Greta Thunberg
At the time of publication, Greta Thunberg was probably the most famous climate change activist in the world. A young girl forced to deal with them myriad consequences of autism who steadfastly chose to deal with the much more debilitating effects of climate change deniers in position of power who found her autistic difficulties a source of tremendous humor. The title of the book derives from Thunberg’s most famous call to arms, urging everyone concerned about climate change to “act like your is on fire. Because it is.”
Donald J. Trump
One of those climate change deniers who managed to fall backwards into a position of a great power due to America’s system of electing a leader who only gets the second most votes is Donald J. Trump. Trump proved to be not just one of the most persistent power brokers rolling back any attempts whatever to actually confront the dangerous potential of climate change in time before it moved from potential to inevitable, but also led the way in mocking Thunberg’s autistic symptoms.
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez
With an unexpected upset victory that gained her a seat in the House of Representatives on the basis of collecting more votes than her opponent, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez also faced the mockery of those whose economic benefit lies in pretending they don’t believe humans cause climate change. Despite not even having completed her first two-year term in office, Ocasio-Cortez became one of the most recognizable and polarizing politicians in America partly due to being at the forefront of initiating the idea of a Green New Deal.
Pope Francis
On June 18, 2015, Pope Francis published the second encyclical of his papacy, Laudato si', which was at first widely interpreted as the first comprehensive statement from the Vatican confirming the danger climate changes poses to the earth. Closer scrutiny and even the Pope’s own later statements have placed the encyclical in much closer proximity to Klein’s own writings in which looming environmental disaster is not causal entity itself, but rather a symptom of the broader problem of consumer capitalism, executive greed, and the creation of the “disposable culture.”
