“Love will save this place.”  From This Changes Everything:  Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Klein.

Naomi Klein’s new book, This Changes Everything:  Capitalism vs. the Climate, is a hard read.  But it is so important and timely that I will be leading a five-session study and discussion on this groundbreaking book (see details below).  It will begin on April 6, the Monday after Easter, an appropriate time to begin discussing a book that gives hope that we human beings will be able to rise to this historic occasion and address the root causes of climate change and related injustices before the ultimate catastrophe of runaway climate change is upon us.

The catch?  This book does not lend itself to optimism.  It fosters what I call “costly hope.”  The book pushes us toward facing our global situation squarely and refusing to take refuge in false hopes that will allow us to stay comfortable as we are.

A friend who has started reading admits that she is becoming discouraged as she reads.  And it’s true—the first section of the book, “Bad Timing,” points out the grave challenges we face on a warming world and makes clear that the profit-based global economic system that is accelerating greenhouse gas emissions cannot provide a solution that will save us.

This sounds, at first, like very bad news.  Part II, “Magical Thinking,” goes on to expose the false hopes for addressing climate change that have gotten us nowhere.  The very things that we had hoped would save us are revealed as too little, too late.

More bad news—but wait!  Facing the reality of our situation is actually a healthy place to be.  It is like coming out of denial and hitting bottom, ready for a new approach grounded in true hope for both personal and systemic transformation.

This is a fitting message for this Easter Season.  It is a bit like dying and being reborn, like entering the darkness in order to glimpse the dawning of the light.  It is costly hope because it requires us to change.  As the title of the book says, “This changes everything.”

The last section of the book, “Starting Anyway,” is an astounding proclamation of hope and a call to hopeful action.  So much is already taking place that is hopeful, and it is not based on the market, or on corporate partnerships, or on “Big Green” environmental groups, or on government action.  Rather, this hope is being built upon successful grassroots struggles that impact everything (“this changes everything”), including actions at the top.  Hope that “another world is possible” is not a top-down process, but emerges from the bottom up, from people who are invested in the lives of their communities and are committed to leaving a flourishing world to future generations.  “Love will save this place.”

This is not a summary of the book—just a challenge to read it and consider what changes you can make to your current world view and way of life.  It helps to be able to talk things out with others who are also going through a transformative process, so feel free to join us.  This changes everything.

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Community Book Study on This Changes Everything:  Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein, Sponsored by the Nevada County Climate Change Coalition 

The Nevada County Climate Change Coalition is sponsoring a 5-session book study on This Changes Everything:  Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein.   The study will be led by Sharon Delgado, a climate change educator, and is open to all.  Each session will include a presentation summarizing the themes of each chapter, with small group and open discussion by those who are reading the book.  The study will be held on the following Mondays at 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Nevada City United Methodist Church, 433 Broad Street, Nevada City:

 April 6- (pages 1-94) Introduction and Part One:  Bad Timing (Chapters 1 and 2)

April 13- (pages 96-187)  Part One:  Bad Timing (Chapters 3, 4, 5)

May 4- (pages 189-290) Part Two:    Magical Thinking (Chapters 6,7,8)

May 18– (pages 291-387) Part Three:  Starting Anyway (Chapters 9,10,11)

June 1- (Pages 388-466) Part Three:  Starting Anyway (Chapters 12,13); Conclusion 

Please RSVP if you plan to participate by “joining” this Facebook event at the Nevada County Climate Change Coalition website:  https://www.facebook.com/events/790583357657274/ or by contacting Sharon or by email at thischangeseverything@earth-justice.org. 

Book study organizers encourage participants to purchase copies of This Changes Everything from local book dealers:  The Book Seller (272-2131) or Harmony Books (265-9564), well before the first meeting.

Follow Sharon’s blog by clicking the “Follow Sharon Delgado” button at the right or by “liking” the Shaking the Gates of Hell Facebook page.  Her other blog postings about climate change can be found here.