mini book review: The End of the Long Summer

by Dianne Dumanoski, Crown Publishers 2009, 252 pp.

I love this book. It's a brilliant gem. Basically, it takes the thoughts and premises of most environmental thinkers into the next realm of understanding. Wholistically, Dumanoski looks at the systemic disruption to Earth's metalbolism, while also examining "how our current modes of thinking fuel this emergency." The question, she says, is no longer simply how we can stop climate change, but how we can as a civilization survive it.

This masterpiece includes cultural critiques both detailed and broad, including the pitfalls of globalization, the role of the human brain, the temptations of technofix, our vulnerability to pandemic, and how to shock-proof our human social system.

A new cultural map is needed, Dumanoski says, because "the routine business of our civilization is threatening its own survival."

She wants us to actually THINK differently. I for one doubt that we can, but every bit of my spare time is spent trying to help it happen. What about you?