Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Penguin (2019), Edition: 01, 208 pages
Description
Nature. Politics. Science. Nonfiction. Penguin presents the audiobook edition of This Is Not A Drill by Extinction Rebellion, read by Eva Pope. Extinction Rebellion are inspiring a whole generation to take action on climate breakdown. Now you can become part of the movement - and together, we can make history. It's time. This is our last chance to do anything about the global climate and ecological emergency. Our last chance to save the world as we know it. Now or never, we need to be radical. We need to rise up. And we need to rebel. Extinction Rebellion is a global activist movement of ordinary people, demanding action from Governments. This is a book of truth and action. It has facts to arm you, stories to empower you, pages to fill in and pages to rip out, alongside instructions on how to rebel - from organising a roadblock to facing arrest. By the time you finish this book you will have become an Extinction Rebellion activist. Act now before it's too late.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member TedWitham
Many have noticed the flaws in democracy. These days, you have only to glance at Trump, or watch Britain unravel over Brexit, or notice the hung parliaments and unconvincing votes around the world. Is it time to find a new system?
Climate change has defeated democratic decision making. The main
Don’t imagine that politicians are happy with their alliances with coal and banks. Their overreactions to the #Extinction Rebellion sit-ins have revealed how sensitive they are to criticism. To suggest mandatory jail and cutting protestors’ welfare payments is despotic. Messrs Littleproud and Canavan should note: Blocking roads is not new: I can remember sitting on Riverside Drive at peak-hour in 1969 to protest the danger for pedestrians crossing to and from The University of WA.
The argument in This is Not a Drill, a series of opinion pieces by supporters of Extinction Rebellion (Penguin 2019) is that the democratic process has failed us by not taking dramatic action to mitigate climate change. In Australia, emissions are increasing, and sales of coal are growing. Younger people fear for their future: coastal flooding, the melting of polar ice, wildfires year-round and cycles of severe drought should cause fear. The mass extinction of many species, the destruction of much of the world’s coral reefs, including the beautiful Great Barrier Reef, should be cause for alarm and grief.
#Extinction Rebellion aims, in part, to shut down capital cities until governments declare a climate emergency. No one likes the disruption to daily life this causes, but it is far less that the disruption that climate change unchecked will bring.
Writers in This is Not a Drill argue that not only must clean energy be generated and coal and gas phased out, but also the whole economy must be re-made. The ‘free market’ with its dependence on growth and consumer addiction to constant purchasing are the cause of climate change. These writers argue for a more distributive economy, local and equitable. As they say if fewer than 10% control more than 80% of the wealth, the system is loaded for reform.
The #Extinction Rebellion street actions have an element of fun. Some placards are humorous, playful floats function as centrepieces. Food shared generously creates a party atmosphere. Rowan Williams, formerly Archbishop of Canterbury, pleads for a place for delight: this if God’s world we are trying to preserve, and our Scriptures describe the act of creation as a form of divine play. If there is no joy, but only earnest protest, #Extinction Rebellion becomes a negative, maybe destructive force. With the element of delight, however, the movement is showing what a renewed world will be like.
The claims of #Extinction Rebellion disturb me deeply. Has democracy failed? Can a new and loving politics replace it? I fear the answer to both questions is ‘Yes’. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to act to preserve their world. Democracy will evolve – it must – but we must fight for the future.
Climate change has defeated democratic decision making. The main
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parties are beholden to the big end of town, especially coal and gas, and rather than choosing to oversee a rational transition to renewable sources, politicians have dug their heels in and promoted products and practices that add to harmful emissions. The science is indisputable – or should be. Don’t imagine that politicians are happy with their alliances with coal and banks. Their overreactions to the #Extinction Rebellion sit-ins have revealed how sensitive they are to criticism. To suggest mandatory jail and cutting protestors’ welfare payments is despotic. Messrs Littleproud and Canavan should note: Blocking roads is not new: I can remember sitting on Riverside Drive at peak-hour in 1969 to protest the danger for pedestrians crossing to and from The University of WA.
The argument in This is Not a Drill, a series of opinion pieces by supporters of Extinction Rebellion (Penguin 2019) is that the democratic process has failed us by not taking dramatic action to mitigate climate change. In Australia, emissions are increasing, and sales of coal are growing. Younger people fear for their future: coastal flooding, the melting of polar ice, wildfires year-round and cycles of severe drought should cause fear. The mass extinction of many species, the destruction of much of the world’s coral reefs, including the beautiful Great Barrier Reef, should be cause for alarm and grief.
#Extinction Rebellion aims, in part, to shut down capital cities until governments declare a climate emergency. No one likes the disruption to daily life this causes, but it is far less that the disruption that climate change unchecked will bring.
Writers in This is Not a Drill argue that not only must clean energy be generated and coal and gas phased out, but also the whole economy must be re-made. The ‘free market’ with its dependence on growth and consumer addiction to constant purchasing are the cause of climate change. These writers argue for a more distributive economy, local and equitable. As they say if fewer than 10% control more than 80% of the wealth, the system is loaded for reform.
The #Extinction Rebellion street actions have an element of fun. Some placards are humorous, playful floats function as centrepieces. Food shared generously creates a party atmosphere. Rowan Williams, formerly Archbishop of Canterbury, pleads for a place for delight: this if God’s world we are trying to preserve, and our Scriptures describe the act of creation as a form of divine play. If there is no joy, but only earnest protest, #Extinction Rebellion becomes a negative, maybe destructive force. With the element of delight, however, the movement is showing what a renewed world will be like.
The claims of #Extinction Rebellion disturb me deeply. Has democracy failed? Can a new and loving politics replace it? I fear the answer to both questions is ‘Yes’. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to act to preserve their world. Democracy will evolve – it must – but we must fight for the future.
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LibraryThing member arewenotben
This was disappointing. Maybe I'm not the target market, but I'm not sure who would be persuaded by the majority of the short pieces in this book. The second section on how to resist seemed stronger and more useful.
LibraryThing member DarthDeverell
Extinction Rebellion’s handbook, This is Not A Drill, details ways that individuals can act to mitigate the forthcoming climate catastrophe. The book – edited by Clare Farrell, Alison Green, Sam Knights, and William Skeaping – is structured into two parts. In the first, “Tell the Truth,”
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contributors explain in detail the realities of the climate crisis, lack of action, and how capitalism is driving the impending catastrophe. In the second part, “Act Now,” the contributors explain how burgeoning and experienced climate activists can take action to make their voices heard and begin to shape policy. The result is a work that functions in parallel with other volumes about the sixth extinction and climate change, including Greta Thunberg’s book as well as Jane Fonda’s What Can I Do?. Though the authors primarily describe a British context, much of what they discuss can apply to any post-industrial nation, particularly in how post-industrial societies shift the brunt of climate change to indigenous peoples and those countries still bearing the brunt of centuries of colonialism. A good introduction for those looking to become more involved in protesting inaction with the climate crisis. Show Less
LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
I find myself agreeing with so much of this book so, why do I feel uncomfortable with its prescriptive content?
It may be that I am just too cowardly to put myself at risk of arrest and would rather hide behind excuses but, I would (obviously) offer a different reason. I accept that revolutions are
This is a real dilemma because, I begin to think that only some form of overthrow of the current system can save human kind.
It may be that I am just too cowardly to put myself at risk of arrest and would rather hide behind excuses but, I would (obviously) offer a different reason. I accept that revolutions are
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better served by a small caucus of leaders. If the take over of the state were to require a poll of thousands of supporters, all checking their i-phones for a convenient date, that day would never come. The downside of revolution is that, having attained power, that tight leadership group is never keen to release power to the proletariat, who might not follow the prescribed path.This is a real dilemma because, I begin to think that only some form of overthrow of the current system can save human kind.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2019-06-13
Physical description
7.8 inches
ISBN
0141991445 / 9780141991443