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"Part 1: Fresh ways to think about climate change"
Mr Marshall starts by explaining how the very topic of climate change has a whole range of difficulties associated with discussing it. How we talk about something has a huge impact on how we perceive it.
Think about the last popular media article you saw regarding climate change. Did it have an alarmist headline? Did it deny the whole thing? Or, potentially far worse, did it tell you that if you stop using plastic bags, the whole thing will just fade away like a bad dream?
He faces the same issue when writing Carbon Detox as I did when starting this site: how do you refer to climate change so that the message is clear?
"Global warming" will be interpreted the wrong way, as in "the world will warm". That's true on average, but it doesn't take into account the fact that some parts may cool. "The outspoken deniers" love to use the words "global warming" and then point to some remote place that cooled over 5 years and say "ha, global warming indeed!"
Similarly, "climate change" just sounds vague. The problem is that nothing else is understood, so we have to use these slightly misleading expressions.
The point of this section is to help you realise that the problem is independent of the talk associated with it. Just because some rather foolhardy journalist wrote about heat waves melting France, or a movie producer thought that the entire northern hemisphere could turn to ice in the space of 3 days, it doesn't alter the facts.
The problem is that there are so many facts, that unless you are an actual climate scientist (or an extremely anorak-y enthusiast), you cannot hope to know all of it, and it gets rather overwhelming.
So don't try. Accept that you need to lower carbon emissions. That is all that matters, and all the science you ever really have to deal with. It may be a simplification, but that is the basic premise of the book.
"Part 2 - Make this book work for you"
A lesson in psychology now, as Mr Marshall guides us through different personality types. What kind of person are you, and how will you cope with climate change? Are you a survivor, a traditionalist, a winner or a striver?
How you react will depend on how you perceive the world around you, and how you deal with every other problem in your life. No matter, he talks you through the advantages of adapting that will suit your personality type. Each type of person would benefit from implementing changes that would contribute to reducing carbon emissions.
"Part 3 - The climate rollercoaster"
All this talk about the world changing is quite scary, no? Best to just wait for it to pass like a bad headache. When you truly face facts, you do feel that way. I have done. Frankly, it would be far better if Carbon Detox didn't need to exist, and there was nothing to worry about.
This is the one chapter where Mr Marshall talks about what is likely to happen if the climate continues to change. It is just enough to make you wake up a bit and take him seriously.
Essentially, he compares adapting to climate change to a roller coaster; it's scary, you don't really have much control over it, and you scream and shout for a bit. Most importantly, though: you will get off at the end of it, relatively unscathed!
"Part 4 - Overcoming denial and truly believing in climate change"
Skepticism is a good thing. It keeps us from being drawn into pyramid schemes, stops most of us from signing our lives away to cults and generally keeps us sensible.
However, on the flip side of the skepticism coin is denial. If you are presented with countless arguments for something, each more plausible and convincing than the last, and you still either ignore or actively disagree, then you're not a skeptic, but in denial.
Mr Marshall goes through various arguments used by "skeptics" which are used to either deny that climate change exists; argue that there is nothing we can do so we should just stop trying; how even if we do something, someone else will just keep on emitting carbon as usual; and even that it might be a good thing.
My favourite one is the "Costa del Grimsby" argument (for those of you not from the UK, Grimsby is a small coastal town in mid England, and not renowned for being warm). The argument is that if the world warms up, we will have nice warm beaches here in the UK! Wow! No. I have actually heard this argument used. It was painful.
"Part 5 - Strategies for dealing with climate change"
Not a list of things to do, rather a summary of different mindsets that could be used to face the problem. We can do nothing and see what happens or we can prepare now and be ready.
"Part 6 - The vision"
A couple of pages of hippy heaven, I admit, but his vision of a "carbon light" future is quite a pleasant one, if not one I would entirely like myself. It outlines the benefits of our efforts in the long term.
This is where Mr Marshall and I have a strong difference of opinion: he thinks that we should reduce our energy use considerably, work far closer to home, only holiday locally and so forth.
I want to fly around the world, see new things and work and live whereever I want. The trick is to do this sustainably.
"Part 7- Preparing for the detox"
This section is again about the psychology of changing your lifestyle in minor ways. He tells you not to think about giving something up, but rather that you're releasing yourself of a heavy weight that's holding you down.
Think about it: do you enjoy being stuck in traffic? If you could work closer to home, spend less time commuting and spend more time at home with your family, wouldn't you?
He explains how these changes don't mean you have to start farming your own food, weaving your own clothes from leftover plastic bags, and walking everywhere. It's the special things we enjoy. You don't enjoy driving 2 hours on a motorway every day, in traffic, bored, but you would enjoy screaming along a racetrack in a Ferrari.
The second one, if done infrequently, emits far less carbon and you enjoy it far more. It's all about lifestyle and perception. A minor change in habits (which doesn't necessarily mean minor effects) can have an enormous impact.
"Part 8 - Counting the carbos"
Mr Marshall renames a unit used in climate science, and calls it a "carbo". I've only seen this term used in Carbon Detox, so remember it's not the real name for it! In scientific language, this is a "ton of carbon equivalent", or "1 ton of CO2e".
He outlines where in your life carbos are emitted, in various different aspects of your life. Driving, your home, your travel and your food are all discussed. You can estimate how much carbon you emit, and find out the most polluting things you do.
This is where the "plastic bag fetish" comes in. If you want to reduce your carbon emissions, and fly 10 times a year, then not using plastic bags will have absolutely no impact. Forgoing a couple of flights, however....
And I agree that, at the moment, flying excessively is damaging. Come on aeronatical engineers, find a way of doing it better. Innovate. Find a way for us to fly with a clear conscience.
"Part 9 - Drop a tonne"
Finally the "how to" part of the book. He outlines what you can alter in your lifestyle to help drop a tonne from your carbon emissions. Pretty self explanatory, really.
Parts 10, 11 and 12
The final parts of the book discuss taking control of your carbon emissions, and living a "lighter life". Encourage other people to do the same, some of the benefits you would see and what to do next all feature at the end of the book.
I do think Carbon Detox is an excellent, well written, and very funny book. It's been on my bookshelf for about a year and I keep dipping in and out of it. Instead of a dry scientific manual, or a patronising list of things to do to "save the world", this book "talks to you straight" about adapting to a life in a changing climate, and I recommend it fully.