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What you need to know about climate change
How climate change is affecting our world and the necessary steps to stop it.
Published on June 16, 2023
The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions
The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions
Peter BrannenEveryone knows about the tragic end of the dinosaurs, but what happened in the other four mass extinctions? Brannen walks through Earth’s history of death and destruction, pointing out parallels between carbon dioxide releases then and now. It’s a warning for what apocalyptic ends could befall us, and a beacon of hope that we can still stop the destruction of life as we know it.
This Radical Land: A Natural History of American Dissent
Daegan MillerAmerica’s long history of environmental damage for the sake of progress is inextricably linked to its oppression of indigenous peoples. However, if you know where to look, you can find subtle messages of resistance and environmental activism woven throughout the 19th century.
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
Elizabeth KolbertAn incredibly accessible and informative look at the current mass extinction of species caused by human innovation. Kolbert leaps through thousands of years of history and travels the world in this Pulitzer Prize winner.
The Climate Question
181 podcast episodes
The Climate Question
181 podcast episodes“What on earth can we do about climate change?” is the simple, yet pressing, question asked by this BBC podcast. Each episode dives into a very particular question — some everyday wonderings, like “Can recycling help fight climate change?”, and others seemingly inspired by science fiction, like “Can we engineer rain to help solve climate change?” The answers are informative and somewhat surprising.
The Atlas of Disappearing Places: Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis
Christina ConklinThis atlas provides a bleak glimpse into the reality of climate change and its effects on the planet — and serves as an urgent wake-up call for what will continue to happen unless we take drastic action immediately. Journey to 20 different places that are facing serious repercussions of climate change, from melting glaciers in Antarctica to rising sea levels in the Cook Islands.
The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise, Profit, and Peril at the Beach
Sarah StodolaClimate change is not a far-off notion: It’s already affecting the places we treasure. From Miami to Tulum and beyond, Stodola explores how global warming is contributing to disappearing coastlines, with human choices only compounding the emergency.
Outrage + Optimism
257 podcast episodes
Outrage + Optimism
257 podcast episodesAs the name suggests, this podcast toes the perfect line between outrage and optimism to provide hope for positive change. Hosted by Christiana Figueres, one of the key negotiators for the 2015 Paris Agreement, this show features experts who reassure us that it’s not too late to prevent a climate apocalypse.
Silent Spring
Rachel CarsonOriginally published as a series in The New Yorker in the 1960s, this classic reveals how harmful pesticides and other chemicals are to land, air, and people. Carson’s eye-opening reporting ultimately launched the modern environmental movement, informing voters and leading to many eco-friendly federal regulations.
On Time and Water
Andri Snær MagnasonMagnason’s meditative nonfiction book is unlike the typical scientific text on climate change. Instead, his work is filled with emotion and heartbreak — a fitting response when we consider the impact of global warming. Most of the reflections in this book are centered on water, including the melting glaciers in Magnason’s native Iceland.
Losing Earth: A Recent History
Nathaniel RichRich’s grim but enlightening book explores the decisions that led to the current climate change crisis — and the heartbreaking realization that everything could have been different if not for the fossil fuel industry’s fierce (and successful) efforts to dissuade environmentally friendly legislation in the 1980s. This is a true account of the decade that could have stopped climate change, but failed.
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right
Arlie Russell HochschildIn an attempt to better understand the far right in the years leading up to Donald Trump’s election, Hochschild spent five years with Tea Party supporters in Louisiana. While there, she learned why Louisianans are so loyal to the oil companies that employ them, but also destroy their health and the entire ecosystem. This book topped many best-of lists and was a finalist for the National Book Award with good reason.
Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming
Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming
Naomi OreskesHow did the line between fact and fiction become so hazy? Oreskes and Conway draw parallels between the tobacco industry’s initial response to secondhand smoke and how modern society views science, revealing how climate justice advocates struggle to educate the public on global warming when faced with intentional misinformation from scientists who have financial interests in corporate well-being.
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav GhoshGhosh delivers a high-level, academic look at the forces that prevent us from properly grappling with climate change. This short book explains why so few works of fiction address climate change, why people started abandoning conventional wisdom to not live on a coastline, and how imperialism got us into this mess.
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate
Naomi KleinOur climate crisis has reached a point where small changes are no longer enough. Instead, we require radical transformation — of our industries, habits, and economic systems. Klein (“On Fire,” “The Shock Doctrine”) argues that America’s capitalistic free market cannot coincide with the green initiatives imperative to Earth’s survival as she reports from locations around the world.
Costing the Earth
300 podcast episodes
Costing the Earth
300 podcast episodesThe “Costing the Earth” podcast is a fascinating, ground-level look at the many ways human activity impacts our environment. Informative and accessible (most episodes are under 30 minutes), the BBC gets listeners up to speed on everything from how the COVID-19 lockdown changed the environment to expert advice on how to cut global emissions in half.
Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change
George MarshallThe more scientific evidence supporting climate change presented, the more people seem to resist the facts. Marshall interviews climate change deniers and top psychologists to explain the phenomenon and give you the tools to persuade the skeptics in your life.
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future
Elizabeth KolbertIn “The Sixth Extinction,” Kolbert opens our eyes to human-caused environmental devastation. Now, she tackles the urgent issue of finding ways to reverse the damage already done. “Under a White Sky” is a thorough investigation of possible solutions born of the very human ingenuity that got us into trouble in the first place.
We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast
Jonathan Safran FoerThe idea of taking action to stop climate change sounds daunting, but a few lifestyle shifts can make a huge difference. In this book, Foer urges readers to consider veganism. The consequences of farming animals for consumption is a major environmental hazard, and something we can change — one meal at a time.
Carbon Capture
Howard J. HerzogIn many ways, fossil fuels have driven the development of complex societies. However, burning these precious resources also contributes to climate change and the destruction of our planet. A promising but overlooked climate change mitigation strategy is carbon capture and storage, currently the only technique that addresses fossil fuels directly. Herzog provides a comprehensive overview of this strategy, explains its various processes, and highlights the potential applications.
Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change
Elizabeth KolbertThis examination of the ways global warming has already made its imprint from environmental journalist Kolbert strikes an ideal tone, neither glossing over complicated methods of measuring global change nor losing the scientific dilettante along the way.
Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All
Michael ShellenbergerIn all subjects, it’s important to hear a variety of perspectives. Shellenberger, an award-winning environmentalist, is sounding the alarm over, well, climate alarmism. While he admits that climate change is a problem, he shows that most data points to improvements in recent years: Deaths from climate disasters have been declining for decades, and carbon emissions are also on the decline. Shellenberger is also a big proponent of nuclear energy as a way to a greener planet.
Citizens' Climate Lobby
100 podcast episodes
Citizens' Climate Lobby
100 podcast episodesTune in to this podcast by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a grassroots organization dedicated to eco-conscious political reform. Episodes cover everything from Biden’s latest policies to how to communicate with climate change-deniers.
Our Final Warning: Six Degrees of Climate Emergency
Mark LynasWhat happens if we refuse to reform? Lynas addresses the impending fallout of unchecked climate change, from natural disasters to famine. “Our Final Warning” is just that. It’s a terrifying but essential read that offers plenty of motivation to make big changes.
Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth
Adam FrankOur climate troubles may not be all that unique after all. Frank, an astrophysicist, believes it’s likely that many alien civilizations have existed and might have steered their own planets’ environments into ruin. He also explores what that means for our fate on an Earth devastated by climate change.
The Future Earth: A Radical Vision for What's Possible in the Age of Warming
Eric Holthaus“The Future Earth” sits at the crossroads of activism and futurism to paint a vivid picture of possible climate outcomes depending on the actions we take in the next several decades. Palpable emotion, sound science, and radical solutions run throughout Holthaus’ ultimately hopeful projections.
The World Without Us
Alan WeismanHere’s an interesting thought experiment — what if humans suddenly disappeared from the planet? How long would it take for natural growth to take over our concrete jungles? Weisman takes an unconventional approach to discussing environmental issues and overdevelopment by taking humans out of the picture entirely.