million deaths worldwide; by 2018, the WHO revised this up to 4.2 million.” Smedley’s work tends to be rather UK-centric, although he adds graphic examples from around the world, like describing half-marathoners running in Delhi, India while wearing face masks or Beijing, China citizens complaining of persistent coughs. Smedley argues that air pollution is gradual, persistent and largely invisible so humans are less inclined to take drastic action. Hoping this will change, he notes that “modern science is starting to reveal what our eyes cannot see: an anonymous killer born from the cars in our driveway and the industrial processes used to make the products in our cupboards."  Offering chapters split between Origins (e.g., The Dash for Diesel) and the Fightback (e.g., Electric Dreams), Smedley concludes with an epilogue containing a Clean Air Blueprint for cities and for his individual readers. CLEARING THE AIR includes an index and provides details for a limited set of references.

We are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer

Undoubtedly, you have seen much coverage about Greta Thunberg and the millions participating in the climate change protests (here are images from those events in publications as diverse as The Guardian and Teen Vogue). There’s been increased coverage on various aspects such as some concerning statistics and charts and the UN Climate Action Summit 2019, too.

Another way to gather more knowledgeable related to this topic is to read the newly published WE ARE THE WEATHER by Jonathan Safran Foer.  Building on his earlier best-selling work, Eating Animals, Foer now shares essays related to how “Saving the Planet begins at Breakfast.”  He divides the short pieces into five sections, and early on he writes about WWII when “ordinary people joined together to support the greater cause” and encourages his readers to take action beyond recycling and changing their driving habits. Overall, his message deals with the ability of individuals to reduce their carbon footprint by eating less meat, but it is often a rambling musing about the situation. As Foer himself writes, “this is a book about the impacts of animal agriculture on the environment. Yet I have managed to conceal that for the previous sixty-three pages.” However, his book will be worth a look from those who are exploring impactful personal action in the face of government apathy. There is no index to help researchers, but the text does include an appendix, notes and an extensive bibliography; WE ARE THE WEATHER received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.  

Foer’s new book is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, a division of Macmillan – the publisher who recently announced a policy intent on limiting library access to eBooks.  If you are interested in learning more about Macmillan’s restrictions and public libraries’ efforts to provide #eBooksForAll, check out the American Library Association website. The public petition there already has over 34,000 signatures.