"We've built a new earth. It's not as nice as the old one; it's the greatest mistake humans have ever made, one that we will pay for literally forever. We live on a new planet. What happens next is up to us." -Bill McKibben
The End of Nature and the Beginning of McKibben's Career
McKibben's first book, The End of Nature, was published in 1989. It was the first book on climate change written for a general audience, and it raised awareness of the problem throughout the world. McKibben went on to write about topics such as genetic engineering, local economies, sustainable communities in the real world, and population control, earning the respect of fellow authors and activists along the way.
Awards
McKibben has been called "the world's best green journalist" by Time magazine, and the Boston Globe said he was "probably the nation's leading environmentalist." He has been awarded the Guggenheim and Lyndhurst Fellowships. He also won the Lannan Prize for nonfiction in 2000.
StepItUp
StepItUp was founded by McKibben and a group of inspired young people in October 2006 with the intent of motivating Congress to step up the pace of action against climate change. On April 14, 2007, the organization met in 1400 distinctive places in the United States and demanded, according to their signs, "Step It Up, Congress: Cut Carbon 80% by 2050."
While the group has not achieved all of its political goals, it has reached out to Americans and increased awareness of a serious problem. It continues to campaign for better regulatory control of carbon emissions and other global warming issues.
350.org
McKibben founded 350.org in response to the increasing pace of climate change in the hopes of organizing enough people to influence politicians throughout the world. 350.org organized over 5200 actions in 181 countries on October 24, 2009 to raise awareness of global warming and the need for immediate action. More such activities are planned. The group's main goal is to reduce global CO2 levels below 350 parts per million in order to keep the climate crisis under control. Anything higher, and "the damage we're already seeing from global warming will continue and accelerate."
McKIbben's Personal Life
McKibben was born in 1960 in Massachusetts and grew up in Lexington, MA. He attended Harvard where he was president of the Harvard Crimson, the college paper. He went on to write for The New Yorker from 1982 to 1987, penning many of the "Talk of the Town" columns. He left the magazine after its long-time editor, William Shawn, was forced out of his position.
McKibben next moved to the Adirnondack Mountains in New York where he became a freelance writer. He currently lives in Ripton, VT with his wife, Sue Halpern, and their daughter, Sophie. He is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College in Vermont.
McKibben's Books
The End of Nature
The Age of Missing Information
Hundred Dollar Holiday
Hope, Human and Wild
The Comforting Whirlwind: God, Job, and the Scale of Creation
Maybe One
Long Distance: A Year of Living Strenuously
Enough
Deep Economies: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
The Bill McKibben Reader
Eaarth
McKibben also writes for various magazines, including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Orion Magazine, Mother Jones, The New York Review of Books, Granta, Rolling Stone, and Outside.
Sources
350.org.
Bill McKibben's official website (billmckibben.com)
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