The Conceivable Future: Planning Families and Taking Action in the Age of Climate Change

In this disjointed probe, Kallman (The Death of Idealism), a University of Massachusetts Boston sociologist and Rhode Island state senator, and Grandgather blogger Ferorelli explore strategies for fighting climate change and how global warming is affecting decisions about whether or not to have children. According to the authors, calls to lower one’s carbon footprint by having fewer children are misguided because they place the onus to stop global warming on the average person while distracting from the fact that meaningfully reducing carbon emissions will require tackling the biggest industrial polluters. Though Kallman and Ferorelli encourage parents to talk with children about climate change “in an age-appropriate way” (without specifying how to do so), they otherwise struggle to connect their material on global warming and families. For instance, a chapter on family planning explores how polyamorous partnerships, queer couples, and close ties between aunts/uncles and nieces/nephews offer alternatives to the heteronormative nuclear family, but barely touches on climate change. Conversely, profiles of organizations tackling climate change at the local, state, and national levels (the authors highlight the Capital Good Fund’s work offering small, low-interest loans aimed at helping people with low incomes convert their homes to clean energy) have little to do with family. This suffers from a lack of focus. (Feb.)