Class News

Gus Speth ’64 writes a new and confrontational book

August 25, 2021

A long-time author about climate change, Gus Speth has written a new book that challenges the government. It’s titled: They Knew: The US Federal Government’s Fifty-Year Role in Causing the Climate Crisis.

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Friends –

I have a new book out with MIT Press, one I hope will interest you.

The title says it all: They Knew: The US Federal Government's Fifty-Year Role in Causing the Climate Crisis. It covers the period from LBJ through Trump, documenting what the government knew, when they knew it, and how they played a leading and affirmative role in bringing about today’s climate crisis.

This book took shape when Our Children's Trust (OCT), a great advocacy for children, asked me to write up the Carter Administration for the children’s climate lawsuit, and I said sure. A busy period, I thought, but just four years. When I was done, or so I thought, they said, "now, will you do the other administrations?" I picked my aging body up off the floor, and started in on the assignment with the help of an amazing documentary research team at OCT. That was 2018, and I subsequently added the disastrous Trump finale and did some updating.

I am grateful that Julia Olson and Philip Gregory, legal counsel for the seminal case Juliana v. United States, have contributed an introduction to the book. And thankful also for terrific early reviews and endorsements from Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, Van Jones, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Catherine Flowers. There have been positive reviews also from Nature and Science.

I have described the book as the saddest story ever told, but if you are reality tolerant you will find it an important story of vast governmental malfeasance, surely one of the greatest derelictions of civic responsibility in the history of the Republic.

I hope the book spurs people to act in small and big ways. Please consider ordering a copy from your favorite bookstore and sharing the word with others who may be interested. My publisher has also provided a discount code that will give you a 20% discount and free shipping on direct orders with Penguin Random House.

All royalties go to Our Children’s Trust.

All the best to you,

Gus

James Gustave Speth, gus@speth.com
Distinguished Next System Fellow
The Democracy Collaborative, thenextsystem.org