Climate Change: Five Informative Books for the Layperson
- Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush
- In Search of the Canary Tree by Lauren E Oakes
- Brave New Arctic: The Untold Story of the Melting North by Mark C Serreze
- A Global Warming Primer: Answering Your Questions About The Science, The Consequences, and The Solutions by Jeffrey Bennett
- The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World by Charles C. Mann
One of the best ways to learn about climate change for many is through reading a highly informative book about the subject. What are some of the best books on this particular subject area for the layperson today? Here are five choices we emphatically recommend.
Related resource: TOP 10 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MASTER’S DEGREES ONLINE
1. Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush
One of the often unseen and unmentioned components to climate change is that of sea-level rise. In this great book, by Elizabeth Rush, the many implications of climate change are made clear – especially that of the startling sea level rises we are already seeing and are projected to see should conditions remain unchanged. More specifically, readers will take a telling tour of American shorelines, people, places, and cultures affected.
2. In Search of the Canary Tree by Lauren E Oakes
For a moving story that exposes the whole of the matter of climate change, In Search of the Canary Tree by Lauren E Oakes is one we highly recommend. This is the story of one ecologist’s journey to understand the dying-off of one tree species in Alaska and how that journey led to a whole other realm of understanding of the bigger picture of what we all face and share responsibility in. Nature’s ability to overcome, humankind’s potential to band together in good and/or bad, and the degree to which we are all intertwined are all laid bare for the reader in this award-winning selection.
3. Brave New Arctic: The Untold Story of the Melting North by Mark C Serreze
This must-read by author Mark C Serreze tells the tale of three decades of Arctic geographical studies and how curiosity turned to horror with time and further observation and discovery. Serreze himself is a renowned Arctic geographer, climatologist, professor, and lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center who has worked in the field with countless other experts for years. This is a collection of his priceless offerings from a long career at ground zero of polar ice melt.
4. A Global Warming Primer: Answering Your Questions About The Science, The Consequences, and The Solutions by Jeffrey Bennett
For anyone looking for more of a simplified and direct question-and-answer format, this great choice by author Jeffrey Bennett really cuts to the chase. Largely in q&a format and with plenty of great visuals such as charts and graphs, Bennett exposes the truth behind climate change and the many factors related to it. The reader is not entirely kept from optimism, though, as clear solutions and theorized remediation models are also laid out for all to take in and consider.
5. The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World by Charles C Mann
Can the world’s resources and space support the estimated human population of 10 billion soon to grace its surface? That’s the heart of the question posed by author Charles C Mann in this telling book on climate change. In this one, the author compares varying theories as to how climate change has happened and what to do about it exactly. Of particular note are the theories provided by famed Nobel Prize winner and scientist Norman Borlaug, who, according to the Nobel Prize Organization, was a key founder of today’s “green revolution”.
Climate change is real, and its effects are becoming more and more apparent. What we do from here will dictate history. For the layperson hoping to gain a firm grasp of this important subject, these five books are among the best at teaching us all.