Book: Jane Fonda Tells Us How to Join Young People as Climate Activists

Activist Sophia Kianni (right) with actress Jane Fonda at 2019 Black Friday climate strike before the United States Capitol building. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Now that her ‘Fire Drill Fridays’ protests on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building in support of climate change are over, Jane Fonda has written a new book about her emergence as an eco-warrior. “What Can I Do?: My Path from Climate Despair to Action” is available on September 8.

Everybody’s interviewing Jane, and we share comments that got our attention. TIME’s Justin Worland asked Fonda about working with today’s activists. “Did you see parts of your activist self in them?”

Fonda: “Oh my God. They’re so much better than I was! I’m blown away. They are really smart. They’re also very depressed—these young people are carrying grief.”

Jane is pictured above with Sophia Kianni, 18, an American climate activist and writer specializing in media and strategy. She is the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals, an international youth-led nonprofit that works to translate information about climate change into over 100 languages.

Greenpeace explains Jane is launching a project to join 10 virtual American book clubs devoted to the climate crisis. Book clubs are asked to post their own short videos explaining why she should join their book club.

Throughout the book Fonda weaves her personal journey as an activist together with climate talks with leading climate scientist on the state of the crisis. The book also discusses specific issues, such as water, migration, and human rights, to emphasize what is at stake. 

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd — she of a lifetime loathing Hillary fame — interviews Fonda for Jane Fonda, Intergalactic Eco-Warrior in a Red Coat. Only Maureen Dowd would not edit four “I”s — as in me, me, me — in the first three short paragraphs.

Fonda got two direct mentions, one “we” and Dowd snuck in a “me”. Score 5 Dowd; 2 Fonda; 1 draw. Dowd moves far beyond climate action, getting Jane to offer up juicy revelations about Marlon Brando and Marvin Gaye. Better than a hemp shake.