Plan B (English edition): How Not to Lose Hope in the Times of Climate Crisis

Fight against the horrible consequences of human-made climate crisis is the most important, crucial frontline of humanity; of our time. That’s why they decided to start a solution-based project. After a due diligence research, they started their long journey, looking for the best community-driven solutions around the world. This book is a collection of the most promising projects in the fight with the climate crisis.

From Tilos, the first energy self-sufficient island in the Medi­terranean, to the geothermal and thoroughly future-oriented Iceland. From the promising sea-power developments on the Orkney Islands in the north-east of Scotland, where surplus energy is already being converted into 'green' hydrogen, to the biomass-centred Austrian townlet of Güssing, whose inhabi­tants have taken the progressive route as far back as a quarter of a century ago, and who have by now managed to reinvent themselves as a key hub for the development and production of renewable-energy technology. Theirs – and ours – is an exceptionally difficult task. But if we all don't rise to the occasion, it is sure be our last chance.

Paperback, 21 x 15 cm, 265 pages.

THE FUTURE AS IT SHOULD BE (FROM THE BOOK):

“I asked Maria Kamma, the mayor of Tilos, the first 100% energy self-sufficient island in the Mediterranean, what was so special about her island that had turned it into a vision of the future as it should be. ‘I find it very hard to reply. I cannot really fathom all this wonder about our way of life. To us, it’s nothing special. We live in harmony with nature. We’ve developed a bond with our environment. We don’t splurge on anything, we don’t overstrain our resources, we live a frugal modest life. We function as a community. Every major problem is talked over until we can all decide what to do. We are doing the best we can. Our aim is justice – between ourselves and for the environment. This, we believe, is our duty,’ the mayor spontaneously summed up the islanders’ ethos.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Boštjan Videmšek, born in 1975, is a long-standing war reporter for Delo, Slovenia’s largest daily newspaper. He has reported from all major wars and conflicts over the last 25 years. His articles had been published in over a hundred international magazines, including The New York Times, Le Figaro, GEO, Aftenposten, Der Spiegel, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, The Atlantic Post, Politico, BBC World, Forbes, Revolve Magazine, El Periodico, The Caravan, Terra Mater, Periodismo Humano, El Semanal, El Diario, Ahora Semanal, The Age, The Brisbane Times, Globus, Jutarnji list, …

Over the last two decades Videmšek reported on most of the planet’s major armed conflicts and natural disasters. He is also the author of the following five books:

• 21st Century Conflicts: Remnants of War(s), 2011. A collection of his early war coverage.
• Revolt: the Arab Spring and the European Fall, 2013, published in Slovenia to great critical acclaim. Not published in English.
• Ultrablues, 2014 (co-author) – a bestseller in his native Slovenia.
• On the Run: Modern Exodus, 2016. Depicting the ten years the author had spent traveling with refugees and migrants. Already translated into German, the book will shortly be published in Egypt. No English translation available.
• Dispatches from the Frontlines of Humanity: A Book of Reportage, 2019 (by Cambridge Scholars Publishing) This book is an in-depth reportage on some of the most defining issues of our time, namely the global refugee crisis, the conflicts uprooting these masses of human beings, and the underlying causes. It is also an ode to the vanishing art of the long-form feature or reportage, which is disappearing as many media organisations can no longer afford it, or are unwilling to pay for this kind of time-consuming, on-the-ground journalism.

Videmšek is the recipient of numerous national and international awards. In 2016, he was nominated for the European Press Prize. In, 2018 he won the prestigous Siemens international award for tech journalism. In 2015, he was declared one of the “European Young Leaders.” He is a member of TFAS alumni (Euro-Mediterranean University) in Athens and Washington. Videmšek is also the author of two theatre plays.

In recent years, his journalistic focus has shifted to the effects of climate change and the green energy development boom all across the globe.