41 pages • 1 hour read
Hope JahrenThe Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1, Chapter 4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “Life”
Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary: “Where We Are”
Jahren introduces the acronym “OECD,” or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The OECD references the highly developed countries located in North America, the European Union, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. Over a billion people live in these countries, most of them in urban areas: “Cities are the very definition of more—hot spots of humanity visible from space” (22). The “poorest of the poor” also number over a billion and tend to live in rural areas (23), functioning without electricity. For those living in poverty, the slums within an urban area can still provide more resources in terms of jobs, wages, and access to electricity. Most of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, a shift that accelerated during the 20th century and continues into the 21st.
Part 1, Chapter 4 Analysis
The reader should take note of the key term OECD, as Jahren references it throughout the book. She uses the concept of the OECD to divide our global population into roughly two camps: the haves and the have-nots. The haves, people living in OECD countries, tend to consume the most resources but feel the least environmental effect for their choices.
