New by jonathan neale
Climate Dispatch from Afghanistan, 2024
Earlier this month I returned to Afghanistan for the first time in 51 years. Back then I had been... more Earlier this month I returned to Afghanistan for the first time in 51 years. Back then I had been a young anthropology student doing fieldwork with pastoral nomads. Now I write books, reports and articles on climate breakdown.
I had been invited back to give a keynote address at the first International Climate Change Conference in the country. We are meeting at the University of Nangarhar, in the east of Afghanistan, about twenty miles from where I originally did my fieldwork. I’ve been to a lot of climate change conferences in the last twenty years. This one is different.
The Ecologist, 2022
On Saturday I posted something on social media asking if anyone knew of vigils or protests in sol... more On Saturday I posted something on social media asking if anyone knew of vigils or protests in solidarity with the Chinese protests anywhere in Britain. I have more than 5,000 “friends” and “followers” - and none of them knew anything.
It’s not just Britain either. Globally, environmentalists and the social movements have been largely silent or worse about what seemed to be happening in China. This is appalling. So I’ve written this article to explain why I think the protests in China are important to the future of life on this planet.
Anne Bonny Pirate, 2022
The invasion of Ukraine is appalling. The resistance is heroic. The situation is moving fast, and... more The invasion of Ukraine is appalling. The resistance is heroic. The situation is moving fast, and each step is politically revealing. There remains a great deal of confusion about Putin and Ukraine in the United States and Britain. This long read aims to unpack some of that.
Anne Bonny Pirate, 2022
This long read starts with the recent sexual harassment case at Harvard, and then moves on to ask... more This long read starts with the recent sexual harassment case at Harvard, and then moves on to ask why so many distinguished academics and feminists sign letters in support of abusers, why almost all institutions cover up and enable abuse, what can be done, and how to do good work in such an environment.
Anne Bonny Pirate, 2022
We start with a theatre, and two moments of astonishing gender transgression. One happened in a t... more We start with a theatre, and two moments of astonishing gender transgression. One happened in a theatre on a hillside in the center of Athens on a spring day in late March of 431 BCE. The second happened there sixteen years later, in March of 415 BCE. Both took place as the audience watched tragedies by the poet Euripides. These plays were about gendered oppression, sexual pain, rape, slavery and the horrors of war.
Anne Bonny Pirate, 2021
A lot of nonsense about Afghanistan is being written in Britain and the United States. Most of th... more A lot of nonsense about Afghanistan is being written in Britain and the United States. Most of this nonsense hides a number of important truths.
First, the Taliban have defeated the United States. Second, the Taliban have won because they have more popular support. Third, this is not because most Afghans love the Taliban. It is because the American occupation has been unbearably cruel and corrupt. Fourth, the War on Terror has also been politically defeated in the United States. The majority of Americans are now in favor of withdrawal from Afghanistan and against any more foreign wars.
Fifth, the greatest military power in the world has been defeated by the people of a small, desperately poor country. This will weaken the power of the American empire all over the world. Sixth, the rhetoric of saving Afghan women has been widely used to justify the occupation, and many feminists in Afghanistan have chosen the side of the occupation. The result is a tragedy for feminism.
The Ecologist, 2021
David Graeber and David Wengrow's new book The Dawn of Everything is energetic, committed and kal... more David Graeber and David Wengrow's new book The Dawn of Everything is energetic, committed and kaleidoscopic, but also flawed. We suggest an alternative way of understanding the emergence of equality in social evolution, and the emergence of gendered inequality in class societies.
The Ecologist, 2021
How to download a free pdf or a free-book of this new book, plus some advance praise describing t... more How to download a free pdf or a free-book of this new book, plus some advance praise describing the book.
Download Books and Long Reports by jonathan neale
The science of climate change says we need 75% to 80% cuts in CO2 emissions within 20 years.
The story of the Genoa protests in 2001
Favourites by jonathan neale
It is not easy to be both an academic and an activist. The values, the audiences and the constrai... more It is not easy to be both an academic and an activist. The values, the audiences and the constraints are different. Sitting down to write, you can feel yourself pulled in two different ways. The result is often muddled thinking and murky prose. There is too much ranting for an academic audience, and too much gobbledygook for the movement. In many cases, there is no prose at all, only silence, and pages crumpled in the wastebasket or erased on the screen.
The first half of this post offers some advice that can make writing easier, faster and more useful. The second half explains why universities make activists feel stupid, how they do it, and how you can cope.
Climate change by jonathan neale
Anne Bonny Pirate, 2021
I often hear people say that we can’t cover the world with electric vehicles, because there simpl... more I often hear people say that we can’t cover the world with electric vehicles, because there simply is not enough lithium for batteries. In any case, they add, lithium production is toxic, and the only supplies are in the Global South. Moreover, so the story goes, there are not enough rare earth metals for wind turbines and all the other hardware we will need for renewable energy.
People often smile after they say those things, which is hard for me to understand, because it means eight billion people will go to hell.
So I went and found out about lithium batteries and the uses of rare earth. What I found out is that the transition will be possible, but neither the politics nor the engineering is simple. This article explains why. I start by describing the situation simply, and then add in some of the complexity.
Third edition, 2014, edited by me
The Ecologist, 2019
Wisdom only begins when we let in the grief and rage of understanding climate breakdown. Can we f... more Wisdom only begins when we let in the grief and rage of understanding climate breakdown. Can we find radical hope in the face of social collapse around the world?
Draft of a chapter published in Jamid Pouran and Hasan Hakamian, Enviromental Challenges in the M... more Draft of a chapter published in Jamid Pouran and Hasan Hakamian, Enviromental Challenges in the Middle East
Booklet published online jointly by climate jobs campaigns in South Africa, Norway, Canada, New Y... more Booklet published online jointly by climate jobs campaigns in South Africa, Norway, Canada, New York state, Britain and Philippines. A general explanation of the idea of climate jobs, and descriptions of the campaigns in different countries. Edited by me, Tabitha Spence and Andreas Ytterstad
The circus is over. The suits are leaving Paris. There have been millions of words written about ... more The circus is over. The suits are leaving Paris. There have been millions of words written about the text. But one fact stands out. All the governments of the world have agreed to increase global greenhouse gas emissions every year between now and 2030.
Edited by me, with all the references, calculations, random ideas and frequently asked questions ... more Edited by me, with all the references, calculations, random ideas and frequently asked questions to go with the One Million Climate Jobs booklet.
Short blog for Campaign against Climate Change, www.campaigncc.org, on 16 November 2014
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New by jonathan neale
I had been invited back to give a keynote address at the first International Climate Change Conference in the country. We are meeting at the University of Nangarhar, in the east of Afghanistan, about twenty miles from where I originally did my fieldwork. I’ve been to a lot of climate change conferences in the last twenty years. This one is different.
It’s not just Britain either. Globally, environmentalists and the social movements have been largely silent or worse about what seemed to be happening in China. This is appalling. So I’ve written this article to explain why I think the protests in China are important to the future of life on this planet.
First, the Taliban have defeated the United States. Second, the Taliban have won because they have more popular support. Third, this is not because most Afghans love the Taliban. It is because the American occupation has been unbearably cruel and corrupt. Fourth, the War on Terror has also been politically defeated in the United States. The majority of Americans are now in favor of withdrawal from Afghanistan and against any more foreign wars.
Fifth, the greatest military power in the world has been defeated by the people of a small, desperately poor country. This will weaken the power of the American empire all over the world. Sixth, the rhetoric of saving Afghan women has been widely used to justify the occupation, and many feminists in Afghanistan have chosen the side of the occupation. The result is a tragedy for feminism.
Download Books and Long Reports by jonathan neale
Favourites by jonathan neale
The first half of this post offers some advice that can make writing easier, faster and more useful. The second half explains why universities make activists feel stupid, how they do it, and how you can cope.
Climate change by jonathan neale
People often smile after they say those things, which is hard for me to understand, because it means eight billion people will go to hell.
So I went and found out about lithium batteries and the uses of rare earth. What I found out is that the transition will be possible, but neither the politics nor the engineering is simple. This article explains why. I start by describing the situation simply, and then add in some of the complexity.
I had been invited back to give a keynote address at the first International Climate Change Conference in the country. We are meeting at the University of Nangarhar, in the east of Afghanistan, about twenty miles from where I originally did my fieldwork. I’ve been to a lot of climate change conferences in the last twenty years. This one is different.
It’s not just Britain either. Globally, environmentalists and the social movements have been largely silent or worse about what seemed to be happening in China. This is appalling. So I’ve written this article to explain why I think the protests in China are important to the future of life on this planet.
First, the Taliban have defeated the United States. Second, the Taliban have won because they have more popular support. Third, this is not because most Afghans love the Taliban. It is because the American occupation has been unbearably cruel and corrupt. Fourth, the War on Terror has also been politically defeated in the United States. The majority of Americans are now in favor of withdrawal from Afghanistan and against any more foreign wars.
Fifth, the greatest military power in the world has been defeated by the people of a small, desperately poor country. This will weaken the power of the American empire all over the world. Sixth, the rhetoric of saving Afghan women has been widely used to justify the occupation, and many feminists in Afghanistan have chosen the side of the occupation. The result is a tragedy for feminism.
The first half of this post offers some advice that can make writing easier, faster and more useful. The second half explains why universities make activists feel stupid, how they do it, and how you can cope.
People often smile after they say those things, which is hard for me to understand, because it means eight billion people will go to hell.
So I went and found out about lithium batteries and the uses of rare earth. What I found out is that the transition will be possible, but neither the politics nor the engineering is simple. This article explains why. I start by describing the situation simply, and then add in some of the complexity.
The hearing has offered such an opportunity. It gives us a chance to formulate seven useful ideas about sexual violence.
This article is about three intersecting wars in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The bombings in Paris occurred just as we were finishing the piece, and give our arguments here further tragic relevance. It will help the reader to know from the outset where we stand. We want the mass resistance to the Assad regime in Syria to win, and the Russian armed forces and their allies to leave. We want the Americans and their allies to leave Afghanistan, now, completely. We want Assad and the American, British, French and Russian military to stop bombing the Syrian resistance and the Islamic State.