The Carbon Boycott

The science is clear: by the mid-20th century human beings must stop burning coal, oil and natural gas. Reducing carbon emissions is not enough—they must be eliminated. Each individual “doing their part” is only a start. We heat our homes, light our rooms, power our cars, prepare our food, and produce and distribute consumer goods with the help of fossil fuels. A practical and visionary re-imagining of the future is needed.

Calling for a technical and spiritual ground-shift, this book proposes carbon boycotts as collective action, with groups and communities changing what products they consume and seeking new ways to work, live and play to steer aggregate demand towards solar, wind, geothermal and renewable energy alternatives.

Samuel C. Avery is a solar installer and the author of nine books. He lives in Hart County, Kentucky.

Samuel C. Avery
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 204
Bibliographic Info: bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8283-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4139-3
Imprint: Toplight

Introduction: They Only Sell What We Buy 1
1—The Physical Facts 7
2—Why Is This Happening? 15
3—Timetable for the End of Fossil Fuel 26
4—So Much for Talk.
How Do We Walk the Walk? 37
5—Tea, Salt, Buses, and Apartheid 61
6—People First 124
7—Divestment as a Power Tool 128
8—Food 133
9—A Tale of Two Cities:
Louisville and Cincinnati 148
10—The Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change 157
11—Committing to the Boycott 167
Bibliography 183
Index 185

• “Sam Avery can think deeply, write clearly and plan brilliantly. Best of all, he can inspire us the build a sustainable future that we the people co-create together. This will become a primary organizing tool in the movement to boycott carbon. We need it yesterday.”—Mary Pipher, author of Women Rowing North