In this fascinating and timely interview, Professor Chomsky shares his views on the urgent environmental crises we are facing today—and says, following the recent IPCC report, that it is indeed “time to panic” about climate change (he is also very worried about growing nuclear challenges). He talks about the disastrous impact of the U.S Republican Party over decades, a denialist organisation, and discusses the emergence, and dangers, of growing climate nationalism and fascism in the US.
Chomsky argues that the US urgently needs a Green New Deal, a theme at the heart of his recent book with Robert Pollen, The Political Economy of Climate Change and the Green New Deal. He notes the way the Green New deal is discussed in the media is a continuation of a massive propaganda to demonize the work of government over several decades.
While acknowledging the impact we can have as individuals by modifying our personal consumption, Chomsky argues that these personal choices don’t measure up against the massive decisions on a national and global level, for example, stopping fossil fuel companies relentlessly developing new production facilities. Chomsky sees great potential for social protest, noting the recent impact of Extinction Rebellion and the Sunrise movement in the US.
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