How we can be more optimistic about the state of the planet
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Do we live in a good Anthropocene? For many, the answer is a resounding no. Environmental degradation, climate change wreaking havoc upon our planet, wildlife teetering on the brink of extinction – how can anyone parse through such realities and find hope?
Well, Fred Pearce, author of Despite It All, argues that despair is only part of a complicated and far more positive story.
Armed with four decades of environmental reportage experience, Pearce sets out to challenge the idea that the Anthropocene is defined solely by loss. Ultimately, he considers whether we can be cautiously optimistic about the future of our rapidly changing planet. From the outset, he admits such an attitude can seem a hard sell, but read his arguments and prepare to have your mindset shifted.
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His book is divided into seven major sections, each headed with a reason to remain hopeful. He turns toward the defusing of the population bomb; muses over technological fixes to environmental woes; and unpacks thriving eco-restoration efforts and evidence suggesting society has already reached an era of peak demand for planet-polluting material goods. Elsewhere, Pearce surveys nature’s resilience in human-altered landscapes such as Chernobyl and the power of Indigenous knowledge – all of which draw upon data and in-depth reporting to aid optimistic thinking.
Two main pointers elicit Pearce’s positive outlook. First is the ability of nature to regrow, adapt and restore itself. Second, his optimism lies in humanity – not just through its ability to innovate, he explains, but in its ability to change and rediscover old wisdom. Throughout Despite It All, Pearce’s optimism feels well earned, grounded in fieldwork and decades of reporting rather than simply wishful thinking. As such, he offers readers a genuine reason to remain hopeful, amid the doom-filled headlines and cover stories that dominate mainstream media.
Yet even well-earned optimism invites challenges. These are plentiful – from examples of planetary degradation to bleak forecasts – and appear en masse historically. Environmental pessimism, Pearce argues, stalked the 20th century, but such an attitude can be the enemy of the very action the planet desperately needs. As Pearce observes, if collapse is assured, ‘we may as well head for the hills and have a party till it’s all over’. Time to take off those party hats, Pearce argues, and push aside the Champagne. Real change begins with an attitude shift, and remaining optimistic about our planet’s future may be the quickest catalyst we have to make that change happen.
Pearce’s prose is delightful to read; sparse but evocative. His arguments are multifaceted but always remain concise and easy to understand. Each of his seven sections could be an entire book’s worth of extended reporting, but he pares down expansive topics into their most pertinent facts. As such, Despite It All keeps its pace, never petering out or losing steam. It remains, truly, a sustained and engaging narrative all the way up until its closing line.
It goes without saying that optimism alone isn’t going to solve the planet’s problems. Pearce is all too aware of that. He reiterates that the book isn’t an argument for complacency. Social changes are entirely necessary, particularly closing the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the powerful and the powerless. Restoring a sense of commonality to look after our shared ecological spaces, he argues, is also pivotal.
But, he posits, optimism is a necessary attitude to have if we’re to turn the tide on our planet’s woes. Doom-laden predictions, if treated as inevitabilities, risk breeding cynicism and inaction. ‘The worst could still happen,’ Pearce writes in his concluding notes, ‘but it doesn’t have to.’
