List
Climate Emergency
In 2013, the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a globally peer reviewed report that concluded, "climate change is real and human activities, largely the release of polluting gases from burning fossil fuel (coal, oil, gas), is the main cause." Here are some books to help make sense of the impact of climate change.
-
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future
2021 by Kolbert, ElizabethGet this itemFrom her coverage in The New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert has become one of our most important writers on the environment. Now she investigates the immense challenges humanity faces as we scramble to reverse, in a matter of decades, the effects we've had on the atmosphere, the oceans, the world's forests and rivers--on the very topography of the globe. Suggested by Chris.
-
Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore
2018 by Rush, Elizabeth A.Get this itemWeaving firsthand accounts from the people and places imperiled by climate change in the United States today, this book takes readers to the places hardest hit by the rising seas, which are transforming the U.S. coastline in irrevocable ways. This is a highly readable, scientifically rigorous overview of the imminent threat of climate change. Suggested by Chris.
-
The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration
2023 by Bittle, JakeGet this itemI was fascinated by this deep dive into the effects of climate change. It tells the story of communities that have been displaced or forever changed by floods, droughts, fires, and other natural disasters. This is well-researched and moving narrative nonfiction. Suggested by Brenna.
-
Tiger Work: Stories, Essays and Poems about Climate Change
2023 by Okri, BenGet this itemThis compact collection offers an urgent call for collective action against the present and future catastrophic effects of climate change. Like many of us, Ben Okri is frustrated by our inability to confront the challenges before us and has written this book (to paraphrase Kafka) to break the frozen sea inside us. Suggested by Chris.
-
Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World
2023 by Vaillant, JohnGet this itemFinalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction, this book offers a suspenseful and gritty account of the May 2016 fire in the city of Fort McMurray in Alberta, CA, which burned the city to the ground, forcing 88,000 people to flee their homes. Kirkus Reviews calls it, "a timely, well-written work of climate change reportage." Suggested by Rummanah.
-
The End of Eden: Wild Nature in the Age of Climate Breakdown
2023 by Welz, AdamGet this itemJournalist Adam Welz breaks down in great detail the many ways that the natural world has been affected by climate change. The tone is calm but the message is serious, and this is a very necessary read. Suggested by Paul.
-
Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World
2022 by Vince, GaiaGet this itemJournalist Gaia Vince argues that we are ignoring how climate change is one of the main reasons for increase global migration and how much it will reconfigure human geography. Publishers Weekly calls this book, "assertive and provocative." Suggested by Rummanah.
-
Ever Green: Saving Big Forests to Save the Planet
2022 by Reid, John W.Get this itemIf you aren't sure how or why trees are important to our world, let John Reid and Thomas Lovejoy remind you. This high readable and eloquently written book is both a wealth of information and a call to save the megaforests on our planet. Suggested by Paul.
-
The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here
2020 by Jahren, HopeGet this itemThis concise yet informative exploration of climate change highlights the links between consumer culture and the climate crisis. It combines politics, science, and nature to explain how the climate crisis developed, in addition to offering solutions for combatting our environmental impact. There is also an adapted version for young adults by the same title (2021). Suggested by Elise
-
The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet
2023 by Goodell, JeffGet this itemI can’t remember the last time I was as simultaneously fascinated and horrified as I was while reading this book about a world where “fire season” is year-round, “tropical” diseases are on the move, and many places where lots of people live are becoming inhospitable to human life. Goodell isn’t explaining what will happen, he’s telling us what is happening, even as “climate apartheid” allows those of us with access to luxuries-turned-necessities like air conditioning to ignore the worst of it...for now. Suggested by Andrew
-
The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial
2023 by Lipsky, DavidGet this item"The difference between [Big Tobacco] on health and Exxon on climate, I believe, is this: their records have not yet been thrown open by court order." Lipsky is biting (and often very funny) in his analysis of decades of policy failures on climate change. One key takeaway--be very suspicious of anyone who tries to frame the problem as one of individual behavior rather than the changes powerful industries or institutions need to make. Suggested by Andrew
Bookmatch
Bookmatch allows Skokie Library cardholders to receive a custom list of titles prepared for you by the library's expert staff.
Try Bookmatch