An Inconvenient Apocalypse: Environmental Collapse, Climate Crisis, and the Fate of Humanity

by Wes Jackson, Robert Jensen

Overview

Confronting harsh ecological realities and the multiple cascading crises facing our world today, An Inconvenient Apocalypse argues that humanity’s future will be defined not by expansion but by contraction.

For decades, our world has understood that we are on the brink of an apocalypse—and yet the only implemented solutions have been small and convenient, feel-good initiatives that avoid unpleasant truths about the root causes of our impending disaster. Wes Jackson and Robert Jensen argue that we must reconsider the origins of the consumption crisis and the challenges we face in creating a survivable future. Longstanding assumptions about economic growth and technological progress—the dream of a future of endless bounty—are no longer tenable. The climate crisis has already progressed beyond simple or nondisruptive solutions. The end result will be apocalyptic; the only question now is how bad it will be.

Jackson and Jensen examine how geographic determinism shaped our past and led to today’s social injustice, consumerist culture, and high-energy/high-technology dystopias. The solution requires addressing today’s systemic failures and confronting human nature by recognizing the limits of our ability to predict how those failures will play out over time. Though these massive challenges can feel overwhelming, Jackson and Jensen weave a secular reading of theological concepts—the prophetic, the apocalyptic, a saving remnant, and grace—to chart a collective, realistic path for humanity not only to survive our apocalypse but also to emerge on the other side with a renewed appreciation of the larger living world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780268203641
Publisher:	University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date:	09/01/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
Sales rank:	566,681
File size:	300 KB

About the Author

Wes Jackson is cofounder and president emeritus of The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. A 1992 MacArthur Fellow, he is the author and co-author of numerous books, including Hogs Are Up: Stories of the Land, with Digressions and New Roots for Agriculture.

Robert Jensen is professor emeritus in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of many books including The Restless and Relentless Mind of Wes Jackson: Searching for Sustainability and Plain Radical: Living, Loving, and Learning to Leave the Planet Gracefully.

Read an Excerpt

Where does that leave us? Let’s sum up the state of affairs at his moment in history:

We humans have made a mess of things, which is readily evident if we face the avalanche of studies and statistics describing the contemporary ecological crises we face. But even with the mounting evidence of the consequences for people and the ecosphere, we have not committed to a serious project to slow the damage that we do. Those who have little or no access to wealth and power would be within their rights to object, on the grounds that the “we” diffuses responsibility. Who has made a mess of things and who has failed to act? Who’s to blame for the problems and who’s responsible for the costs? Put more bluntly, borrowing from the imagined exchange between the Lone Ranger and Tonto when they were in a tough fight with Indians, “What do you mean, we, white man?”

Our thesis: While not every individual or culture is equally culpable, the human failure over the past 10,000 years is the result of the imperative of all life to seek out energy-rich carbon. Humans play that energy-seeking game armed with an expansive cognitive capacity and a species propensity to cooperate and develop a complex division of labor. That’s a way of saying that humans are smart, and we know how to coordinate our activities to leverage our smarts. Specific individuals and societies are morally accountable for their failures, and certain political and economic systems are central to those failures. But the failures are also the result of the kind of organisms we are. Both things are true, and both things are relevant.

The global North—which is to say, fossil-fuel powered capitalism as it developed in Europe—bears primary responsibility for the shape of the contemporary crises, and those societies have failed to meet their obligations, or in some cases to even acknowledge an obligation, to change course. In our lifetimes, the primary force behind that failure has been the United States of America. Within these affluent societies, the wealthy and powerful bear the greatest responsibility for destructive policies. But if there is to be a decent human future, we have to realize that human-carbon nature is at the core of the problem, a reality that exempts no one. We cannot ignore the relevance of “we.”

This may sound harsh in a world with so much human suffering, so unequally distributed. So, let us be clear: This analysis does not minimize or trivialize that suffering. Nor does this analysis ignore or minimize the moral and political failures that exacerbate it. We will say this over and over, so there can be no misunderstanding: Strategies for a sustainable human presence must involve holding the wealthy and powerful accountable for damage done, and moving toward a more equitable distribution of wealth and power. Those goals are desirable independent of ecological realities. Those realities also mean, as a starting point, a commitment to a downpowering and an acceptance of limits, which is necessary for a withering away of the growth economy, which is necessary for long-term survival. Call it “degrowth” or “steady state economics” or “doughnut economics.” Advocates for different approaches will disagree about specifics of policy proposals, but there is a growing awareness of the need to talk about limits. That starts with recognizing the need to transcend capitalism and the current politics designed to serve capitalists, in pursuit of an equitable distribution of wealth within planetary boundaries. Those of us living in the more affluent sectors of the world should not try to evade these moral assessments and political obligations.

If this kind of honest reckoning with history and contemporary economic/political realignment were accomplished, then what? With nearly eight billion people and most of the world’s infrastructure built with, and dependent on, highly dense energy, then what? If running that existing infrastructure on renewable energy is highly unlikely, then what?

Table of Contents

Introductions: Who are we?

1. Who is “we”?

2. Four hard questions: Size, scale, scope, speed

3. We are all apocalyptic now

4. Saving remnant

5. Ecospheric grace

Conclusions: The sum of all hopes and fears

Editorial Reviews

07/25/2022

Jackson (Hogs Are Up), cofounder of the Land Institute, and journalist Jensen (The Restless and Relentless Mind of Wes Jackson) opt for blunt realism in this impassioned take on having to “accept changes in the way we live and in the way we think about being alive” to thwart the worst of climate catastrophe. Suggesting that humanity suffers from crises of consumption and of meaning, the authors assert a need for an “honest reckoning” at this “all-hands-on-deck point in human history.” They propose a “fewer-and-less” future in which fewer people consume less energy, though they “don’t pretend to know” what a stable global population number might be. They warn, too, that “modern systems are coming to an end” and “there are many things that we believe we can’t do without,” such as coffee, that people will lose in the coming decades. To facilitate a “low-energy world,” the authors encourage individual skill-building in areas such as agriculture and carpentry, and development of community-based living. Harrowing and accessible, this is just the thing for readers interested in a sociological or philosophical examination of the climate crisis. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

An Inconvenient Apocalypse pulls no punches. Wes Jackson and Robert Jensen, in this work of Anthropocenic soul-searching, offer an honest, accessible, and ruefully playful look at their own lives and at the predicament of human civilization during this century of upheaval and denial.” —Scott Slovic, co-editor of Ecoambiguity, Community, and Development

“The problematic human/earth relationship will not be resolved anytime soon, and Jackson and Jensen’s book makes an important contribution to assessing our situation and envisioning a way forward. Anyone who has a nagging feeling that something is wrong and doesn’t understand the breadth and depth of the problem or how to grapple with it should read this book.” —Lisi Krall, author of Proving Up

"While making no religious claims, Jackson and Jensen engage the core questions that religious people must ask, if their own witness is to be credible: Who are we, and where are we in history? Do we have the capacity to make drastic change for the sake of a decent human future? Can we live with humility and grace instead of arrogance and an infatuation with knowledge devoid of wisdom? Read and consider." —Ellen F. Davis, author of Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture

"With intrepid honesty, tenderness, and grace, Jackson and Jensen lay out a clear framework for making sense of the most elusive complexities of climate crisis. Through kindred reflections and incisive analysis, they boldly enlighten readers of the probable and the possible in the decades to come. An affirmation and solace for the weary. A beacon for those seeking courage and understanding in unsettling times." —Selina Gallo-Cruz, author of Political Invisibility and Mobilization

"The nature of all living organisms, so this book argues, is to go after 'dense energy,' resulting eventually in crisis. If that is so, then the human organism is facing a tough question: Can we overcome our own nature? Courageous and humble, bold and provocative, the authors of An Inconvenient Apocalypse do not settle for superficial answers." —Donald Worster, author of Shrinking the Earth

"This is one of the most important books of our lifetime. An Inconvenient Apocalypse can help us face the difficult choices that confront us all and enable us to acknowledge the urgency of our current circumstance." —Frederick L. Kirschenmann, author of Cultivating an Ecological Conscience

"Wes Jackson and Bob Jensen have written Common Sense for our time. This book might be the spark that catalyzes the American Evolution." —Peter Buffett, co-president of the NoVo Foundation

“In this essential contribution to the public debate, Wes Jackson and Robert Jensen critique the capitalist forces accelerating the climate crisis and the intellectual-activists who have balked at calling for the radical changes in human behavior that could mitigate, if not prevent, environmental and societal collapse. Their contribution will prove as enduring as it is timely.” —Jason Brownlee, author of Authoritarianism in an Age of Democratization

“If you’re already concerned about our species’ survival prospects, this book will take you to the next level of understanding. Jackson and Jensen are clear and deeply moral thinkers, and their assessment of humanity’s precarious status deserves to be widely read.” —Richard Heinberg, author of Power

"Jackson and Jensen take a hard look at the near future as climate change intensifies and predict looming crises will lead to human suffering and radical changes. . . . [The authors] cut through pervasive denial about humanity's destiny in a more hostile environment. As in an effective seminar, they posit a situation and then raise questions that will resonate with readers." —Library Journal

"Harrowing and accessible, this is just the thing for readers interested in a sociological or philosophical examination of the climate crisis." —Publishers Weekly

"A hard-hitting philosophical reckoning with climate breakdowns, and with the social collapses that they may entail. ... Climate disasters may render hope for the future tenuous, but the philosophical book An Inconvenient Apocalypse asserts that working toward social justice is still purpose-giving." —Foreword Reviews (starred review)

"The goal of An Inconvenient Apocalypse isn’t to try to convince people of the reality of humankind’s environmental and societal crises. . . . Instead the book takes these threats as a starting point and spends the majority of its lean page count exploring their implications and how we might best respond to them. It succeeds commendably in this regard." —Resilience

"In An Inconvenient Apocalypse, authors Wes Jackson and Robert Jensen style themselves as heralds of some very bad news: societal collapse on a global scale is inevitable, and those who manage to survive the mass death and crumbling of the world as we know it will have to live in drastically transformed circumstances. . . . The current way of things is doomed, and it’s up to us to prepare as best we can to ensure as soft a landing as possible when the inevitable apocalypse arrives." —The Guardian

"Global warming is headed in a calamitous direction. Even if humans can limit the increase in the Earth’s temperature, other factors are pushing us to an apocalypse. . . . This a sobering examination of current trends in human behavior and likely existential consequences." —Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies

"We are in the midst of a major environmental catastrophe for which we are little prepared, but for which action is desperately needed. An Inconvenient Apocalypse seeks to engage this problem with a deep concern for social justice, equality, and reverence for us and the planet that we have so deeply scarred." —New York Journal of Books

"Unlike many works in the eco-catastrophe genre, An Inconvenient Apocalypse isn’t strident, angry, or panicked about the impending collapse. It’s more of an elegy for a dying civilization, which takes a pragmatic but soft-spoken approach to the problems we face; so soft-spoken that it’s a slight shock when we realize what the authors are saying." —Medium

"An Inconvenient Apocalypse is one powerful book. It will move many of its readers out of the past and into a reasonable, informed, and passionate space for assessing a difficult future." —Ecological Economics

"Read this personal manifesto of wisdom and passion for our suffering planet, a very important, timely, and riveting book." —CounterPunch

"Few books can shake up and awaken long-time climate activists, environmental activists, and sustainability activists to expansive new levels of understanding of the big picture of our major crises, but this is one of those books." —Job One for Humanity Climate Blog

“Right now, the questions posed by Jackson and Jensen carry more potency than the answers we are being led to believe will resolve the predicaments we are in. That is because we have been asking the wrong questions. Jackson and Jensen ask new, and inconvenient, questions. Get the book and start asking the same questions.” —Rainbow Juice

“The authors seek to redefine what hope can be, as the day-to-day expectations of most of us are off the table... Compulsory reading.” —Hastings Independent Press

"If we are to see a better future realized, not only do we need to rethink our individual patterns of behavior, but we must also resist cultural formations that reduce our humanity to marketplace identities. . . . If we decide this is who we are, our future may still be bright, even if it is not convenient." —The Christian Century

From the Publisher

07/01/2022

Jackson (Consulting the Genius of the Place) and Jensen (We Are All Apocalyptic Now) take a hard look at the near future as climate change intensifies and predict looming crises will lead to human suffering and radical changes. The consuming activities of humans have pushed the planet far over its carrying capacity and degraded essential ecosystems. Increased recycling and switching to electric vehicles won't save the Western world lifestyle. Nor can people rely on geoengineering projects to halt climate change. Jackson and Jensen blame energy-seeking human nature for bringing us to this point, stating that we must ration carbon and limit its extraction. In the coming decades, they expect unprecedented energy drawdown, likely a collapse to a much smaller population and simpler societies. Surviving farmers and villagers might find themselves living as many Indigenous Americans on reservations do now, with rickety infrastructures at best. The authors reference the Old Testament and Octavia Butler's science fiction novels. VERDICT Jackson and Jensen cut through pervasive denial about humanity's destiny in a more hostile environment. As in an effective seminar, they posit a situation and then raise questions that will resonate with readers.—David R. Conn

Library Journal