Written by Rachel Clark, Volunteer Writer
Nothing impacts seeds growing into sprouts more than climate. Climate governs everything about every seed we know. It has impacted the evolution of all life on Earth, such that everything we see around us—at core—is intertwined with climate. Furthermore, all of human existence and evolution has occurred within fairly stable climatic conditions; even the ice ages were a blip on the climatic stage upon which we, and our domesticated plant and animal partners, evolved.
Now, however, humanity is confronted with the single biggest juggernaut of change we’ve ever known. Climate change—we are finally beginning to acknowledge—is upon us, and it’s an epic crisis with few adequate comparisons: say, a meteorite hurling at Earth, or the buttons between peace and nuclear holocaust. Bill McKibben, author of the visionary End of Nature and founder of 350.org, said in a recent issue of Tricycle magazine that when you really begin to understand the climate crisis and don’t take action, it is “soul curdling.”
Thankfully, there’s Naomi Klein’s eminent new book (and this month’s Good Food Book Club selection), This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs The Climate. Klein (respected author of The Shock Doctrine) spent the last decade researching and writing what D.R. Tucker at the Washington Monthly calls “one of the greatest works of nonfiction of all-time,” and “a weapon of justice.” Just a month after its release, the book hit the New York Times national and international best-sellers lists. In it, Klein pinpoints the severe disruption of our natural systems by corporate, capitalist dysfunction. Most important, This Changes Everything is a handbook for making the greatest change in history—the one that stabilizes climate and all the systems upon which our civilization depends.
Our food system is fundamentally linked with climate change. So Klein’s book is the slam-dunk choice for April’s seed to sprout online-issue of the Co-op newsletter, as well as a much needed clarion call for Earth Day. Further, it aligns with the April Climate Forum: Building a Resilient Palouse in the Age of Climate Change, Part I: Beginning the Discussion sponsored by the PESC-Palouse Environmental Sustainability Coalition on April 24 & 25 (with support from the Moscow Food Co-op Dime In Time program).
Please join us to discuss This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs The Climate by Naomi Klein (Simon and Schuster 2014) on Sunday, April 26 from 7:00-8:30 pm. Remember to email bookclub@moscowfood.coop for the meeting location and directions and/or to receive email reminders about the Good Food Book Club. This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein is available through your local library. If you are interested in buying the book, check out the area’s local used book stores or visit Book People of Moscow where Book Club members receive a discount. For more information about the Good Food Book Club, check out the Outreach section of the MFC website at www.moscowfood.coop.