Climate journalist Kate Aronoff’s book Overheated serves as a call to action against climate change, focusing primarily on how politicization and polarization have effectively stalled meaningful mitigation.
The first section of the book, titled “New Denial, Old Ideas,” deals with the history of climate denialism in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of where the U.S. stands on climate change today and how we got to that point.
Furthermore, it also addresses what modern climate denialism looks like. Rather than attacking the existence of climate change itself, this new age denialism focuses on questioning mitigation strategies that could negatively affect profits made in the private sector among corporations and fossil fuel companies.
Much like the first wave of climate denialism, politically driven misinformation campaigns are often utilized to confuse the public by spreading false or misleading information about climate solutions in order to make them appear less feasible or desirable to the general public.
It makes you question the true intentions of big corporations who benefit from environmentally damaging, but profitable, business practices.
Throughout the book, Aronoff is very critical of the role capitalism has played, and continues to play, in the U.S. climate debate.
She argues that capitalistic desires for profit are to blame for the lack of meaningful action taken against climate change. Aronoff is adamant that she is not anti-capitalism, although it is difficult to tell based on the amount of blame she appears to place on the system for supporting denialist efforts.
Aronoff also notes that resuming “business as usual” will only continue to destroy the planet, and that we must change the fundamental ways in which we function as a society if we are going to see any true change. “There is no prosperous future for humanity that includes one for the fossil fuel industry,” she writes. “These companies’ mission to dig up as much coal, oil, and gas as possible stands directly at odds with a reasonably habitable planet.”
She combats the notion that a partial transition to renewable energy will be sufficient in saving the planet, emphasizing the need for more drastic changes.
Instead, she suggests implementing a Green New Deal. The second section of the book, titled “Green Dreams Versus Eco Apartheid,” shifts to the political and economic implications of climate change, exploring what the implementation of New Deal climate solutions may look like and their subsequent effects on both U.S. society and the environment.
By recognizing the connection between systemic injustices and climate change, a Green New Deal would equitably decarbonize the U.S. economy. “Among other things, a Green New Deal should ensure our freedom to breathe clear and unpolluted air, to find a new home when ours floods or catches fire, to experience joy and contentment, and to live on a habitable planet,” wrote Aronoff.
In this section, Aronoff also disproves many of the economic arguments against enacting climate solutions and highlights misleading or blatantly incorrect arguments that are frequently used to justify a lack of action to address climate change.
Prior to reading this book, I had only heard negative arguments about the concept of a Green New Deal. It was refreshing and eye-opening to hear a different account that didn’t immediately write it off as impossible to achieve. In fact, Aronoff does a very good job of making New Deal policies seem like a viable solution to the climate crisis.
Overheated is perfect for anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the history of climate denial in the U.S. and the potential implications of implementing a Green New Deal.
The first part of the book addresses historical themes of climate denialism, and the second focuses predominantly on current and future economic and political conditions as they relate to climate change. It is very informative and does not require a lot of knowledge about the climate crisis, although it does dive into some complex economic topics that require a deeper understanding of politics to fully understand the points she is making.
Overheated does a fantastic job of creating a baseline for why climate change mitigation is necessary and exploring what a future with proper action against climate change might look like, both of which are very important topics of conversation in today’s politicized and polarized society.
