Don Enss
Being a writer in today’s fast moving world is a real
challenge. Some of what you write today may be out of date by tomorrow, which
makes blogs like Dr. Oliver’s and social media more relevant than books when we’re
discussing critical issues.
For example, since Naomi Klein’s book was published in 2014,
there have been some rapid changes in both the climate and in politics. On page
179, she spoke of Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff reducing its extreme poverty rate by
65 percent. She has since been impeached and removed from office last month,
August 2016. She mentioned Hugo Chavez and Venezuela slashing the percentage of
the population living in extreme poverty by more than half. He died in 2013,
and according to a June 22, 2016 article in the Guardian, it “is suffering the
worst economic crisis in its history. Ordinary people in the oil-rich country
are regularly going without food. Three-quarter empty supermarkets are being
ransacked by angry, hungry mobs. The government has declared a state of
emergency, food is now being transported under armed guard, and basic
necessities are being rationed. People have to queue for hours and sometimes
overnight on their assigned days to receive staples like rice and cooking oil.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/22/venezuela-economic-crisis-guardian-briefing
On the plus side, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador was
elected to an unprecedented third term in 2013, which already violates their
Constitution but he has above 50% approval rating, so I guess they were willing
to overlook that. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2017 when they
have their next presidential election.
The scary side of this is, what has happened to our
environment since she published her book?
It's true, climate-related events are moving at a pace that threatens to outstrip reflective forethought. All the more reason to fix our sites on the long-term and make a plan that won't be buffeted by the news headlines. But we have to commit ourselves to sustained attention, and not forget to persevere. Books still seem like a good anchor to help us do that.
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