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Why Rebel | Jay Griffiths

Why rebel? Because our footprint on the Earth has never mattered more than now. How we treat it, in the spirit of gift or of theft, has never been more important.

Because we need a politics of kindness, but the very opposite is on the rise. Libertarian fascism, with its triumphal brutalism, its racism and misogyny – a politics that loathes the living world.

Because nature is not a hobby. It is the life on which we depend, as Indigenous societies have never forgotten.

Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars, and they are lining up now to write rebellion across the skies.

‘This, bluntly, should be our generation’s Gettysburg Address’ ~ Rishi Dastidar, selected Why Rebel for guest contribution to May 2023’s What We’re Reading Now.

Jay Griffiths has been a long time collaborator with Extinction Rebellion and Writers Rebel. Last year, in collaboration with actor Mark Rylance, composers Sam Lee & Anna Phoebe and Paint the Land, she co-produced Almost Invisible Angels, a haunting short film which speaks out in praise of insects. Her accompanying written piece for Writers Rebel gives us a chilling insight into a world without insects – a world that creeps uncomfortably closer with every month of global inaction to protect our remaining biodiversity.

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Being Ecological | Timothy Morton

Don’t care about ecology? This book is for you.

Why is everything we think we know about ecology wrong?
Is there really any difference between ‘humans’ and ‘nature’?
Does this mean we even have a future?

Timothy Morton, who has been called ‘Our most popular guide to the new epoch’ (Guardian), sets out to show us that whether we know it or not, we already have the capacity and the will to change the way we understand the place of humans in the world, and our very understanding of the term ‘ecology’. A cross-disciplinarian who has collaborated with everyone from Björk to Hans Ulrich Obrist, Morton is also a member of the object-oriented philosophy movement, a group of forward-looking thinkers who are grappling with modern-day notions of subjectivity and objectivity, while also offering fascinating new understandings of Heidegger and Kant. Calling the volume a book containing ‘no ecological facts’, Morton confronts the ‘information dump’ fatigue of the digital age, and offers an invigorated approach to creating a liveable future.

‘[A book] from which I took that maybe we can engage with this subject in different tones and a lightness of heart and spirit’  ~ Rishi Dastidar, in his guest contribution to May 2023’s What We’re Reading Now.

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Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air | David JC MacKay

Addressing the sustainable energy crisis in an objective manner, this enlightening book analyses the relevant numbers and organizes a plan for change on both a personal level and an international scale – for Europe, the United States, and the world. In case study format, this informative reference answers questions surrounding nuclear energy, the potential of sustainable fossil fuels, and the possibilities of sharing renewable power with foreign countries. While underlining the difficulty of minimizing consumption, the tone remains positive as it debunks misinformation and clearly explains the calculations of expenditure per person to encourage people to make individual changes that will benefit the world at large. If you’ve thrown your hands up in despair thinking no solution is possible, then read this book – it’s an honest, realistic, and humorous discussion of all our energy options.

“No doubt it’s been superseded now, but at the time I read it, it was revelation that energy system change is actually possible” ~ Rishi Dastidar selected Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air – which is available to read and download for free – for his guest contribution to May 2023’s What We’re Reading Now.

Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air is also cited as inspiration by climate and food system scientist Sarah Bridle in her Q&A on How to Fix Our Food System for Writers Rebel in November 2022.