Books on the Past, Present, and Future of Climate Change

Before you examine the present and future of our climate, you have to understand its history. In Jungle, archaeologist Patrick Roberts looks at the history of tropical forests and how they have ultimately shaped nearly everything about life on earth as we know it today. By understanding how tropical forests created a habitable climate and fostered evolution, we can learn how to sustain the forests and treat them more equitably today.

Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid is a new book by natural historian Thor Hanson that explores the nature of climate change and how it is driving evolution. This is the strange, unpredictable, and remarkable story of how life on Earth is responding to climate change. Species have adapted new methods of surviving in harsh weather conditions. Some species have died out completely, while others are hardly recognizable as they continue to alter and adapt.

While human climate change has only become a major problem in the past two hundred years, climate instability isn't new. In Climate Chaos, Brian Fagan and Nadia Durrani look at the 30,000-year history between climate change and civilization. As we face challenges due to climate change now—such as hurricanes, megafires, and food shortages—this book looks at our history so we can look at how we can survive in the future.

Miami is a city at the front lines of climate change. Residents are already seeing the effects of rising sea levels, and the city is likely to be entirely underwater by the end of this century. In Disposable City, Miami resident Mario Alejandro Ariza looks at the very real and evident effects of climate change in his city and how this reflects what's facing the rest of the country.

The New Climate War is a book from renowned climate scientist Michael E. Mann that looks at how fossil fuel companies have spent decades deflecting blame for climate change and putting the onus on individual behavior. But Mann argues it's not too late to changes things, and in this book, he outlines his plans, including a new approach to carbon pricing and a revision to the currently proposed version of the Green New Deal. While corporations have tried to blame you for climate change, The New Climate War seeks to empower you.

Years ago, ecologist Lauren E. Oakes traveled to Alaska's old-growth forests in search of a dying tree: the yellow-cedar. In Search of the Canary Tree is her award-winning story. Climate change has ravished these forests, specifically the yellow-cedar trees, but amidst the destruction, Oakes was able to find hope. Forgotten trees thrived, thanks in part to a community of people who want to repair their relationship with the land. If you've been reading a lot about the negative effects humanity has had on the climate, then this book will feel like a hopeful and heartwarming change of pace.

Everything you think about climate change is wrong. Politicians and activists are quick to tell us that climate change is destroying the world, and that drastic changes must be made if we want to survive. Bestselling author Bjorn Lomborg argues in his book False Alarm that, while climate change is very real, it's not nearly as bad as the media and politicians would have us believe it is.

If you want to learn more about how we can cut back on greenhouse gas emissions and prevent climate chaos, then A Bright Future by Joshua S. Goldsteina and Staffan A. Qvist is for you. In this book, the authors argue that the solution to climate change is more obvious than we think. In fact, some other countries outside of the U.S. have already implemented these solutions, and by following their methods, we could make a real difference. If only we'd have the courage to do so.