Published here is a review of the revised edition of the book:- A new green history of the world: the environment and the collapse of great civilizations

Even before the world leaders sit down at the climate change conference in Copenhagen, it has been widely predicted that it will come out with nothing concrete, binding or effective. The following article explains why we cannot expect any real solutions from those whose first concern is to maintain the present social system.

The reports that have accompanied the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change in Copenhagen are worse than ever.The economic crisis, though reducing the level of production, will bring further strains on the ecology of each country as it strives to remain competitive. Even the recommendations of the world's experts on climate change are trapped within the framework of capitalism.

At the beginning of December there was the spectacle of the Bali Conference held under the auspices of the UN. “It is the first such meeting since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that evidence for global warming was ‘unequivocal’...