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A rallying cry to save the Earth with an “anthropause”--a term that can apply to any broad rollback of economic activity that gives nature room to recover and flourish. “An iconoclast of the best kind, Stan Cox has an all-too-rare commitment to following arguments wherever they lead, however politically dangerous that turns out to be.” --Naomi Klein In the spring of 2020, people worldwide found themselves confined at home in response to pandemic lockdown orders. Global carbon emissions suddenly plunged 8.8 percent. Air and noise pollution levels plummeted, and streams, rivers, and lakes noticeably became cleaner. Animal life quickly filled spaces that humans had deserted. Scientists documenting how quickly nature flourished in response to less human activity called the phenomena an “anthropause.” For a moment, humanity witnessed the beauty of degrowth. In a world obsessed with getting and having more--more influence, more money, more fame, more stuff--the idea of degrowth seems counterintuitive. Yet, as environmental catastrophe becomes more widespread and severe, degrowth emerges as a necessary collective intervention to protect the living Earth--and civilization as we know it--from collapse. In
