The Green New Deal and Beyond: Ending the Climate Emergency While We Still Can

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A clear and urgent call for the national, social, and individual changes required to prevent catastrophic climate change. "An iconoclast of the best kind, Stan Cox has an all-too-rare commitment to following arguments wherever they lead, however politically dangerous that turns out to be."-Naomi Klein, author of On Fire: The (Burning) Case for the New Green Deal The prospect of a Green New Deal-sustainable energy, and justice for all Americans-has instilled millions of people with a sense of hope. To make it happen, the plan will require a national mobilization on a scale not seen since World War II. But will it be enough to prevent disaster? Scientists now warn that we have little time to eliminate greenhouse emissions. To do what's required, Stan Cox urges readers to embrace the Green New Deal but go beyond it in order to stop global warming before it's too late. In clear and accessible language, Cox explains why we must abolish the use of fossil fuels on a clear timetable, and reduce over-production and over-consumption-points not mandated by the GND. By starting now to find creative ways in which we can live in a lower-energy society, Cox writes, we as individuals and communities can play key roles in bringing about the necessary transformation. "In The Green New Deal and Beyond, Stan Cox presents a smart, sane, and plausibly optimistic alternative to abandoning all hope."-David Owen, author of Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World "A searing and provocative critique of our growth-based oil economy. Stan Cox suggests remedies that should ignite lively discussion and intense debate, which is sorely needed. A must-read for those who care about our shared planetary future."-Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, co-author, Journey of the Universe "Stan Cox isn't just another member of the chorus speaking truth to power about climate change. He has the courage, intelligence and resolve in this vital book to speak truth to the half-formed plans that are currently being offered as a balm to the crisis. The difficult truth is that there's going to need to be radical change in the way we all live our lives. With analysis as crystal clear as his prose, Cox explains why. His is a warning well worth heeding, and sharing, while we still have time."-Raj Patel, author of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet

Stan Cox began his career in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is now the Lead Scientist at The Land Institute. Cox is the author of Any Way You Slice It: The Past, Present, and Future of Rationing, Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World (and Finding New Ways to Get Through the Summer) and Sick Planet: Corporate Food and Medicine. His writing about the economic and political roots of the global ecological crisis have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Baltimore Sun, Denver Post, Kansas City Star, Arizona Republic, The New Republic, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Salon, and Dissent, and in local publications spanning 43 U.S. states. In 2012, The Atlantic named Cox their "Readers' Choice Brave Thinker" for his critique of air conditioning. He is based in Salina, Kansas.

Praise for The Green New Deal and Beyond "Stan Cox has written a new book The Green New Deal and Beyond that offers a clear history of the initiative that represents the strongest commitment to fight climate change to emerge from the U.S. Congress to date. However, Cox stresses that ever deeper initiatives and commitment to them will be required if humans and our living kin are to have a future. I've enjoyed Cox's other books for their clear-headed calls for citizenship and sacrifice from people of privilege, especially white North Americans like myself. Again, this book's stern recommendations offer a unique sense of solace."-The Raven Bookstore, Lawrence KS "Stan Cox is one of those deep thinkers who are highly cautious about unbridled support for a concept that might have drawbacks. In his foreword to the book Noam Chomsky notes that pro-GND US congresspersons do not directly challenge the fossil fuel industry."-Don Fitz, New York Journal of Books "The . . . book is indispensable for environmentalists. . . . The Green New Deal and Beyond pares away the distractions and leaves you with climate clarity."-Justin Podhur, Solutions Journal "In The Green New Deal, author Stan Cox argues persuasively that, while the program definitely is worth supporting, by itself it won't bring carbon dioxide in the atmosphere back to sustainable levels. This is because the program is still premised on growing the economy, which means an increase in energy use that cannot be met solely with renewable energy, at least in the short term."-Mike Wold, Real Change News "The Green New Deal will be a step in the right direction, but it isn't enough. Author and plant scientist Stan Cox explains why we must abolish the use of fossil fuels as soon as possible, and how it can be done. He addresses a host of glaring issues not mentioned in the GND and offers ideas for a solution to the deepening crisis."-Climate & Capitalism "Stan Cox makes the rare but much needed point that if the economic system can't tolerate our doing what is necessary to prevent ecological breakdown, then it's the system that needs to be changed. He speaks with clarity and historical grounding about the fact that half measures will still take us off a cliff, yet follows with what can-and must-be done. Be inspired, and support what must happen to create conditions conducive to life. A low-energy society will lead us closer to peace and a healthy, sustainable planet."-Jodie Evans, co-founder of CODEPINK and board chair at Rainforest Action Network "Stan Cox brought us back to the 99 steps of our pre-apocalypse-and these are the steps we feel that we walk every hour-but he leads us through it all with such clarity and common sense, you never catch him trying to be persuasive. He just teaches completely, leaving us knowing what the Earth wants us to know, as fossil fuel is stopped, as millions of us take the necessary step."-Reverend Billy Talen, author of The Earth Wants YOU Praise for Stan Cox's Any Way You Slice It: "A cool and cogent analysis of a taboo subject...a brilliant opening of a global dialogue on who gets what, when, why, and how."-David W. Orr, Paul Sears Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, Oberlin College "The warning signs are flashing ominously everywhere you turn: warming climate, swelling populations, dwindling water supplies, rising food costs, a host of new deadly diseases, and a widening chasm between the super-rich and the destitute. The ecological crisis afflicting the planet has mutated into a savage political and economic crisis that threatens to erode the very foundations of human culture. Time is running out for incremental, piecemeal solutions to these looming global threats. In Any Way You Slice It, Stan Cox offers a way out through a kind of ethical and rational triage. He maps out a plan to ration the Earth's shrinking resources in a way that is socially just and ecologically sane. This brave book is not for the timid or those frozen by political taboos, but it is a must-read for those who want to forge real change before the ecological doomsday clock strikes midnight."-Jeffrey St. Clair, editor of CounterPunch and author of Born Under a Bad Sky Praise for Stan Cox's Losing Our Cool: "Well-written, thoroughly researched, with a truly global focus, the book offers much for consumers, environmentalists, and policy makers to consider before powering up to cool down."-Publishers Weekly "Stan Cox offers both some sobering facts and some interesting strategies for thinking through a big part of our energy dilemma."-Bill McKibben "This is an important book. The history of air-conditioning is really the history of the world's energy and climate crises, and by narrowing the focus Stan Cox makes the big picture comprehensible. He also suggests remedies-which are different from the ones favored by politicians, environmentalists, and appliance manufacturers, not least because they might actually work."-David Owen, author of Green Metropolis "As Stan Cox details in his excellent new book, Losing Our Cool, air conditioning has been a major force in shaping western society."-Bradford Plumer, The National "This book is the go-to source for a better understanding of the complexity of pumping cold air into a warming climate."-Maude Barlow "Important. . . .What I like about Cox's book is that he isn't an eco-nag or moralist."-Tom Condon, Hartford Courant