Book Review: Johnson, A.E., (2024), What If We Get It Right? Penguin

This is an important book regarding environmental issues. It is different from the rest of those that I have read on this topic in two ways: Firstly, the bulk of it consists of 20 interviews. There are also five poems and two apparently specially commissioned pieces of art. The general impression for me, as a reviewer, is that the book is alive! As can be inferred, the interviews seem very well done. Secondly, the book is optimistic! The tone of the topic remains, of course, very serious. Still, Dr. Johnson sees a way out, as evidenced, none-the-least, by the 6 x 10 lists of positive possibilities given in the book. For this reviewer, it is important to find serious writers covering the environment who are not negative about what we may expect in the future. Dr. Johnson is one of the few!

Dr. Johnson is a marine biologist with a Ph.D. from Scripps (San Diego) and a BA from Harvard. Importantly, Dr. Johnson stresses that most environmental pursuits typically imply success (hopefully) but without rewards. Motivational issues may be accordingly sparse. She asks us: “What if we get it right?” and appeals to our imagination overall to “respond” to this issue. Her view is that a positive imaginary outlook “carries the day”.  In her introduction, Dr. Johnson focuses on what brings joy, what a person may be good at, and what needs to be done.

The author raises a key issue: What is the reality check regarding the “substance” of the various people interviewed? This reviewer must admit that he only knew one beforehand, Bill McKibbon. But since the author seems well-connected, this reviewer has no problem “accepting” her sample of people interviewed.

To start out, the sharp truth is that our world is hotter now than at any other point in human history. Even our oceans are getting more acidic, with so much CO² that they do not seem capable to take more. The pH content has increased! We know that deforestation is rampant, with nearly 20 million US football fields being deforested annually. And with more plastics in our oceans than fish. Why?

Short-term individual profit maximization clearly seems to be playing a part. We probably cannot stop climate change— all we can do is to slow things down so as to minimize damage, mitigate impacts and adapt to this new world. As the author states, there are many “solutions” on their way. Things can recover!

This reviewer shall not get into detailed discussions regarding the various excellent interviews in the book, but simply refer to some. The first one, with Kate Mervel, another ocean anthropologist, restates that global warming is here, but also shares that if global warming were to stop, the resulting cooling effects on our earth would likely be immediate.

The book falls into six parts, plus sections with introductions and conclusions. For each of these sections, the author lists ten problem areas, as well as ten possibilities, i.e., ten negatives from a climate perspective, as well as ten factors that may be seen as positive. Many of these negative factors are known to us readers, but the highlighted potentially positive factors offer something new, at least to this reviewer. To focus on the positive is also in line with what the author attempts to relay in this book, namely that significant progress is underway!

I shall not list all of these factors – 120 in total, but merely highlight a few positive ones:

·      To shift to plant-based diets could reduce CO₂ pollution from agriculture by up to 80%.

·      In reforestation, mixed-species replanting holds about 70% more CO₂ than monocultures. Mangroves and coastal wetlands can hold up to five times more CO₂ per hectare than tropical forests.

·      Constructing with wood instead of concrete and steel could reduce associated fossil fuel consumption by up to 19% (less oil and gas consumption) and reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 31%.

·      High-speed rail is three times faster and four times more energy-efficient than driving, nearly nine times more energy-efficient than flying, and can reduce CO₂ by up to 90% when powered by clean electricity (from hydro, solar or wind).

·      Currently, 80% of solar panel materials (glass, aluminum, silicon, copper, silver) and over 95% of metals in batteries can be recycled.

·      In 2023, for the second year in a row, US banks generated more revenue from environmentally friendly investing than from fossil fuel investing.

·      More than 1,600 institutions and people have divested more than USD 40 trillion from fossil fuel stocks.

·      In 2023, more than 23,000 companies, worth at least USD 67 trillion, disclosed their environmental data on CO₂ emissions, deforestation, and/or water usage – a 300% increase since the Paris agreement.

·      If the average number of times a garment is worn before being thrown away doubled, then CO₂emissions from the textile industry might be 40% less.

·      60% of urban trips are shorter than 5km and 25% are less than one km. Using a bicycle instead of a car for short trips could reduce travel-related emissions by 75%.

·      195 countries have ratified to Paris agreement, and more than 90 of the countries responsible for more than 80% of global emissions have set targets to reach net zero by 2050.

·      Law recognizing the rights of nature exist in 30 countries.

·      Implementing the Inflation Reduction Act could move from 80% of electricity generation in the US being clean by 2030 and put the country on a path to reduce emission by up to 50% by 2035.

·      Issuing a warning 24 hours before an incoming storm or heat wave can reduce damages by 30%.

·      When advocating for climate action, the desire to protect future generations is the biggest motivation, 12 times more popular than job creation or economic growth.

Plants in nature is a central issue. For plants, the so-called water cycle applies, meaning that plants release excessive water to keep their temperatures. This therefore is a main factor that keeps the temperature in our world under control. Plants thus regulate their own temperature, by releasing or holding onto moisture. Plants also help regulate the temperature of the soil and dissipate heat from solar radiation. But for this to work, there must be enough plants! Regrettably, there are increasing exclusively dry areas on our planet. To plant particular species may ameliorate this, at least in part.

This brings us to the issue of how to better manage forests. In the book there is a detailed discussion of forestry in the New England area. Perhaps surprisingly, quite a lot of land that had been cleared, primarily for grazing purposes, has been reforested. It would now have been ideal to cut individual trees throughout the forests, allowing the remaining trees to grow bigger, and eventually to become saw timber. Yet, this does not seem to be happening. Instead, many such forests are left more or less alone, so that excessive undergrowth often spreads. Alternatively, large traces of forests may be cleared out in their entirety, such as in the Amazon rain forest. The result of this deforestation is that self-regulating temperature effects are diminished, and so is the forest’s capacity to absorb CO₂.

There are more than 4 million fewer farms in the US today than 90 years ago. However, farm size has doubled. There is also a movement to grow one’s own farm products on small plots of land. This approach generally seems to yield a lot, and this “back to the land” movement with more people farming again, could be linked to a climate solution. The new, slightly higher temperatures seem to have a positive effect on this type of farming. One might therefore notice that not all increases in temperature are bad!

As Peter Seeger says: “if it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production”. In other words, new designs and new architecture is crucial!

AI is also important, for instance, for better management of electric systems grids, for better ways to make CO₂ capture and storage, as well as for progress in batteries.

To bring banks and other financial institutions closer to the pursuit of environmentalism also seems critical. To stop, or at least reduce, lending for the financing of CO₂ generation projects looks to be well on its way!

The author pinpoints 10 issues that corporations in general can do. Perhaps the most important is to make a real plan to account for and reduce emissions. This plan should then be executed. Transparency is key!

The author also suggests several key points for government action. Perhaps the most potent one is to set clear (tough) baselines for pollution.

Finally, the author suggests some major points for all of us to follow. To be a so-called climate citizen seems to be the most critical. Well-crafted regulations can keep us safe and advance climate solutions! When voting, always keep climate considerations in mind.

To impact climate may thus also have a lot to do with instilling changing attitudes in our minds. PR is probably critical. Hollywood is likely to play a role. Journalism is equally likely to be of importance. When it comes to all of this, it should be pointed out that moral clarity is not the same thing as naivety. This issue might indeed be raised when it comes to the message of the present book too. Is the author proposing realism or utopianism? This reviewer’s take on this is to be open to new thoughts regarding the environment and to not discard them as naïve.

What might be fundamental for a new set of policies regarding the climate? The author has come up with a ten-point suggestion. Given the author’s marine background, it is perhaps no surprise that the main focus is on the oceans. Some of the new regulations are focused on planting, particularly mangroves in wetlands. Some is focused on protecting and extending coral or oyster reefs. Finally, the author suggests that regenerative ocean farming might be increased, with particular focus on seaweeds and shellfish.

Today’s court systems seem to represent blockages. It might be important too, therefore, that this also gets reformed. This might also be linked to better regulation when it comes to impacts from natural disasters. The US emergency management system seems to operate in a dysfunctional way, none-the -least due to inadequate legal guidelines.

The book ends with a note on hope, based on expectations of a positive outcome. But the author feels that hope alone might be insufficient. What may be needed is a clarification of the realistic possibilities, so as to become motivated to work towards a better world.

This brings us back to the start of the book. The definition of one’s climate action space is suggested to be largely based on what a person is good at and brings satisfaction. Thus, effective change in the area of environmental and climate will have a lot to do with the positive feelings each of us as individuals shall be willing to put in. This is why visions of climate futures may be positive.

So, why is this book recommended? Truly the book is different in form than what might be considered normal, with the interview structure being the main core. The selection of persons that have been interviewed in indeed part and parcel of the discussion! This reviewer does not know much about the merits of those that have been chosen, but the author seems to have been able to make a good choice. Her background from Harvard and Scripp is also important.

There are indeed some biases, such as, perhaps, too much focus on the oceans. Also, the author may be on the side of over-optimism, so typical for some environmentalists. Still, the book is balanced. It brings a lot of new thoughts to the table.