Requiem for a Species
Encyclopedia
Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth about Climate Change is a 2010 book by Australian academic Clive Hamilton
which explores climate change denial
and its implications. It argues that climate change
will bring about large-scale, harmful consequences for habitability
for life on Earth including humans, which it is too late to prevent. Hamilton explores why politicians, corporations and the public deny or refuse to act on this reality. He invokes a variety of explanations, including wishful thinking
, ideology
, consumer culture
and active lobbying
by the fossil fuel
industry. The book builds on the author's fifteen-year prior history of writing about these subjects, with previous books including Growth Fetish
and Scorcher: The Dirty Politics of Climate Change.
Requiem for a Species has been reviewed in Resurgence magazine
, Socialist Review
, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age
, The Common Review
, and Times Higher Education, which named it "Book of the Week". Extracts of the book have appeared in The Guardian
and Geographical magazine. The book won a 2010 Queensland Premier's Literary Award.
Hamilton considers that sometimes an inconvenient truth may be too difficult to bear:
The most immediate reason for the failure to act on global warming is seen to be the "sustained and often ruthless exercise of political power by the corporations who stand to lose from a shift to low- and zero-carbon energy systems". Hamilton cites numerous journalists and authors who have documented the influence of large companies such as ExxonMobil
, Rio Tinto Group
and General Motors
.
Hamilton makes his argument in three stages. Firstly, he reviews the evidence about how serious the situation is already and how much worse it will get. Secondly, he examines the roots of denial, both in terms of resistance to the evidence and in relation to the actors and agencies motivated to deny climate change. Lastly, he looks at some future scenarios and explains what people should do.
Hamilton suggests that the roots of climate change denial lie in the reaction of American conservatism to the collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991. He argues that as the "red menace" receded, conservatives who had put energy into opposing communism sought other outlets. Hamilton contends that the conservative backlash against climate science was led by three prominent physicists -- Frederick Seitz
, Robert Jastrow
, and William Nierenberg
. In 1984 Seitz, Jastrow and Nierenberg founded the George C. Marshall Institute
, and in the 1990's the Marshall Institute's main activity was attacking climate science.
When describing climate science, Hamilton says that official numbers published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
are highly cautious, and so the real effects of climate change
will likely be even more severe. His conclusion is that it will not be possible to stabilise emissions:
In terms of Australia, Hamilton says that "Australians in 2050 will be living in a nation transformed by a changing climate, with widespread doubt over whether we will make it to the end of the century in a land that is recognisably Australian".
says that Requiem for a Species explores the gulf between acknowledgment and acceptance of climate change. Lynn explains that the gulf has two main origins and no easy solution:
The Times Higher Education listed Requiem for a Species as "Book of the week" for 3 June 2010. Steven Yearley
's review calls it a "provocative and sobering book". He identifies the heart of the book as the many explanations that Hamilton puts forward for the everyday, routine denial of the seriousness of climate change. Yearley says this is also the most frustrating aspect of Requiem for a Species, because Hamilton puts forward so many different types of explanations and fails to make clear their relative significance and interconnections.
David Shearman, in a review for Doctors for the Environment Australia
, says that "Clive Hamilton is one of Australia’s most notable public intellectuals, his work is careful and balanced, he presents the facts as they are and has written a book which is uncomfortable for all". According to Shearman, Hamilton's treatment of the topic of denial is one of the best available.
Mike Hulme
, in Resurgence magazine, agrees with the "consumption fetish" and "spiritual malaise" of humanity that Hamilton describes. But, according to Hulme, Hamilton has underestimated the "innovative and creative potential of collective humanity" and he has put too much faith in the infallibility of science’s predictions about future climate risks. Hulme believes that Hamilton "is placing too much weight on the foresight of science to provide his desired revolution, rather than calling for it more honestly and directly through political, psychological or spiritual engagement".
Kelsey Munro reviewed the book in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
, suggesting that it is pessimistic and does not present any false hope. But he says pessimism is not the same thing as fatalism
, and Hamilton believes there is still an urgent need for government intervention to reduce emissions and avoid worst-case scenarios. Munro also points out that some eminent climate scientists, like Princeton University
's Michael Oppenheimer
, remain optimistic that humanity will act before it is too late (although Oppenheimer does anticipate some irreversible damage from climate change before serious climate change mitigation begins).
Camilla Royle reviewed Requiem for a Species in Socialist Review and recommends it for those who want to get a clearer idea of climate change science. She says that Hamilton is understandably angry at the corporate lobbyists who have encouraged climate change denial. Royle suggests that Hamilton accepts that "we should at least try to do something about climate change", but he "doesn't give much idea of what that something is".
There was a book launch for Requiem for a Species on 24 March 2010 at The University of Queensland and another on 29 March 2010 at the Australian National University
(ANU). An extract of the book appeared in The Guardian
on 16 April 2010. Geographical magazine published another extract in August 2010. The book won the 2010 "Queensland Premier's Literary Award for a work Advancing Public Debate".
, a progressive
think tank
.
Clive Hamilton
Clive Charles Hamilton AM FRSA is an Australian public intellectual and Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics and the Vice-Chancellor's Chair in Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University. He is the Founder and former Executive Director of the The...
which explores climate change denial
Climate change denial
Climate change denial is a term used to describe organized attempts to downplay, deny or dismiss the scientific consensus on the extent of global warming, its significance, and its connection to human behavior, especially for commercial or ideological reasons...
and its implications. It argues that climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
will bring about large-scale, harmful consequences for habitability
Planetary habitability
Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to sustain life. Life may develop directly on a planet or satellite or be transferred to it from another body, a theoretical process known as panspermia...
for life on Earth including humans, which it is too late to prevent. Hamilton explores why politicians, corporations and the public deny or refuse to act on this reality. He invokes a variety of explanations, including wishful thinking
Wishful thinking
Wishful thinking is the formation of beliefs and making decisions according to what might be pleasing to imagine instead of by appealing to evidence, rationality or reality...
, ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
, consumer culture
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
and active lobbying
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
by the fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
industry. The book builds on the author's fifteen-year prior history of writing about these subjects, with previous books including Growth Fetish
Growth Fetish
Growth Fetish is a book about economics and politics by the Australian liberal political theorist Clive Hamilton. Published in 2003 it became a best-seller in Australia, an unusual feat for what is normally considered a dry subject....
and Scorcher: The Dirty Politics of Climate Change.
Requiem for a Species has been reviewed in Resurgence magazine
Resurgence
Resurgence is a British bi-monthly magazine which has been described as the artistic and spiritual voice of the green movement in Great Britain. Resurgence was founded in the 1960s by John Papworth....
, Socialist Review
Socialist Review
The Socialist Review is the monthly magazine of the British Socialist Workers Party. As well as being printed it is also published online.-Original publication: 1950-1962:...
, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, The Common Review
The Common Review
The Common Review is the quarterly magazine of the Great Books Foundation. The magazine specializes in nonfiction essays and articles "about the books and ideas that matter", as well as reviews of new books, letters, and editorials. The magazine has been twice nominated for the Utne Independent...
, and Times Higher Education, which named it "Book of the Week". Extracts of the book have appeared in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and Geographical magazine. The book won a 2010 Queensland Premier's Literary Award.
Themes
Hamilton points out that there have been many reports and books over the years explaining the climate change problem and just how ominous the future looks for humanity. He says Requiem for a Species is primarily about why those warnings have been ignored.Hamilton considers that sometimes an inconvenient truth may be too difficult to bear:
Sometimes facing up to the truth is just too hard. When the facts are distressing it is easier to reframe or ignore them. Around the world only a few have truly faced up to the facts about global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
... It's the same with our own deaths; we all "accept" that we will die, but it is only when our death is imminent that we confront the true meaning of our mortality.
The most immediate reason for the failure to act on global warming is seen to be the "sustained and often ruthless exercise of political power by the corporations who stand to lose from a shift to low- and zero-carbon energy systems". Hamilton cites numerous journalists and authors who have documented the influence of large companies such as ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
, Rio Tinto Group
Rio Tinto Group
The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
and General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
.
Hamilton makes his argument in three stages. Firstly, he reviews the evidence about how serious the situation is already and how much worse it will get. Secondly, he examines the roots of denial, both in terms of resistance to the evidence and in relation to the actors and agencies motivated to deny climate change. Lastly, he looks at some future scenarios and explains what people should do.
Hamilton suggests that the roots of climate change denial lie in the reaction of American conservatism to the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1991. He argues that as the "red menace" receded, conservatives who had put energy into opposing communism sought other outlets. Hamilton contends that the conservative backlash against climate science was led by three prominent physicists -- Frederick Seitz
Frederick Seitz
Frederick Seitz was an American physicist and a pioneer of solid state physics. Seitz was president of Rockefeller University, and president of the United States National Academy of Sciences 1962–1969. He was the recipient of the National Medal of Science, NASA's Distinguished Public Service...
, Robert Jastrow
Robert Jastrow
Robert Jastrow was an American astronomer, physicist and cosmologist. He was a leading NASA scientist, populist author and futurist.- Biography :...
, and William Nierenberg
William Nierenberg
William Aaron Nierenberg was an American physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project and was director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from 1965 through 1986. He was a co-founder of the George C. Marshall Institute in 1984.- Background :Nierenberg was born on February 13, 1919, at 213 E...
. In 1984 Seitz, Jastrow and Nierenberg founded the George C. Marshall Institute
George C. Marshall Institute
The George C. Marshall Institute is a politically conservative think tank established in 1984 in Washington, D.C. with a focus on scientific issues and public policy. In the 1980s, the Institute was engaged primarily in lobbying in support of the Strategic Defense Initiative...
, and in the 1990's the Marshall Institute's main activity was attacking climate science.
When describing climate science, Hamilton says that official numbers published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
are highly cautious, and so the real effects of climate change
Effects of global warming
This article is about the effects of global warming and climate change. The effects, or impacts, of climate change may be physical, ecological, social or economic. Evidence of observed climate change includes the instrumental temperature record, rising sea levels, and decreased snow cover in the...
will likely be even more severe. His conclusion is that it will not be possible to stabilise emissions:
... even with the most optimistic set of assumptions -- the ending of deforestationDeforestationDeforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
, a halving of emissions associated with food production, global emissions peaking in 2020 and then falling by 3 per cent a year for a few decades -- we have no chance of preventing emissions rising well above a number of critical tipping points that will spark uncontrollable climate changeTipping point (climatology)A climate tipping point is a point when global climate changes from one stable state to another stable state, in a similar manner to a wine glass tipping over. After the tipping point has been passed, a transition to a new state occurs...
. The Earth's climate would enter a chaotic era lasting thousands of years before natural processes eventually establish some sort of equilibrium. Whether human beings would still be a force on the planet, or even survive, is a moot point. One thing seems certain: there will be far fewer of us.
In terms of Australia, Hamilton says that "Australians in 2050 will be living in a nation transformed by a changing climate, with widespread doubt over whether we will make it to the end of the century in a land that is recognisably Australian".
Reception
Michael Lynn in The Common ReviewThe Common Review
The Common Review is the quarterly magazine of the Great Books Foundation. The magazine specializes in nonfiction essays and articles "about the books and ideas that matter", as well as reviews of new books, letters, and editorials. The magazine has been twice nominated for the Utne Independent...
says that Requiem for a Species explores the gulf between acknowledgment and acceptance of climate change. Lynn explains that the gulf has two main origins and no easy solution:
Hamilton ... argues that the gulf has two primary origins: the enormity of its consequences and the way it challenges how we as individuals and as societies have constructed our identities over the past three centuries. In doing so, he suggests that meeting the challenge of climate change requires far more than implementing the right policies and making minor adjustments in our lifestyles. Instead, it implies remaking our psyches and societies on a scale unseen since the dawn of the modern age.
The Times Higher Education listed Requiem for a Species as "Book of the week" for 3 June 2010. Steven Yearley
Steven Yearley
Steve Yearley is a British sociologist, Professor of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge at the University of Edinburgh, a post he has . He is currently seconded from the sociology unit to be Director of the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum, more often known as the Genomics Forum...
's review calls it a "provocative and sobering book". He identifies the heart of the book as the many explanations that Hamilton puts forward for the everyday, routine denial of the seriousness of climate change. Yearley says this is also the most frustrating aspect of Requiem for a Species, because Hamilton puts forward so many different types of explanations and fails to make clear their relative significance and interconnections.
David Shearman, in a review for Doctors for the Environment Australia
International Society of Doctors for the Environment
The International Society of Doctors for the Environment is an NGO, founded at Cortona on 25 November 1990, by doctors of various nationalities, in order to gather all doctors interested in medical problems related to ecological problems, spread awareness of the connection between environmental...
, says that "Clive Hamilton is one of Australia’s most notable public intellectuals, his work is careful and balanced, he presents the facts as they are and has written a book which is uncomfortable for all". According to Shearman, Hamilton's treatment of the topic of denial is one of the best available.
Mike Hulme
Mike Hulme
Mike Hulme is a professor of Climate Change in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia . He was educated at Madras College, St.Andrews, and at the universities of Durham and Wales...
, in Resurgence magazine, agrees with the "consumption fetish" and "spiritual malaise" of humanity that Hamilton describes. But, according to Hulme, Hamilton has underestimated the "innovative and creative potential of collective humanity" and he has put too much faith in the infallibility of science’s predictions about future climate risks. Hulme believes that Hamilton "is placing too much weight on the foresight of science to provide his desired revolution, rather than calling for it more honestly and directly through political, psychological or spiritual engagement".
Kelsey Munro reviewed the book in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, suggesting that it is pessimistic and does not present any false hope. But he says pessimism is not the same thing as fatalism
Fatalism
Fatalism is a philosophical doctrine emphasizing the subjugation of all events or actions to fate.Fatalism generally refers to several of the following ideas:...
, and Hamilton believes there is still an urgent need for government intervention to reduce emissions and avoid worst-case scenarios. Munro also points out that some eminent climate scientists, like Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
's Michael Oppenheimer
Michael Oppenheimer
Michael Oppenheimer is the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School and the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University...
, remain optimistic that humanity will act before it is too late (although Oppenheimer does anticipate some irreversible damage from climate change before serious climate change mitigation begins).
Camilla Royle reviewed Requiem for a Species in Socialist Review and recommends it for those who want to get a clearer idea of climate change science. She says that Hamilton is understandably angry at the corporate lobbyists who have encouraged climate change denial. Royle suggests that Hamilton accepts that "we should at least try to do something about climate change", but he "doesn't give much idea of what that something is".
There was a book launch for Requiem for a Species on 24 March 2010 at The University of Queensland and another on 29 March 2010 at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
(ANU). An extract of the book appeared in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
on 16 April 2010. Geographical magazine published another extract in August 2010. The book won the 2010 "Queensland Premier's Literary Award for a work Advancing Public Debate".
Author
At the time of publication, Clive Hamilton was Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) at Australia. Before joining CAPPE, he was executive director and founder of The Australia InstituteThe Australia Institute
The Australia Institute is a left wing Australian think tank conducting public policy research, funded by grants from philanthropic trusts, memberships and commissioned research....
, a progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
.
Publishing information
The book is available as an eBook document as well as a paper publication.See also
- An Inconvenient TruthAn Inconvenient TruthAn Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
- Climate Code Red: The Case for Emergency Action
- Greenhouse MafiaGreenhouse MafiaGreenhouse Mafia is allegedly the "in house" name used by Australia’s carbon lobby for itself. It was also the title of a program aired by the ABC on the 13 February 2006 episode of its weekly current affairs program Four Corners....
- Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable EnergyGreenhouse Solutions with Sustainable EnergyGreenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy is a 2007 book by Australian academic Mark Diesendorf. The book puts forward a setof policies and strategies for implementing the most promising clean energy technologies by all spheres of government, business and community organisations...
- Merchants of DoubtMerchants of DoubtMerchants of Doubt is a 2010 book by the American science historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. It identifies parallels between the climate change debate and earlier controversies over tobacco smoking, acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer...
- Why We Disagree About Climate ChangeWhy We Disagree About Climate ChangeWhy We Disagree About Climate Change: Understanding Controversy, Inaction and Opportunity was written by Mike Hulme and was published by the Cambridge University Press in 2009. As of May 2011 it has sold over 11,000 copies and was jointly awarded the 2010 Gerald L Young Prize for the best book in...
- Risks to civilization, humans and planet EarthRisks to civilization, humans and planet EarthVarious existential risks could threaten humankind as a whole, have adverse consequences for the course of human civilization, or even cause the end of planet Earth.-Types of risks:...
- Scientific opinion on climate changeScientific opinion on climate changeThe predominant scientific opinion on climate change is that the Earth is in an ongoing phase of global warming primarily caused by an enhanced greenhouse effect due to the anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases...
- Wilful blindness
External links
- Clive Hamilton - Facing up to Climate Change, YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, 26 May 2010.