By: Angie Haddock
In The Conceivable Future, authors Meghan Elizabeth Kallman and Josephine Ferorelli explore the ways in which the climate crisis is affecting our personal decisions about family planning, parenting, and political action. This book offers fresh, timely answers to questions such How do I decide to have a baby when there’s the threat of environmental collapse? How do I parent a child in the middle of the climate crisis? What can I actually do to help stop global warming?
The full title of this one is: “The Conceivable Future: Planning Families and Taking Action in the Age of Climate Change.” Not surprising, if you read the blurb up top, but just to make the topic at hand totally clear.
The two authors here began this project a decade ago, out of their own anxiety over bringing more humans onto a deteriorating planet. Their organization was really groups of people with similar frustrations, getting together and “talking it out.” The idea was to help people become clearer on their own decisions, and not to push one decision as “right.” (As in, different participants may walk away more persuaded to have kids of their own, not have kids, or maybe consider other options.)
The first half of this book (or so) talks a lot about families: what makes a family, why we need to embrace different kinds of family units, and how people come to make decisions on whether or not to have their own children. The authors explore many different topics within this scope, from polyamory to adoption! And of course, reproductive rights (lower case) and Reproductive Justice (an official movement in its own right).
This book, throughout its many ideas, does consistently put forth that individual decisions, while important to our daily lives, do not “move the needle” on climate change nearly enough. While some of us may feel guilt at increasing the population, or driving a gas-fueled car, or whatever… ultimately, it’s systems that need changing. The authors urge us to remember that.
The back half is more about climate activism, and activism in general: how to get involved, how people with various talents can contribute in different ways, etc.
I found these ideas interesting, and felt that I learned a lot from reading this book. But this book is dense, and loaded with jargon. It is not a “light” read.
Whether you are interested in having kids or not, there is a lot in here for someone interested in activism – both climate and social, and the intersection of those. There is also a lot about women’s rights, of course, as they are (generally) the ones carrying babies. This book is a treasure trove of names – both of individuals and organizations – that deal with these topics. I know that I kept stopping to look up the organizations they mention! For that, I would recommend it to people interested in these sorts of things.
This one comes out today, from Rowman & Littlefield. I read ahead on Netgalley, thanks to the fine folks at Books Forward.
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