An Inconvenient Apocalypse: Environmental Collapse, Climate Crisis, and the Fate of Humanity

Jackson (Hogs Are Up), cofounder of the Land Institute, and journalist Jensen (The Restless and Relentless Mind of Wes Jackson) opt for blunt realism in this impassioned take on having to “accept changes in the way we live and in the way we think about being alive” to thwart the worst of climate catastrophe. Suggesting that humanity suffers from crises of consumption and of meaning, the authors assert a need for an “honest reckoning” at this “all-hands-on-deck point in human history.” They propose a “fewer-and-less” future in which fewer people consume less energy, though they “don’t pretend to know” what a stable global population number might be. They warn, too, that “modern systems are coming to an end” and “there are many things that we believe we can’t do without,” such as coffee, that people will lose in the coming decades. To facilitate a “low-energy world,” the authors encourage individual skill-building in areas such as agriculture and carpentry, and development of community-based living. Harrowing and accessible, this is just the thing for readers interested in a sociological or philosophical examination of the climate crisis. (Sept.)