โThere are two problems for our speciesโ survivalโnuclear war and environmental catastrophe, โ says Noam Chomsky in this new book on the two existential threats of our timeย and their points of intersection since World War II.
While a nuclear strike would require action, environmental catastrophe is partially defined by willful inaction inย response to human-induced climate change. Denial of the facts is only half the equation. Other contributing factors include extreme techniques for the extraction of remaining carbon deposits, the elimination ofย agricultural land for bio-fuel, the construction of dams, and the destruction of forests that are crucial for carbonย sequestration.
On the subject of current nuclear tensions, Chomsky revisits the long-established option of aย nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East, a proposal set in motion through a jointย Egyptian Iranian General Assembly resolution in 1974.
Intended as a warning,ย Nuclear War and Environmental Catastropheย is also a reminder that talking about the unspeakable can still be done with humor, with wit and indomitable spirit.