How can we resist the sixth mass extinction in our imaginations? What kind of cultural shift does it take? In this latest post for The Vanishing series, Rupert Read considers the future of human societies, following in the wake of whales.

He who does not deny our doom, becomes capable of action

Two intellectuals philosophize about the climate catastrophe.

With the Tory landslide, Brexit is bound to finally happen. Therefore what matters is making it as good, or as least bad as possible. 

The argument is finally settled; it will be pretty pointless to recriminate, completely pointless to try to pretend we can still Remain in the EU and (for the foreseeable future) both dangerous and pointless to fantasise about rejoining it. We need to get used to the UK ‘going its own way’ for a long time to come.

[*This blog post is based on the pamphlet: Truth and its consequences: a memo to fellow rebels on smart strategy written by Rupert Read. If you like this blog, then do read the whole pamphlet!]

Our October Rebellion needs to be bigger than April’s was. Way bigger. Because this time, it has to be about not just getting verbal concessions from power, pious declarations of climate and ecological emergency without actual consequence. No; that’s just not good enough. Because this is the age of consequences. There’s no more time to play with…

As climate change protestors continue to shut down major parts of London, Rupert Read explains why he’s joining them.

As a group of British academics and others who think and write about dangerous anthropogenic climate change, we have been impressed by your new book The Uninhabitable Earth: A Story of the Future.

I want to start out by addressing younger readers in particular. And what I have to say to you is stark. It is this: your leaders have failed you; your governments have failed you; your parents and their generation have failed you; your teachers have failed you; and I have failed you.

I’ve just published a book, called A Film-Philosophy of Ecology and Enlightenment. In this book, I discuss films such as The Road, Melancholia, Gravity and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

But what’s it all about? What does the title of my book mean?

I’ll briefly explain, by way of an example. Which constitutes a kind of ‘trailer’ for the book…

I’ve just published a book, called ‘A film-philosophy of ecology and enlightenment’. (You can read the early part of it for free here

…Don’t attempt to buy it unless you are independently wealthy — it’s madly expensive. Wait for the paperback next year — or, much better idea, order it for/through your library, now.)