The End of Nature, by Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben’s first book, The End of Nature, is considered one of the first books that brought the phenomenon of global warming to a larger audience. First published in 1989, this edition was updated by the author in 2003 to include further developments in the science and the landmark IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Assessment Reports.

It could be argued that, above all else, Bill McKibben’s greatest skills are as a communicator. While writing on complex topics like climate science and sustainable economies, and philosophical questions like the meaning of nature in a high-tech world, McKibben always writes in a tone that is engaging. He also employs also elegant analogies and metaphors that get his message across.

The End of Nature, as you would expect, is pretty much for the converted. It seems there are two camps when it comes to the science, and by extension, the politics of climate change. There are those who believe in the primacy of the economy over nature. To these people who consider themselves to be economic realists, nature is almost a supine thing that can be molded to their desire and exploited ad infinitum. No meaningful reductions in CO2 emissions can be countenanced, as this would ‘trash’ the economy for no good reason. For these economic realists, who do accept that anthropogenic (human) induced global warming is happening, their answer is that technology will allow us to easily adapt.

On the other hand, there is the camp that believes that the environment must always come first, as the economy simply cannot exist without it. To the honest environmentalist, this really means a reduction in living standards as we use less energy. (Personally, as the reader may have guessed, I belong to this second camp).

The End of Nature argues that the environment, no matter what political agreements are reached for a reduction in emissions, has changed irrevocably. Moreover, human activity has so changed the environment that we have now seen an end of nature as we know it.

McKibben highlights our determination to completely re-wire nature by discussing the freakish inventions of bio-technology. He says a line has been crossed with the genes of differing species being mixed. Writes McKibben:
‘A University of Pennsylvania professor managed to insert human growth genes into the fetus of a mouse. When it was born, the mouse grew twice as fast and to twice the size of any other mouse ever. Since it passed the gene on to its offspring, it made forever moot the question “Are you mouse or man?” It was both, and neither.’

The End of Nature is for the most part an engaging and thought provoking meditation on the deleterious effect human economic activity is having on the environment, and how humans have selfishly and thoughtlessly changed their environment without a thought for the consequences of their actions. Part One of the book is the strongest, dealing as it does directly with the science of climate change, and communicating all the vital facts in a most accessible way.

However, the book tends to drift in its second half, becoming too introspective and philosophical. This lets the book down, as the reader wonders what McKibben is really saying, besides writing what reads like an elegy. McKibben’s later books, such as Deep Economy and Eaarth, are more cohesive and consistently informative. The End of Nature should perhaps more properly be read as a pamphlet or essay on human thoughtlessness.
The End of Nature: Humanity, Climate Change and the Natural World, by Bill McKibben. Published by Bloomsbury. ISBN: 0-7475-6186-9