Social justice has become a key term in society today with the aim being making sure that costs and benefits of development are equally distributed. While most of the discussions surrounding this topic take on an academic approach, “The Beast: Expanded Digital Edition” by Hugh Goldring and Nicole Burton takes on a rather uncommon approach. That is, it addresses the issue of tar sands in Edmonton, Alberta through a visual comic. Additionally, the tagline for this book “making a living on a dying planet” serves to offer some degree of elucidation into the content of the book, environmental sustainability, and awareness, which serves to give a reader some peaked interest.
According to IGI Global, environmental sustainability is referred to as the state of balance, interconnectedness, and resilience that makes it possible for people to satisfy their needs without putting at risk the capacity of the ecosystems to regenerate. Narrowly, it can be conceptualized to mean sustainable development. This is especially important because of the resultant climate change. According to NASA, if we do not take charge of our environment, we are headed to experiencing longer periods of drought in some areas, increased number, duration and magnitude of tropical storms; and frequent wildfires. However, central to addressing environmental concerns is increased awareness.
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However, the beast shows how this process is greatly hampered by the inability to have a public debate on this issue because of the manipulation of public perception of environmental degradation. This situation is shown to be a result of the media war on the tar/oil sands debate that continues between protesters and members of the ruling class, that is politicians and capitalists. As a result of these wars, the environmental degradation debate is oversimplified to “for” and “against” positions whereby the variables are those who want extraction to continue versus those who are against (Goldring & Burton, 2018) . Additionally, people are also forced to take sides which hinder the chance of having a candid and fruitful discussion on the topic. Still, this is not an unintended outcome but a way to cultivate ambiguity and ambivalence among members of the public to keep the ruling class in business.
This way, through the media those behind the popularized messages get to determine how people’s perception of energy are formed and manipulated. This relationship in society is accurately presented through the two characters in the comic, Callum and Mary, who are both college graduates. However, they have to traverse environmental activism and the fact that they have to work and live on a planet that is resource driven (Goldring & Burton, 2018) . However, like Callum and Mary, who have to traverse these sides that are presented as being mutually exclusive, the comic is presented as a way to offer a balanced view of both of these sides to address the more nuanced discussions on the tar sands.
That is, the comic is characterized in euphemisms focused on putting the issue into focus in a subtle but conscious manner. Case in point, “the beast” is used to represent key environmental issues that have taken place over the years to present the magnitude of the situation which is a way to enhance social imagination of the issue. For instance, the term “the beast” refers to the Fort McMurray wildfire which was nicknamed “the beast,” and it also refers to climate change which can be characterized as a beast (Goldring & Burton, 2018) . In this way, the comic does succeed in presenting the issue as a beast to spark public discourse based on a shared perception to stimulate solution derivation and the oversimplification of the issue. Therefore, while climate change and environmental degradation have been largely politicized and social imagination on the topic polluted through public relation campaigns, this comic stands out as it traverses these areas of ambiguity and by combining visuals and power words, the lead a reader to walk through their ambivalence to the issue.
Therefore, by providing a clear image in the mind of the reader, the authors make it possible to break down the false depictions and the sides created by the media wars. This way, they succeed in showing the real magnitude of the issue whereby, it is greater than the generalized sides we have been forced to take as it affects us all. That is, while we are busy serving our resource-driven lives we continue to do more harm to our environment. In a way, the comic is about learning to have a balance in making a living and conserving our planet. That is, learning how to make a living in a dying planet only this time, conservation is sparked in one’s mind and not just being blinded by capitalist ventures. This way, through asking tough questions, the book is able to take one from their ignorant reverie orchestrated by well crafted manipulative rhetoric. Instead, by stimulating forward-thinking, we can work on how to forfeit short term economic growth and embrace long term ecological maintenance. As Kyte (2014) puts it, if climate change continues unchecked it is hard to ensure sustainable development. Therefore, the time to act is now. This is because, while climate change is a long term issue it is still happening today.
References
Goldring, H., & Burton, N. (2018). The Beast Expanded Digital Edition. The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota .
IGI Global. (n.d.). What is Environmental Sustainability . Retrieved from IGI Global: https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/environmental-sustainability/10076
Kyte, R. (2014, January 15). Climate Change Is a Challenge For Sustainable Development . Retrieved from The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/speech/2014/01/15/climate-change-is-challenge-for-sustainable-development
NASA. (n.d.). How climate is changing . Retrieved from NASA: https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
