The New Climate War

The Fight to Take Back Our Planet

By: Michael E. Mann

Narrated by: Tim Campbell

Shortlisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year award

A renowned climate scientist shows how fossil fuel companies have waged a thirty-year campaign to deflect blame and responsibility and delay action on climate change, and offers a battle plan for how we can save the planet.

Recycle. Fly less. Eat less meat. These are some of the ways that we've been told can slow climate change. But the inordinate emphasis on individual behavior is the result of a marketing campaign that has succeeded in placing the responsibility for fixing climate change squarely on the shoulders of individuals.

Fossil fuel companies have followed the example of other industries deflecting blame (think "guns don't kill people, people kill people") or greenwashing (think of the beverage industry's "Crying Indian" commercials of the 1970s). Meanwhile, they've blocked efforts to regulate or price carbon emissions, run PR campaigns aimed at discrediting viable alternatives, and have abdicated their responsibility in fixing the problem they've created. The result has been disastrous for our planet.

In The New Climate War, Mann argues that all is not lost. He draws the battle lines between the people and the polluters-fossil fuel companies, right-wing plutocrats, and petrostates. And he outlines a plan for forcing our governments and corporations to wake up and make real change, including:

• A common-sense, attainable approach to carbon pricing- and a revision of the well-intentioned but flawed currently proposed version of the Green New Deal;
• Allowing renewable energy to compete fairly against fossil fuels
• Debunking the false narratives and arguments that have worked their way into the climate debate and driven a wedge between even those who support climate change solutions
• Combatting climate doomism and despair-mongering

With immensely powerful vested interests aligned in defense of the fossil fuel status quo, the societal tipping point won't happen without the active participation of citizens everywhere aiding in the collective push forward. This book will reach, inform, and enable citizens everywhere to join this battle for our planet.

©2021 Michael E. Mann (P)2021 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Fossil fuel companies have, for decades longer than I have been alive, been the largest contributors to the climate crisis that affects my generation today - all in pursuit of profits and growth. In The New Climate War, Michael Mann holds them to account, and shows us how we can take the bold steps we must all take together to win the battle to save this planet." (Greta Thunberg, climate activist)

"This book takes the reader behind the front lines into the decades long information war waged by the fossil fuel industry and those that share their interests. From his perspective as a leader in the battle for scientific reason, Michael Mann provides hope and a roadmap for all of us to address the systemic issues fueling climate change, and shows how we can come together to wage a new war in the fight for our future." (Leonardo DiCaprio, actor and environmental activist)

"Few people bear more scars from the climate wars than Michael Mann - and few have fought longer and harder for a basic, rational approach to dealing with this greatest of crises. Because of his persistence - and that of so many others - we are finally making progress!" (Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?)

Skip chapter 4

Good book, good narration. However, the author couldn’t help but spend most of chapter 4 apologizing for Hillary Clinton and complaining complaining about her 2016 loss. He undermines the philosophical divide of the left by explicitly blaming Bernie support on Russia. Otherwise the book is a salient one if you can handle the neoliberal drivel in chapter 4.

Empowering and necessary reading

As someone who has felt despair about climate, I cannot stress enough how helpful this book has been. I am now able to see and name the tactics being used by the fossil fuel industry and their enablers. I can point these tactics out to others and help them not get distracted from the real issues we all need to address. Please read this book.

The best book in the field.

This book means so much to me. Insightful and also showing the path forward.

Exposing climate denial 2.0

Michael Mann is undoubtedly one of the leading climate scientists in the world. If you've read any of his others works, you know he's arguably the leading expert in how climate change denial and inaction stem from massively funded misinformation campaigns. But the rules are changing. Contrarians realize they are fighting a losing battle with climate denial, as denial is no longer an attainable position, and even THE GOP/right wing is beginning to acknowledge the reality of human caused climate change.

Instead of denial, the contrarians have shifted their focus to turn the climate activists against each other by overstating the role of personal responsibility in creating change (policy is going to do much more than people changing habits), and additionally by reinforcing the "new narrative" myth as follows: sure climate change is happening, but it's so bad and overwhelming that fighting it is a futile effort. As Mann explains, this couldn't be further from the truth. Far from not being able to do anything, we have it in capacity to resolve almost everything. According to Mann, we have many- perhaps even most- of the tools to make the required changes recommended by the IPCC guidelines. Now it's all about getting the right policies in place, and staying active in policy, while making sure we never become complacent on this matter again.

The main thing I did not like and wish Mann would have done differently was using fairly hostile or belittling language to describe others he disagreed with that are in the fight, and on his same side nonetheless! He seemed rather ruthless in pulling his punches against fellow activists of differing opinions; treating them with the same disgust at times that he has justifiably had for the Koch Brothers. It seemed like by the end, Mann may have offended just about every fellow activist and scientist involved in the movement!

For only one example, he went after Bill Gates extremely hard; focusing on how Gates was not a climate scientist, and belittled Gates for contributing to research in geoengineering. It almost seemed personal? I think Mann had a great point about avoiding words like "catastrophe" and "disaster" (Gates new book is How to Avoid a Climate Disaster) to mitigate driving the public into fear and helplessness with this language. But Mann went way too hard on Gates IMO. Ironically the 1st thing Gates had written in aforementioned new book is that he's just a billionaire with an opinion, and Gates also emphasizes that geoengineering would ONLY ever be considered as the last ditch "break glass in case of emergency" type solution.

I don't know why Mann is so opposed to even studying geoengineering. There's a lot of other great scientists like David Deutsch, who as a formal member of the Royal Society has promoted the exploration of geoengineering, and his opinion within the last decade was that we were going to require some form of geoengineering.

This is by far the longest review I've ever written, because I was somewhat suprised to see Mann so hostile at times and wanted to point it out. But with that said, this is absolutely crucial information on arguably the most important dilemma of our time. Mann steps in to his mentor Carl Sagan's proverbial Demon Haunted World of the New Climate War, and lights a flame. Mann does an excellent job as always using Science as a Candle in the Dark; marrying skepticism and wonder in this must read book.

That hope still exists for controlling climate change.

Not that it can be escaped, but this was another reminder of the problems existing with environmental change that I first came to recognize in the early 1970s.

Amazing Book Ruined by the Narrator

This book is amazing and the message really needs to get out to more people. However, the narrator makes getting through this book very difficult. His tone is one of arrogance and condescension with even the most basic of sentences. Having seen Dr. Mann speak, I know that this solely the narrator and not the underlying message. For a lot of the people who should read this book, the narrator will be such a put-off that they won't get to the really important stuff in the last few chapters. Great message but delivered badly.

Interesting summation of climate change politics

Very good summary of the forces at work to derail the political action to avert the worst consequences of climate change. Sometimes Mr Mann goes too deep into the weeds if the climate denial personalities but overall it is eye opening about the forces at work. Finally, a hopeful message about the tipping point being reached by the public on the reality of climate change.

Profound

Sublime presentation of facts and solutions to the climate change crisis. Read it and pass it along.

The Heart of the Matter

Dr. Mann cuts through the fossil feel nonsense with reality and reminds us that, while there are problems, we still have a chance to enact solutions that will make a better environment for present and future life of all kinds on Earth. I feel a renewed sense of obligation and purpose after listening to this book. Highest recommendation.

Eye opening book

An interesting book that gives a comprehensive outlook on the subject and give optimistic view that encourage one to act