Reader’s Corner: Here Comes the Sun

If you are looking to curl up with a book for some cold weather reading, let me suggest Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization by Bill McKibben.  Published earlier this year by W. W. Norton & Company, the book describes the rapid growth of renewable energy world-wide, the obstacles it has faced from fossil fuel interests, and how this energy transition could lead to a more equitable world.

My introduction to Bill McKibben was in 1989, when I read The End of Nature: Humanity, Climate Change, and the Natural World. It was one of the books that brought climate change to a general audience, arguing that human impact has ended the concept of pristine nature, making it inseparable from human activity. It outlined the emerging science on issues like the greenhouse effect, acid rain, and ozone depletion and urged a philosophical shift in how humans relate to the world. As I recall, it was not particularly optimistic.

Here Comes the Sun is, on the other hand, surprisingly upbeat. McKibben is as insightful and readable as ever.  My biggest takeaway is that we are already where we need to be technologically, solar and wind energy are already less expensive to produce than fossil fuel energy.  And the rest of the world, most notably China, is already transitioning rapidly to renewable energy sources.  We are already at the point where we can move fairly quickly to a carbon neutral world.  All we need is the proper motivation, and we can build a more equitable and sane civilization.  The book stands as a hopeful but urgent call to action. For more information about renewable energy visit https://350.org.

If you need more from McKibben, allow me to also suggest The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back on His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened, published in 2022. It reflects on his suburban upbringing in Lexington, Massachusetts, and questions the nation’s trajectory, exploring the decline of patriotism, faith, and shared prosperity through the lens of his own life and the rise of inequality, the religious right, and the climate crisis.  And, not surprisingly, it calls for a new, more equitable future.