What if I told you that switching to that meat-free diet didn’t help? What if I told you that giving up air travel was worth nothing? What if I told you that many local initatives, mini-schemes and even many of the personal actions you choose to take was at best pointless and even possibly counter-productive? You’d probably think I was lying to you, as indeed I would have thought. Not anymore…
Saving the Planet without the Bullsh*t is a concise but deep exploration of the climate crisis, its causes, what we can do about it, and the myriad of lies and falsehoods we’ve been told will actually help to solve the problem. With distinct sections focused on almost every aspect of climate change, the solutions and what governments and business are doing (and not doing), from energy to food production, clothing and more, this book is a radical insight into what we think we know, and where we have to go from here.
As a biology student, I understand the issues climate change poses more than most, especially in terms of the problems it’s already causing and the potential solutions we have. But this book challenged almost everything I’ve ever learned or thought about climate change. For years I’ve ‘known’ that a plant-based diet is the only responsible way forward to ease climate change, yet it’s not (and may even be worse in the long-term!). The book documents how Big Oil, Coal and Gas have weaved this web of deceit which has quietly taken hold, even in well-meaning climate campaigners. My advice – read this book and be prepared to question everything you think you know!
The main takeaway from this book is also it’s sad limitation. The main takeaway is that immense pressure from governmental bodies, legal institutions, financiers and more need to be levelled sharply, and that only deep, heavy-handed institutional change of those at the top of the pyramid has the chance of putting an end to climate change. Yet that’s incredibly difficult to do as a single person, as is getting word out about these climate misconceptions. If everyone had to read this book, we could solve climate change mostly within a decade or two, but the book simply hasn’t yet got the reach to achieve this.
I may have only given this book an average rating due to the practical shortcomings, but its messages are more than five-star quality. It’s a jarring insight into what you think you know. It can only overcome its limitations by as many people as possible reading it, so pick up a copy and pass it round – it may be the best chance we have!
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Saving the Planet without the Bullsh*t (ISBN: 9-781838-954659) was published in 2022
