
The Violence of Climate Change
Lessons of Resistance from Nonviolent Activists
Kevin J. O'Brien(Author)
Georgetown University Press
Published on 1. June 2017
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-62616-434-5 (ISBN)
Description
Climate change is viewed as a primarily scientific, economic, or political issue. While acknowledging the legitimacy of these perspectives, Kevin J. O'Brien argues that we should respond to climate change first and foremost as a case of systematic and structural violence. Global warming is largely caused by the carbon emissions of the affluent, emissions that harm the poor first and worst. Climate change is violence because it divides human beings from one another and from the earth. O'Brien offers a constructive and creative response to this violence through practical examples of activism and nonviolent peacemaking, providing brief biographies of five Christians in the United States-John Woolman, Jane Addams, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cesar Chavez. These activists' idealism, social commitment, and political savvy offer lessons of resistance applicable to the struggle against climate change and for social justice.
Reviews / Votes
An engaging work . . . In its essence, this book is a call to resist. To resist the structural violence that O'Brien identifies climate change to be. * Environmental Values * O'Brien is at his strongest when he attends to the idiosyncrasies of his witnesses and their distinctive contributions to thinking about climate change. He is thoughtful and constrained, presenting clear connections and lessons for the reader. * Christian Century * A creative, timely, and helpful contribution to the canon of Christian environmentalist literature. . . . The book is an excellent resource for scholars and particularly for climate activists facing the discouragement common in their work. * Reading Religion * A powerful addition to the developing study of evironmental and social justice. * Choice * O'Brien points to the practical examples of activism and nonviolent peacemaking * Yale Climate Connection *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Washington, DC
United States
Target group
College/higher education
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Illustrations
Not illustrated
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
522 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-62616-434-5 (9781626164345)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2017
Georgetown University Press
€26.49
Available for download
Persons
Kevin J. O'Brien is dean of humanities and associate professor of Christian ethics at Pacific Lutheran University. He is the author of The Ethics of Biodiversity (GUP), coeditor of Grounding Religion, and coauthor of An Introduction to Christian Environmentalism. He holds a PhD from Emory University.
Content
Introduction: Toward a Witness of Resistance
Part 1: Climate Change and Nonviolence
1. The Wicked Problem of Climate Change
2. Nonviolent Resistance
Part II: Five Witnesses of Nonviolent Resistance
3. John Woolman's Moral Purity and Its Limits
4. Jane Addams and the Scales of Democracy
5. Dorothy Day and the Faith to Love
6. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Hope for an Uncertain World
7. Cesar Chavez and the Liberating Power of Sacrifice
Conclusion: What Can We Do?
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Part 1: Climate Change and Nonviolence
1. The Wicked Problem of Climate Change
2. Nonviolent Resistance
Part II: Five Witnesses of Nonviolent Resistance
3. John Woolman's Moral Purity and Its Limits
4. Jane Addams and the Scales of Democracy
5. Dorothy Day and the Faith to Love
6. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Hope for an Uncertain World
7. Cesar Chavez and the Liberating Power of Sacrifice
Conclusion: What Can We Do?
Bibliography
Index
About the Author