From the Merchants of Doubt to a tale of trouble

The new book from
 Naomi Oreskes
and Erik Conway.

Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway became more widely known when they wrote about the Merchants of Doubt in 2011.

That fast selling book told how just a few scientists confused and obscured the truth about tobacco and global warming.

Again they have combined their talents, insights and skills to pen just 104 pages about the collapse of western civilization.

They look back from an imagine future in an attempt to alert us to what will unfold if we continue to ignore what the science is telling us.

Published just this month, “The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future” is honest to the point of brutality with the overwhelming message being that although we knew exactly what was happening, did nought.

The rather slim book tells a message worthy of a much weightier tome and in doing so tells us of the perverse contradictions in operation – neoliberals who object virulently to government interference, but in pursuing their ideals are actually bringing down upon themselves what they dislike most.

Naomi Oreskes - looking
toward tomorrow.

They wrote: “A key attribute of the period was that power did not reside in the hand of those who understood the climate system, but rather political, economic, and social institutions that had a strong interest in maintain the use of fossil fuels.

“Historians have labelled the system the carbon-combustion complex: a network of powerful industries comprising fossil fuel producers, industries that served energy companies (such as drilling and oil field service companies and large construction firms), manufacturers whose products relied in inexpensive energy (especially automobiles and aviation, but also aluminium and other forms of smelting and mineral processing), financial institutions that service their capital demands, advertising public relations, and marketing firms who promoted the products”.

Although much of what Oreskes and Conway write is fictional, it emanates from fact and relying on what science is telling us today, paints a picture of what tomorrow will look like if we continue to ignore the science.