I'm just reading Naomi Klein's new book, "This Changes Everything" ([url]review in The Guardian here[/url]) and finding it un-put-down-able. She is absolutely right - our world has changed and if we don't wake up to that fact and do something about it NOW we might not be around in 150 years. For all that, it is an optimistic (there's that word again!) book.
She says that the reason we haven't done more already is because of fear, and says: "Fear is a survival response. Fear makes us run, it makes us leap, it can make us act superhuman. But we need somewhere to run to. Without that, the fear is only paralyzing. So the real trick, the only hope, really, is to allow the terror of an unlivable future to be balanced and soothed by the prospect of building something much better than many of us have previously dared hope."
Sounds like an interesting book. If I didn't already have a pile of about 30 books waiting to be read, I'd consider it. 🙂
Straight to my reading list 🙂
I don't think is just (or even mainly) fear that we haven't individually done more re. the environment. As Reiki Pixie mentioned, a lot of it is down to apathy. This is why I suggested we need current/updated environmental visuals (photos or a film) of just how bad it has all got, i.e. deforestation, glacial melting etc. Nothing like a wake up call to galvanise people!
Thanks for sharing, Crowan! I may have to check this out. 🙂