Unsettling: Surviving Extinction Together

Essayist Weinberg debuts with an impassioned if uneven argument that the broad American conception of climate change has roots in colonialism and racism. Americans are far more culpable for warming the planet than politicians often admit, Weinburg writes, citing data that suggests that “from 1850 to 2014, our nation sent more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than any other.” That’s tied in with a colonial way of thinking, she posits, and is largely due to the loss of Indigenous ways of life: “In our quest for glory—for gold, for land, and now for oil—we’ve lost not only the culture-keepers but also physical records that might help us understand what we’ve lost.” But while she insists change is necessary, there isn’t much in the way of actionable advice, and the author spends much of her time stuck on winding reflections (“How do you radically change a world where extractive capitalism is the rule? How do you change the actions of eight billion people, each with their own agenda, whether it’s getting rich or just surviving?”). This might work as a thought exercise. (Oct.)