BOOK REPORT: BEING THE CHANGE: LIVE WELL AND SPARK A CLIMATE REVOLUTION BY PETER KALMUS

I came upon this book in a recommendation from a blog I happened to be reading. The title sounded a bit ‘self-helpy’ and ‘rainbows and unicorns’ for my taste, but I am very glad I got a copy from our local library. The author, Peter Kalmus, a climate scientist, provides one of the most cogent, thought-provoking, at times disturbing, yet ultimately hopeful examinations of the climate change crisis that I have read in a long time. He opens by talking about how he came to realize one simple truth: If we are to prevent catastrophic global warming in the coming decades with its concomitant negative impacts upon the biosphere and human civilization, then we must stop burning fossils fuels and emitting Co₂ into our atmosphere. That’s what we must do. Period. Full stop. [At this point there is sound of crickets.] The reader nods, and for those who accept the premise of anthropogenic global warming (that humans are the primary cause for the rise in global temperature over the past two centuries), we say, “Of course, tell us something we don’t already know.” Where Kalmus departs from the standard fare found in much of the literature on climate change, in which the analysis of our situation ranges from bleak despair to techno-utopian triumphalism, is that he begins with himself. He describes his growing awareness of how he and his lifestyle contribute to the rising levels of CO₂ in our atmosphere, and the steps he took over several years to reduce his personal emissions by a factor of ten, from 23 tonnes CO₂e per year to something like 2.1 tonnes. He did so through a variety of ways: he stopped flying for one, he began bicycling, he took up vegetarianism, “freeganism”, backyard vegetable growing and composting (with humanure!); he installed a solar water heater, used a clothesline and a variety of other measures that brought his emissions down to a fraction of what they were previously. He provides suggestions* that we as individuals and as society can use to live ethical, ecologically responsible, and happier lives here on our little blue planet.
     He says: 

"As I keep walking [away from fossil fuels], I get further from the core of industrial civilization. I'm heading toward its fringes. When I look back over my shoulder, what I'm walking away from looks pretty bad. It looks like we may have lost our way as a species. More and more, as I continue to walk, I'm able to see industrial civilization for what it was: an experiment or phase that we had to go through, but that turned out not to work."

     He rightly points out that what works for him may not work for you. But one of the joys of this book is in witnessing his changing attitude towards the earth, and his discovery of values that have worth and meaning beyond those that characterize modern industrial civilization and consumerism. His is as much a spiritual journey as it is a transitioning away from dependence upon fossils fuels. Some of his discussions are sobering. He says we cannot “save” the biosphere**; it will get along just fine whether we are here or not. Our goal, he says, should be to “transition to a way of life that respects the limits of the biosphere and all life.” And the way to do that is one person at a time.
Please read this book.

Cheers, Jake.

*One interesting idea he proposes is a tax or fee on carbon with the revenues collected returned as “dividends” directly to citizens. Called a Carbon Fee and Dividend (CFAD) it is a model that is promoted by an organization called Citizens Climate Lobby (which, incidentally has as a member of its board Dr. James Hansen, arguably the climate scientist most responsible for raising public awareness about the dangers of global warming; he sounded the alarm decades ago and remains a strong voice in the fight against climate change), and it looks promising. Kalmus cites the recent revenue neutral carbon tax recently put into place in British Columbia (albeit a modest effort) as one that is reasonable successful in reducing BC’s carbon footprint.

**One book he references is E.O. Wilson’s Half-Earth, where the renowned biologist proposes that half our planet be returned its natural, wild state. What a marvelous, beautiful idea, and how healing for our biosphere and for us! Yep, that’s just gone to the top of my pile of “to read” books!