May 22, 2017
Vancouver journalist Dembicki uses the life choices of a few millennials to explore his generation’s efforts to fight climate change. This focus on individual choices results in an unsatisfying work that doesn’t feel representative of the generation as a whole, despite the author’s insertion of general survey statistics. Dembicki readily identifies the fossil fuel industry—and its political supporters—as the enemy of life on Earth, so the decision by one of the millennials, the pseudonymous Bradley Johnson, not to work in that industry is hardly radical. Similarly, Peter Janes’s choice to live mostly off the grid on a small British Columbian island isn’t going to change material conditions for most people. Activists Phil Aroneanu, who aided efforts against Keystone XL, and Chloe Maxmin, a participant in the movement to persuade universities to divest from the fossil fuel industry, come across as stronger leaders. Dembicki powerfully elucidates the contrast between native people fighting against fossil fuel interests, including Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, and the founders of Silicon Valley’s “sharing economy” who claim to honor aboriginal lifeways. Noteworthy figures such as Bill McKibben and Bernie Sanders also make appearances. Readers may be skeptical of Dembicki’s declaration that “a new vision of the future is taking hold” but he suggests a few ways that readers can make that future a reality.
Starred review from March 15, 2017
In this spirited manifesto against the status quo, journalist Dembicki highlights the stories of Millennials who are combating climate change. Covering the historic battle over the Keystone XL pipeline, the Paris climate talks, and more, the author reveals how this generation has tired of watching world leaders make decisions whose results they will not live to see. Whether quitting their jobs and going back to the land in a rejection of capitalism or running for office, many Millennials are taking a stand against the system in extremely diverse and powerful ways, such as when organizer and activist Phil Aroneanu and a small group of college students, with the help of their advisor Bill McKibben, formed 350.org, the biggest group working to stop climate change today. Dembicki deftly analyzes and critiques many organizations that claim to be effecting change, including Bernie Sanders's election campaign, and effectively demonstrates that Millennials do care about the future, so much so, that they are willing to fight for it. VERDICT Young and old activists alike will be inspired by this hopeful call for change.--Venessa Hughes, Buffalo, NY
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2017
A young Canadian journalist argues that a unique generational values shift is occurring that may upend just about everything to save the planet.In 2014, Dembicki, a Vancouver-based reporter for the The Tyee, an online news journal, produced a series of articles titled "Are We Screwed?" for that site. Here, the author expands and updates those pieces. In Dembicki's view, it falls to his generation, millennials, to bear the brunt of the climate disaster facing the planet in coming decades. The author argues that millennials view the world differently than their elders and, contrary to what some believe, are not apathetic and cynical when it comes to politics. "It seemed that people of older generations were much more interested in speaking to us--or about us--than in listening to what we had to say," writes Dembicki. To support his thesis, he profiles a number of young people working for change: a young man choosing to live off the grid on a small island near Vancouver; a group of Middlebury College graduates who, with distinguished professor and author Bill McKibben, made the Keystone XL pipeline a global issue; an American college student who started the movement that persuaded hundreds of universities to divest trillions of dollars from fossil fuel industries; and a young Canadian activist who spurred the turnout of the youth vote that ended the career of fossil fuel-friendly Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The author also cites Bernie Sanders, who turned a fringe candidacy into a passionate social movement by tapping into this already existing revolution. Dembicki can be repetitious and sometimes comes across as self-righteous or smug; however, his profiles are wide-ranging and well-researched. He concludes that despite the presence of a climate denier in the White House, millennials are not going to be screwed--if they take action now. A hortatory call to arms for young people and a harsh critique of their ruling elders.
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