it´s our definitive understanding...

I just finished Andreas Malm´s book "Det är vår bestämda uppfattning att om ingenting görs nu kommer det att vara försent", something like: "It is our definitive understanding that if nothing is done now it will be too late" - released by Atlas publishing house, 2007.

This book, I believe, does not leave any of its readers untouched. Malm begins with a historical background of what he acknowledges as a controproductive and dogmatic scientific perspective. All the way from the industrial revolution our scientists have focused and researched narrowly upon individual, separated issues of science and technology. Obviously, up until now, as Professor Will Steffen explicitely pointed out at Think Globally Radio´s episode "Surviving the anthropocene", on the 4th of November 2007 (listen here), the human race has not encountered such common global problems and challenges. Not until now are we commonly facing that the prevalent Western high-carbon and consumer intensive lifestyle is highly unsustainable. Not until now, are we also understanding that the science and technological innovations we have created historically have largely been destructive to our common, precious natural capital. Another important concept that is hindering a real perception of our climate system is the prevalent gradualistic change of the climate and nature as large; the climate, is in fact counter to that theory a beast, that when it is shaked out of its sleep, is capable of contributing to sudden devastating consequences...

Malm continues, after the historical outlook, to give a somewhat nightmarish description of our current and future situation if nothing is done; Greenland melting much faster than scientific models are predicting; glacier´s melting water, bursting out of hidden and unknown temporal bedrock storage devastating downhill villages around the Himalayas; temperate and tropical forests carbon "sinks" turning into carbon "sources" due to natural mechanisms of reverse respiration; much more frequent storms and hurricanes due to a higher energy flow within the biosphere - the grand conclusion is that added spiral feedback loops and self-organizing criticality in the climate systems is enhancing the physical consequences of our emissions. The climate will change abruptely.

You may panic reading this book, especially during the nights... but needless to say, that does not lead to anything constructive whatsoever. This is an important book, because it gives plenty of insights and also wakes up the will to affect and improve. It is important because we, in the Western world, have the responsibility to reconstruct our societies towards sustainability. And whether or not this will be carried out as a revolution, as Malm suggests, or through a common and broad co-operation, only the future will predict. One thing is for sure - scientific reseach need to be transformed into constructive action in order to improve our society at large, not merely improve the energy-efficiency of technology!

/Jimmy