Apocalypse Never by Michael Shellenberger
$7.99
Apocalypse Never
- Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All
- By: Michael Shellenberger
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Politics & Government
Publisher's Summary
Climate change is real, but it’s not the end of the world. It is not even our most serious environmental problem.
Michael Shellenberger has been fighting for a greener planet for decades. He helped save the world’s last unprotected redwoods. He co-created the predecessor to today’s Green New Deal. And he led a successful effort by climate scientists and activists to keep nuclear plants operating, preventing a spike of emissions.
But in 2019, as some claimed "billions of people are going to die", contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction.
Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas.
Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions.
What’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all, there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs.
©2020 Michael Shellenberger (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Jon
Disingenuous…
… and transparent. I really feel the author should fully divulge his institute’s backing, because that is important context for this. I’m very open to the idea that alarmism can be counter-productive, and that environmentalists often don’t get everything right – but there were so many attacks against strawmen in this that it had my head reeling.
I’d highly recommend anyone who finds this compelling should read Naomi Orsekes’ ‘Merchants of Doubt’
10 people found this helpful
Anonymous User
Genuine Conservation Not Politics
Shellenberger shows how climate alarmism has betrayed both science and humanity, without denying the facts of climate change. At the same time he offers real solutions to real conservation problems such as overfishing of the oceans, plastic pollution, loss of wildlife habitat, and destruction of rainforest. He takes a Humanist approach, starting with the premise that human beings are important, too. People who are more interested in fixing the problems, rather than marching in the streets, should read this book!
6 people found this helpful