On Fire: The (Burning) Case for the Green New Deal
by Naomi Klein
The Author:
Naomi Klein is a shining star in the progressive, environmental justice, and political activism constellations. She wrote about Greta Thunberg before she became well-known. And her encouragement of political activism has found a champion in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who is the figurehead of the progressive democrats in the US House of Representatives.
She has written numerous books about the environment and politics.
Content:
On Fire is a collection of essays and speeches that Naomi Klein wrote over the last ten years or so. They were re-edited and updated before publication together in On Fire.
Different sections of the book cover:
- The BP Oil Spill in 2010
- Capitalism’s responsibility for our warming climate
- Speaking to an audience at the Vatican even though the Catholic church has historically been a stalwart of traditionalism
- Geologic time versus human time
- The futility of acting individually
- Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria during Trump’s term in office
- The Green New Deal as an FDR-style response to global warming
Klein shows that environmental activism and social justice are inseparable and that any meaningful attempt to stop global warming needs to embrace indigenous communities, women, ethnic minorities, and the dispossessed generally.
Analysis:
To be quite honest, little was new to me or groundbreaking in these essays, perhaps because I’ve already read similar books by later writers who followed in Klein’s footsteps.
See my reviews for The Day the World Stops Shopping by J.B. MacKinnon, or Facing the Climate Emergency by Margaret Klein Salamon.
But still, On Fire combines a dire environmental backdrop that underscores why the book is important to read, truth-to-power statements about which political parties and multinational corporations are at fault, and a seam of hope that makes you feel empowered and inspires you to get active in the climate fight.
Those just opening their eyes to the climate emergency would be well served by reading On Fire by Naomi Klein.
Did you read On Fire? What did you think? What have you done to reduce global warming?