The most recommended global warming books

This book is a collection of essays, letters, and lectures about the intrinsic value, importance, and beauty of science by one of its most talented and passionate communicators. Dawkins’s clear and often witty treatment of complex scientific issues is a breath of fresh air in this time of misinformation and ‘fake news.’ He writes primarily about biology, his own specialty, but ranges widely from ecology to evolution to genetics and even life beyond planet earth. Throughout, his incisive prose conveys the thrill and wonder of scientific discovery.

We have a lot of climate anxiety.

Most of the time I feel optimistic and believe in humanity, believe that we will come together to create a solution, but some days, it can be hard to move past the fear and uncertainty. Climate books can make this worse with their ultimatum-type messaging; of course, we feel doomed.

The Future We Choose is the ideal book to read when you are struggling to see a way forward. Christiana and Tom do a wonderful job of explaining what life could look like in 50 years if we make the right choices now. Rather than the book only being about what is at stake, they paint a clear picture of how much more vibrant, stunning, fulfilling, and joyful our home can be.

This book gave me hope and I lean on the imagery from it in moments I am struggling.

By now, we all know the Earth needs saving. And most of us try to do our part – recycling, composting, using less plastic, etc. But it’s hardly enough...yet still, what more can we as individuals do? That question didn’t stop the young activists in Girl Warriors. These young women have Stepped Up! Over and over again, I found myself awed at the stories that included speaking at a UN Climate Change Conference (Isabella Fallahi) and organizing a Global Cleanup Day that included 27 countries (Lilly Platt). The young women profiled are not afraid to tackle large, seemingly insurmountable problems if it means saving the Earth. I loved how in-depth the profiles went on the various actions being undertaken. If they can do it, why not me? Or you?

Fleischmann's tone is upbeat as he explains how to get above environmental issues and see the bigger political and financial forces at work. He explains different environmental problems, from climate change to the hole in the ozone layer, but also delves into the patterns and principles operating behind the scenes. This book teaches you how to evaluate media, weigh sources, understand an interest group's hidden agenda, and make informed decisions as you engage in the fight to save our planet.

This book dissects the arguments of global-warming opponents through the scientific lens of Jim Hansen, who at the time it was published, directed the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS).

Hansen and Bowen finds the climate deniers’ opinions dangerous for their inaccuracies and ignorance of how the geophysical world works. For interpreting geophysical reality to those who didn’t want to hear it (or stood to lose money if such thinking became part of policy), Hansen became a target to some, and a hero to others.

It’s not a common event to see a renowned scientist carried away from a protest in handcuffs. Hansen got used to it. 

Great Adaptations explores different adaptation strategies explored around the world, analysing which should be supported and which are to be avoided. This book also shows the various approaches between countries and global communities, all of whom face different environmental challenges. This book is written in short chapters, focusing on separate topics, meaning it is a great read to pick up and put down as and when you like. 

This book is also heavily dog-eared. It is full of chin-dropping facts about how we got here and why we need systems change to address climate change. The climate crisis is clearly exposed, but it is ultimately a positive book.

Klein explains how policies and actions to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions also offer an opportunity to reduce inequalities, redefine democracy, and bring back thriving local economies. The "market" can’t fix the climate crisis. We can use this crisis to reweave our relationship with nature and with each other to create a better world.

This book is a must-read for understanding the politics, economics, and undercurrents that have delivered us to the crisis we are now in.

Sometimes climate fiction can feel a little less technologically futuristic than its older cousin science fiction, and that’s often a good thing. But Sterling manages to put together a wild (and entertaining) tale of clones, augmented reality, ubiquitous computing, and other fantastica that also has a lot to say about the politics of environmental collapse. Years after reading it I still think a lot about the rival factions this novel invents, like the everything-is-entertainment Dispensation and the utopian hive mind Acquis. Plus, this book features one of my all-time favorite lines from speculative fiction: “I won’t hide from the bandits in a nuclear robot suit! That useless strategy is for cowards!” A great, weird romp. 

This book provides a perfect balance between presenting realism and providing hope for the future. It is a mixture of personal accounts from individuals and communities who have had to face the harsh realities of climate change, as well as accounts from those who have found ways to alter their livelihoods in order to adapt. 

I read a lot of apocalyptic science fiction, but this is a scarily well-written apocalyptic fact. Jeff writes about a terrifyingly relevant topic today: the heating of the planet.

This is something most of us do not understand at a visceral level. Jeff does a brilliant job using anecdotes, statistics, and just plain great storytelling to describe what happens to humanity in a world where temperatures are inexorably climbing. It is like a punch in the gut and puts the story of a “frog in a slowly boiling pot” into a whole new context.

I have personally changed a lot of my habits after reading this book and have tried to even implement as many heat mitigation strategies in my school as I can.