By Michael Towsey May 2022 The publication of Growing a New Economy by Roar Bjonnes and Caroline Hargreaves[1] was a milestone in the history of Proutist literature because it
“The world’s richest ten percent are responsible for an estimated 47 percent share of global CO2 emissions,” writes Florian Zandt at Statista. This is the result of a recent study published in the journal Nature Sustainability. The study focused on how alleviating poverty worldwide would impact carbon emissions. To Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, We Need Another Kind of Extinction Rebellion
In British Columbia, there’s a little valley where the Squamish River snakes down past the cliffs of the Malamute, a popular hiking spot. The hills in all directions are, like much of BC, thickly forested with firs. And nestled in that valley is a newfangled industrial plant that aims to replicate what those millions of trees do: suck carbon dioxide out of the air.
Storytelling about the climate crisis–called climate fiction or ‘cli-fi’–has generally focused on end-of-the-world stories that serve as a warning. But can they inspire change?
Between 60-80 per cent of the impacts on the planet come from household consumption. If we change our consumption habits, this will have a drastic effect on our environmental footprint as well. But is it realistic to expect that individual lifestyle changes alone will have the needed impact on reducing CO2 emissions?
Africa’s Great Green Wall mega project holds many hopeful about its potential to resurrect ecosystems, save livelihoods and preserve cultures. However, taking a systemic look at this huge undertaking, experts have echoed concerns that conflict and climate change, among other issues, are complicating efforts on the ground.
Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change, bravely sets out to take a systemic look at the issue of climate change, while supporting the voices of those that stand to be the most affected by it.
A balance of power towards the groups that have historically been excluded or had their voices ‘white-washed’ in climate negotiations to include more socially and ecologically just approaches will be an unequivocal factor in finding effective solutions going forward.
Resistance to corporate rule at the policy level will need to be coupled with the generation of alternatives, to fill the gaps left by the departing old system.
Environmentalism has been unconsciously steeped in the Judeo-Christian concept of man’s dominion over the natural world. Jazmin Murphy explores how this crisis can be redressed by the inclusion of indigenous communities in environmental dialogue, research and action.
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