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This week:
- How a book on climate became an international bestseller
- The Big Picture: A Planet in Panels
- Turtle taxi service seeks volunteers
How a book on climate became an international bestseller
In 2021, French graphic novelist Christophe Blain teamed up with energy expert Jean-Marc Jancovici, to write Le Monde Sans Fin, “an illustrated guide to the climate crisis.”
The publisher initially printed 60,000 copies, but it quickly became a word-of-mouth sensation and bestseller in France, topping more than a million copies — a jaw-dropping feat for a book about greenhouse gas emissions.
Despite its popularity, Le Monde Sans Fin was not without its critics, who mostly focused on its strong support for nuclear power in the transition away from fossil fuels.
With nuclear back on the agenda in Canada, mostly in the form of small modular reactors, and the recent release of the translation, World Without End, in Canada, What on Earth sat down with the authors.
Why do you think Le Monde Sans Fin was so popular?
Jean-Marc Jancovici: The first reason is that Christophe was already one of the top-selling authors of graphic novels. The second one is that I already had a community of a couple hundred thousand people following me on YouTube. It was a book that was offered [gifted] a lot. I remember during my first book signing, people came with many copies of the book: “One for me, one for my brother, one for my sister, one for my girlfriend, one for my boss, one for my employee….”
Christophe Blain: The book went viral. The community around Jean-Marc wanted to share his lectures, his thoughts and his analysis, because he has a real talent. He can explain very complicated things and make you feel smart and intelligent when you hear it. A book is easier to share. You can read it at the speed you want to … and you can share it. People understood our message, and it was very satisfying.
The book begins with Christophe’s curiosity, fear and frustration at understanding climate change. Why did you take that approach, for you to be on the journey with the reader?
CB: The idea for the book came from my brother. He had worked with Jean-Marc and knew him from his videos. I was very stressed by climate change, and my brother said to me, the cure is to make a book with Jean-Marc. It wasn’t a cure, but it set me in action. The best way for me to work on climate change is to integrate it into my life, in my work.
The first half of the book digs deep into the history of energy and how fossil fuels, in particular, have shaped economies and society. Why was it important to start there, rather than the current impacts of climate change?
JMJ: People hear about climate change all the time. But people don’t understand that energy is hiding behind all the things that seem normal today. And I mean all the things, like taking a shower, going to school, taking holidays, visiting friends, having plenty to eat, calling someone. The reason why it is so difficult to leave fossil fuels is precisely because they are behind everything that frames modern life.
Do people need to rethink how they consume energy, how they live in the world?
CB: The first thing is to understand our connection to fossil fuels and the way our society is built. When you start to think about this, it’s impossible to want the same things as before.
JMJ: There isn’t one solution. When people talk about a “solution” it often means, “How can I keep living in the same way?” But we have to change. We can take planes and cars less. We can travel differently. We can want different things.
Are there specific things that you’ve done in your lives to reduce your energy consumption?
JMJ: Yes, but I probably would have done them anyway without the climate issue — it’s actually encouraged me. I’m not a vegetarian, but I eat very little red meat. I do not fly any more, but I did when I was young. And I belong to the category of men that you have to drag by the hair into shops. So, I buy very few things. I don’t have a car because I’m happier to believe that I remain younger by cycling. But I never talk about these things in my lectures, because I dislike it when people say, “Look at me.” I know that for a large fraction of the population, if they don’t do what they should do, it’s because they cannot or because they have a very good reason not to. If they did do it, they’d be separated from the group: their friends, their families. They would pay a high price. If people are able to take action, it’s always in a collective. It could be a company, a family, an association, a group of friends.
The title of the book, in both English and French, suggests a planet of unlimited resources. What does the title of the book mean to you?
CB: It’s an ambiguity. Is it pessimistic or optimistic? It’s both.
JMJ: It’s neutral, and not provocative. You can understand it as a story that you don’t want to end, or you can have the belief, the foolish thought, that there are no limits. It can be any of these, and you have to decide.
— Hannah Hoag
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Old issues of What on Earth? are here. The CBC News climate page is here.
Check out our podcast and radio show. In our newest episode: Buildings make up a hefty share of Canada’s emissions. But across the country, communities are looking for ways to curb that impact, and make public structures more resilient to climate change. We take a tour of cool projects from Lytton, B.C., to Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.
What On Earth25:31The libraries and longhouses leading the way on climate
Buildings make up a hefty share of Canada’s emissions. But across the country, communities are looking for ways to curb that impact, and make public structures more resilient to climate change. We take a tour of cool projects from Lytton B.C. to Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.
What On Earth drops new podcast episodes every Wednesday and Saturday. You can find them on your favourite podcast app or on demand at CBC Listen. The radio show airs Sundays at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Have a compelling personal story about climate change you want to share with CBC News? Pitch a First Person column here.
Reader Feedback
After listening to the audio version of our story on how to prepare your home for heat, smoke and wildfires, Yuri Dashawetz wrote: “I found it very interesting that nothing was mentioned about architectural window tinting. Much like tinting the windows in your vehicle, architectural window tint can be applied to the windows of residences and businesses at a much lower cost than installing new windows. The advantages of this are pretty incredible. With new technology, window films can reduce harmful UV rays and block heat from entering your windows without having to cover them up with drapes. After all, most people spend big money on big windows so they can see outside.” He added that while he isn’t an expert in this, his son-in-law is, as he owns a window tint company in the Toronto area.
Write us at whatonearth@cbc.ca. (And feel free to send photos, too!)
The Big Picture: A Planet in Panels
Despite the seriousness of what this illustration is from — a government paper outlining the near-term risks of climate change — there’s humour and relatability. For the illustrator, Alison McCreesh, it speaks to how “in really tough situations, it’s still so important, and still so much part of human nature, to laugh.”
McCreesh has worked on several projects that put a comic lens on climate and environmental subjects. Her work above for the N.W.T. government involved turning what she called a “sort of a dense document” into something “more engaging and … generally be more relatable and less dry.”
Dom Davies, who researches the social impacts of graphic novels and comics at City St. George’s, University of London, says comics can shine where narrative prose struggles.
“They have this kind of quite immediate, accessible but also quite novel way of telling stories, which I think grabs people’s attention,” Davies told CBC News from London. They can also convey the scale of the climate crisis through big splash pages.
Through a video call in Yellowknife, McCreesh described the elements in this splash page, which focused on highlighting “people on the land” — from the scientist taking weather measurements, the food truck bringing in supplies, the people on a camp-out to the plane supplying a fly-in community. She says showing this was important because “that’s a big part of the climate change conversation that’s had here, about how it’s limiting people’s access to their traditional ways of life.”
— Anand Ram
Hot and bothered: Provocative ideas from around the web
Turtle taxi service seeks Quebec volunteers to transport injured reptiles to rehab
Launched in 2024, Taxi Carapace is a transportation service for turtles — more specifically, injured turtles — that operates in Quebec.
The initiative is run by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and aims to maximize injured turtles’ chances of survival by having volunteers safely and quickly transport the reptiles to a specialized rehabilitation centre in Laval, Que.
With Quebec’s eight species of native freshwater turtles all designated as either endangered or vulnerable, the organization is now looking for more volunteer drivers.
Habitat destruction and degradation are contributing factors to the situation, and some species, like the wood turtle, are also threatened by poaching and illegal trade, according to Montreal’s Espace pour la vie.
But Francisco Retamal-Diaz, a project manager with Nature Conservancy of Canada, said “one of the most detrimental things for the population is road mortality.”
Critical times of the year include the spring from late May to early June, when turtles start moving around after hibernation, then in July, when female turtles make their way to nesting sites, and then again around October, when they travel back to their hibernation sites.
Retamal-Diaz explained that turtles exhibit site fidelity, meaning they will return to the same summer habitat and nesting habitat, year after year.
“So pretty much everywhere in the world where there are turtles and there are humans, roads are being constructed and turtles will not adapt their movements and they will have to cross every year at the same spot,” he said, adding it’s a behaviour that can be passed on through the genes.
Death of 1 adult turtle can set population back decades
The turtles’ inability to move as quickly as other animals makes them especially vulnerable when crossing roads.
Because it can take time for turtles to reach reproductive maturity, from 10 to 20 years depending on the species, the death of even just one adult turtle in a road accident can set the population back 20 years, Retamal-Diaz said.
That’s where the need for volunteers comes into play.
“This is why we created the platform Nature Conservancy of Canada carapace.ca,” Retamal-Diaz said.
“Its purpose is to document road mortality and where there are turtles on the road, so we can prevent and plan mitigation measures such as fences or signs that are warning the drivers.”
In addition to people reporting turtle sightings or ensuring they get across the road safely, volunteers are needed to transport turtles that are in distress to Éco-Nature’s Centre de réhabilitation des tortues du Québec in Laval.
Éco-Nature says it has been involved in turtle conservancy work for 20 years, with activities aimed at protecting, restoring and recreating turtle habitats.
50 volunteers, 3,600 kms
Sometimes, volunteers with Taxi Carapace will offer a shuttle service of sorts, with drivers handing over a turtle at a meet-up point.
With turtles found across southern Quebec, as far west as Abitibi and all the way to the Côte-Nord in the east, it can be a lot of ground to cover.
To date, Nature Conservancy of Canada says more than 50 volunteers have joined the taxi initiative, covering over 3,600 kilometres.
While veterinarians can help stabilize a turtle awaiting transport, the rehab centre provides specialized care, including turtle physiotherapy.
It’s important for injured turtles to build up their muscles before being released back into the wild, Retamal-Diaz said, otherwise they would be more vulnerable to predators.
Of the 93 turtles released in 2024, 32 were released by volunteers, according to Nature Conservancy of Canada.
It might seem like a lot of effort is going into saving the lives of a small reptile, but Retamal-Diaz underscored the critical role they play in maintaining ecosystem health.
He compared the turtle’s role to that of a janitor.
“Most turtles are a generalist. So they eat algae, they eat fish, they eat snails, they eat a lot of things. And so they contribute in maintaining healthy wetlands,” Retamal-Diaz said.
He added wetlands provide several benefits, including flood protection, water quality improvement and climate change mitigation.
More information on how to become a volunteer turtle taxi driver is available on the Carapace website.
— Annabelle Olivier
Thanks for reading. If you have questions, criticisms or story tips, please send them to whatonearth@cbc.ca.
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Editors: Emily Chung and Hannah Hoag | Logo design: Sködt McNalty
