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.

On Fire by Naomi Klein

ON FIRE by Naomi Klein is subtitled “The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal.” Klein is a best-selling author who also holds an endowed chair at Rutgers University and has co-founded the climate justice organization The Leap. Her recent book is basically a collection of essays, some new and some written in the last decade, regarding climate change and its increasing urgency. I agree with other reviewers who have pointed to the necessity of becoming better informed on this topic – whether or not you ultimately agree with Klein. In her latest book, she takes a social justice perspective and argues that we can solve multiple crises at once:

The introduction to ON FIRE is lengthy, but accessible and inspirational, especially for teen readers. For example, she writes about numerous impacts around the world like one million dead fish in Australia’s Darling River, water shortages in Cape Town, South Africa, and wildfires in America’s Pacific Northwest. Klein points out that “wherever in the world they live, this generation has something in common: they are the first for whom climate disruption on a planetary scale is not a future threat, but a lived reality.” She continues to explain the genesis of the recent movement, including providing background on Greta Thunberg and her Friday protests which in turn prompted today's events. Klein asks “what is interfering with humanity’s basic survival instinct – why so many of us aren’t acting like our house is on fire when it so clearly is” and notes that “there are many powerful interests that like things as they are.” Some of Klein’s other sections are titled “Capitalism vs. the Climate,” “Stop Trying to Save the World All by Yourself,” and an epilogue on “The Capsule Case for a Green New Deal.” Klein’s ON FIRE received a starred review from Library Journal.