Under the Sky We Make

I. Introduction: Science Won’t Save Us

The core climate message is simple:It's warming. It's us. We're sure. It's bad. But! We can fix it.

Science has delivered the knowledge and technology needed to solve the climate crisis; further breakthroughs are not essential for action now. The problem has been "solved on paper many times over".

Transformative change requires clarifying our values and shifting our mindsets and actions. It's about harnessing facts, feelings, and action.

The actions of ordinary people in the next decade will "make or break the climate, globally and forever".

Individuals with higher incomes (top 10% globally, >$38,000/year) have disproportionate power and responsibility due to their consumption.

The book aims to translate complex science to a personal, human scale, emphasizing that it's not just facts but also feelings (fear, grief, love) that motivate and sustain climate work.

Two contrasting mindsets are introduced:

Exploitation Mindset: sees nature and other people as something to be exploited, focusing on maximizing speed, efficiency, convenience, and profit, leading to conversion of resources into waste and destruction of nature.

Regeneration Mindset: focuses on working with nature, renewal, restoration, and care for what matters most, aiming for a good life for all within planetary limits. Its principles are: Respect life. Stop harming life. Strengthen life.

II. Part I: It’s Warming. It’s Us.

**Chapter 1: Carbon Is Forever
**

Our "carbon legacy" in the atmosphere will define us for distant descendants, affecting their living conditions for millennia. Even carbon released by ancestors in the 1800s is still in the air today.

The "safe" atmospheric CO2 level is 350 ppm, which was passed in 1987. In 2019, it averaged 411 ppm.

The "carbon bathtub" is nearly full: 90% of the finite carbon budget for 1.5°C warming has been used up. At current rates, it will be "entirely gone" before 2030.

To stabilize the climate, carbon emissions must fall "all the way to zero". Any added carbon prevents stabilization.

Carbon removal technologies are "ginormous, expensive, and risky" and not Plan A; rapidly stopping fossil fuel use is.

Some further warming is unavoidable, "baked into the system," meaning impacts will worsen before they improve. However, actions to cut emissions now are critical to determine how much warming occurs beyond 1.5°C.

Every fraction of a degree matters for ecosystems, food production, and human health.

Tipping points are abrupt, irreversible system flips (like the dieback of the Amazon or Greenland ice sheet disintegration). These are a "high" risk around 1.5°C warming. Scientists consider them a "climate emergency".

Sea level rise is a "steady and dramatic" danger, with significant impacts on coastal cities and potential for large-scale migration.

**Chapter 2: We’re the Asteroid
**

Human destruction of nature (through pollution and land use) puts human civilization and life on Earth at risk.

Humans are driving species to extinction at a rate "one thousand times faster than natural". The "shifting baseline syndrome" means people quickly forget what healthy nature looks like.

Humans have become "cataclysmic natural forces". Our impact has caused "enormous declines" in life (e.g., passenger pigeon extinction, 68% decline in wild vertebrate populations since 1970).

Livestock now outweighs wild mammals almost fifteen times. Overfishing is the biggest cause of decline in ocean biodiversity.

Nature is essential for human needs and life itself. We are "utterly reliant on nature".

Our current relationship with nature is like a "tragedy".

**Chapter 3: Uprooting Exploitation, Sowing Regeneration
**

The Exploitation Mindset treats nature as an "enemy to be conquered" or a frontier to be subdued, leading to vast economic wealth for some but "crushing ecological poverty and debt".

Humanity must learn to live within the "fundamental limits of the biophysical world".

The Regeneration Mindset is a new story where "growth" is renewal, restoration, and care for what matters most. It's about finding a "good life for all, within the limits of the biosphere".

Its core principles are: 1. Respect and care for people and nature. 2. Reduce harm at its source. 3. Turn our impulse to build toward the building of resilience.

Protecting intact habitats and forests is a critical priority; restoring degraded ones is also important. However, tree planting cannot single-handedly undo centuries of fossil fuel pollution and should not be a "smoke screen" for avoiding emissions reductions.

What people alive today do "really matters" for the climate from around 2035 onwards.

We already possess the necessary technology to decarbonize most energy services.

The transformation required is "massive" and involves "tearing out and rebuilding within a few short years an energy network that took centuries to build".

Humanity "only gets one shot at solving this problem reasonably well, and that shot is now or never".

III. Part II: We’re Sure. It’s Bad.

**Chapter 4: Sink into Your Grief
**

Climate and ecological breakdown lead to "irreplaceable losses" of things we love (e.g., wine terroir, glaciers, species).

Scientists, often trained to be dispassionate, struggle with the emotional crises of climate change.

Feelings, including sadness and grief, have their "own wisdom" and deserve acknowledgment.

Grief focuses attention on "what matters" and can "summon help".

The author learned from her dying friend, Pubby, that "Pain times lack of acceptance equals suffering". Accepting reality allows one to "maximize meaning under the declining range of what was still possible".

Grieving climate and ecological losses is "cathartic" and helps to "honor what cannot be saved and to save what is yet salvageable". Rituals, like the funeral for the Okjökull glacier, can help process this grief.

**Chapter 5: Making Meaning in a Warming World
**

Meaning is a "much deeper, more transcendent and enduring experience than happiness," created from actions and relationships aligned with our "personal core values". It involves giving, helping, taking care of others, and being part of a larger community or cause.

The Exploitation Mindset prioritizes "convenience" over meaning, which is "not the point of life".

Working to undo climate change offers a "crucible to create meaning" in our lives, providing a role in an "epic test" and a purpose that serves core values.

A measure of a life well lived: "Maximize meaning, minimize carbon". This means saying "no" to things not genuinely needed and focusing on what nourishes us.

"Win-win leisure choices" that are low-carbon include local outdoor activities, reading, hobbies, music, and "sleep and rest".

The Swedish concept of lagom ("enough is not just 'enough,' but that a sufficient amount is the perfect, most satisfying thing") contrasts with the American "bigger is better".

For careers, seek work that combines what you love, are good at, and find meaning (like the Japanese ikigai).

The decision to have children in a warming world is a "fundamental human right". While children add to the carbon footprint in high-emissions countries, stabilizing the climate hinges on decarbonizing today's emissions. Parenthood can be a "vote of hope".

**Chapter 6: Face Your Fears
**

Desperate proposals like geoengineering ("solar radiation management" via stratospheric aerosol injection) are an "Exploitation Mindset" solution that avoids addressing root causes. They are a "permanent commitment" with risks like "termination shock," ocean acidification, a white sky, and losing the stars.

Climate doomerism is a "form of denial" and is "wrong". Limiting warming to 1.5°C is "possible within the laws of chemistry and physics".

While there are no guarantees, it's more risky to "underestimate what is possible" and do less than we can.

"Once we start to act, hope is everywhere" (Greta Thunberg). Hope is an "axe you break down doors with in an emergency".

Climate change is a "slope we slide down," not a cliff; "Every inch of the slide we don't cede is a victory".

Our identity can powerfully shape our actions: "What kind of person am I? What kind of situation is this? What would a person like me do in this situation?". A good-hearted person helps in an emergency.

The "five stages of radical climate acceptance": Ignorance, Avoidance, Doom, All the Feels, and Purpose. Understanding these stages helps in navigating personal responses.

Building and cultivating a "supportive community" is essential for personal and community resilience. Relationships inspire action and provide support.

Purpose acts as a "North Star" guiding actions and creating meaning.

**Chapter 7: Get Angry
**

Science reveals objective reality; "A thermometer is not liberal or conservative".

There is an "overwhelming scientific consensus" that human activity is causing global warming (97.1% to 99.94% agreement among climate scientists). Understanding this consensus is a "gateway belief" for climate policy support.

The fossil fuel industry has funded "organized disinformation campaigns" since 1965 to sow public doubt about climate science and delay necessary shifts to clean energy. For example, ExxonMobil's internal documents acknowledged warming while its public "advertorials" expressed doubt.

Their business model remains unchanged: continued fossil fuel extraction and burning. Their "greenwashing" ads mislead the public about their clean energy investments.

"Lives and species are being lost because of fossil fuel companies".

The "gaslighting of reality" affects language, with terms like "climate change" being censored.

Anger at "dishonest leaders and lobbyists is righteous" and can be "empowering" to fuel "organizing and action".

Despite decades of misinformation, the truth is "winning out" and needs to be acted upon.

IV. Part III: We Can Fix It.

**Chapter 8: Climate Change Isn’t Fair
**

Climate pollution is "extremely unfairly" distributed.

Historically and currently, the United States and Europe have "vastly overconsumed their fair share of the carbon budget," emitting nearly half of cumulative carbon. The US (5% of global population) has emitted 25% of carbon to date.

No country currently meets human needs within ecological limits; rich countries "vastly overconsume our share of finite natural resources".

72% of global climate pollution can be traced to household consumption decisions (mobility, diet, housing).

The carbon budget for 1.5°C is 2.5 tons of climate pollution per person per year by 2030 for household emissions. Wealthy Americans' current consumption is "like eating forty Big Mac Meals per day".

If the richest 10% of the global population reduced emissions to the level of the average European, it would cut global emissions by one-third.

High-emitting countries and individuals have a "responsibility to reduce our emissions first and fastest" to leave space for those who need emissions to survive.

Both individual and collective actions are needed and reinforce each other.

For high emitters, the "biggest bang for your climate buck" comes from going flight-, car-, and meat-free. These are high-impact actions.

Smaller actions like recycling or using reusable bags make far less impact and can even "backfire" by making people feel they've "already doing their share".

"Walking the talk" and aligning behavior with values is personally transformative and inspires others.

**Chapter 9: Slowing Down and Staying Grounded
**

Flying is the "most intense source of climate pollution". The 1% of the global population who are frequent flyers cause half of air travel emissions. One transatlantic flight equals 8 months of your sustainable carbon budget.

Reducing or stopping flying is a "big decision" that helps align actions with values and simplifies other choices.

Car use is "most Americans' largest source of climate pollution". "Modal shift" to public transit, walking, or biking is the most effective way to reduce transport emissions.

SUVs' rising emissions have "more than canceled out savings from electric cars so far".

Electric vehicles, while better, are not a "panacea" and still cause about half the climate pollution of gasoline cars over their lifecycle. Reducing car use is crucial, not just switching fuel type.

"Electrify everything" on zero-carbon energy. This means 200% clean electricity by 2035 to cover current fossil fuel uses too.

Regulations and standards are the most effective policies for decarbonizing electricity.

For home energy, focus on insulation, electric heat pumps, and reducing use of heating/cooling appliances (AC, water heaters, dryers), rather than just turning off lights.

The Swedish flygskam ("flight shame") movement demonstrates how cultural change, starting with a few individuals (like opera singer Malena Ernman), can rapidly shift social norms regarding high-carbon behaviors, leading to decreased flights.

**Chapter 10: Food Shouldn’t Come from a Factory
**

Industrial agriculture (like the Nicholas Broad Breasted White turkey, bred for production efficiency over natural reproduction) has caused "overwhelming harm" to human and planetary health.

Feeding plants to animals for human consumption is "an inefficient detour"; direct consumption of plant-based foods could feed billions more.

The "single most important choice, both personally and systemically," for regeneration is a shift toward more plant-based diets.

Cutting beef has the "single biggest environmental benefit".

A healthy and sustainable diet (EAT-Lancet/Planetary Health Plate) recommends eating much more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts, and significantly less red meat, eggs, and poultry. Mollusks and small fish are more sustainable seafood choices.

Growing your own food (even small-scale), supporting community gardens, and embracing recycled nutrients (from waste) are regenerative practices.

"Voting with our forks": Our dietary choices are a powerful way to influence how we treat the natural world.

**Chapter 11: Values and Costs
**

Climate impacts like the devastating California wildfires highlight the "true costs" of climate change that traditional economics fail to capture.

The purpose of the economy should be to "improve human well-being, not to simply increase consumption or GDP". We need "economies that make us thrive, whether or not they grow".

Market rules "should set limits that protect what matters most," like human rights, a stable climate, and a living planet. These are "preconditions for well-being," not just profitable fringe benefits.

Fossil fuels cause millions of deaths annually from air pollution.

Investments and policy should support decarbonization. Decentralized, local community-based energy systems create more jobs and are more resilient.

Individuals can "follow the money":

Break up with "climate-destroying mega-banks" that fund fossil fuels and switch to local credit unions.

Support or start "Fossil Free divestment campaigns" at your school, workplace, or pension fund. These campaigns are working to reduce the fossil fuel industry's "social license".

Pressure your employer to decarbonize their operations and set rigorous climate goals.

Avoid carbon offsets as they often don't truly reduce emissions and are too cheap. Instead, donate to groups working for broader social change.

We need to "avoid the changes we cannot manage, and manage the changes we cannot avoid". This means both reducing harm at the source (zero emissions) and strengthening resilience (preparing for worsening impacts).

**Chapter 12: The Personal Is Political
**

The Paris Agreement was achieved through international solidarity and civil society pressure. It's up to citizens to hold governments accountable.

Overcoming "carbon lock-in" (entrenched high-carbon infrastructure, policies, lifestyles) requires cultural change, capacity building, and social movements to empower those who benefit from decarbonization.

It's necessary to "rewrite what is considered politically possible" because we cannot rewrite the laws of nature.

Political change requires:

Voting for climate-friendly politicians (especially women) and those who've taken the "No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge".

Getting active in political parties or climate organizations (e.g., 350.org, Sunrise Movement, Fridays for Future).

Directly contacting elected representatives (phone calls to local offices are highly effective). Politicians need to feel constituent pressure.

Demand that leaders deliver concrete plans for "rapidly reducing climate pollution within their domain toward zero," focusing on reducing and preventing emissions, not just offsets or vague technologies.

Kevin Anderson's three-phase strategy for wealthy countries: 1) immediately reduce carbon overconsumption (flight-, car-, meat-free), 2) make everything meet high energy-efficiency standards, 3) undertake massive construction of zero-carbon energy supply and electrify everything.

Climate action must be "with people and by people, not to people". This includes involving affected individuals and traditional knowledge. Citizens' assemblies are a promising strategy for fair decision-making.

Support a "just transition" for workers from fossil fuel industries, providing retraining and job guarantees.

A free and independent press is critical for public concern and holding power accountable. The media must stop accepting ads from climate polluters (e.g., The Guardian banning fossil fuel ads).

Activism works: "When we get a critical mass to stop supporting the current system and start working toward a better one, change can come surprisingly fast". Only 25% of a population is needed to support a norm change for it to tip.

**Chapter 13: Being a Good Ancestor
**

We must "lift our sights beyond ourselves in the here and now" and short-termism, acting with urgency for the "long-term future".

We are in a race between a "positive social tipping point" (mindset shifts for transformation) and "catastrophic ecological tipping points" (irreversible system flips).

Cultivating sensitivity to time (e.g., understanding regenerative cycles) is essential to overcome the Exploitation Mindset's focus on speed and short-term gains.

"Find bright spots" where climate action is working and help them spread.

"Expect and learn from failures"; climate action is like rock climbing – "we just have to get started; we'll learn as we go".

To be a "good ancestor" means imagining the future with empathy, listening to future voices, and leaving heirlooms (like the Future Library project).

We don't need to imagine hypothetical future generations; we can "listen to the rising chorus of living, breathing young people today". Their concern can even increase climate awareness in their parents.

This generation has an "unprecedented level of power" and responsibility; "We are the last stewards of humanity's nearly exhausted carbon budget".

"We are and must be the greatest generation" to make the necessary changes possible, as history provides no guide for the scale of global reforms needed.

Climate stabilization is "our generation's cathedral to build" – a transcendent purpose that will outlive us all.

V. Conclusion: Under the Sky We Make

Dangerous climate change is here, we are the "conscious asteroid" that can change course.

The problem is the Exploitation Mindset, not human nature.

We must "harness the power of our feelings and community" to find purpose and meaning.

Our responsibility scales with our privilege and power; we must dismantle exploitation and build regeneration in economic, political, and cultural systems.

"We are living under the sky we make; let's make it good".

The author's personal measure of success: how much carbon she helped keep out of the atmosphere, as this influence will "far, far outlast me".