Many people are talking about climate change lately, but making sense of it all can be difficult. Maybe you’re wondering how it causes extreme weather events, or you’re curious about the science behind climate change solutions. Possibly you want to become an environmental activist but don’t know where to start. No matter what you are looking for, this list of fiction and non-fiction books will give you a better understanding of climate change, its effects on us and the environment, and how we can fight it.
Non-Fiction
Planet Under Siege: Climate Change by Don Nardo
“When many people hear the term climate change, they envision a few random changes in weather patterns that will not affect the planet and humanity until the end of the current century, or even later. This view is dead wrong. Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities. Global climate change has already resulted in a wide range of impacts across every region of the country and many sectors of the economy that are expected to grow in the coming decades”– Provided by publisher.
No Planet B: A Teen Vogue Guide To Climate Justice
An urgent call for climate justice from “Teen Vogue”, one of this generation’s leading voices, using an intersectional lens – with critical feminist, indigenous, antiracist and internationalist perspectives. As the political classes watch our world burn, a new movement of young people is rising to meet the challenge of climate catastrophe. This book is a guide, a toolkit, a warning and a cause for hope.
It’s Getting Hot In Here: The Past, Present, And Future Of Climate Change by Bridget Heos
“This hard-hitting look at climate change tackles the past, present, and future of global warming, examining the effects it’s having across the world, the politics behind denial, and the ways in which we can all work to lessen the harsh effects of our warming world. Perfect for young environmentalists looking to learn about the ways in which we can take action against global warming”– Provided by publisher.
Geoengineering Earth’s Climate: Resetting The Thermostat by Jennifer Swanson
Most scientists agree that Earth is warming rapidly. Glaciers are melting and rising seawaters are submerging islands and coastal cities. In the coming decades, millions will likely have to escape extreme weather caused by climate change. Some scientists say we need to act faster and with radical new technologies—now—to save our planet. They propose geoengineering, or “engineering Earth,” to reset our global thermostat. Ideas include thickening clouds with chemicals to reduce the amount of sunlight and pulling carbon dioxide from the air with machines. However, critics say that geoengineering could backfire and create even worse weather. Is geoengineering too risky? Or is it our best hope of survival?
Forest Talk: How Trees Communicate by Melissa Koch
Trees are essential. They provide water, shelter, and food for millions of plant and animal species, including humans. They deliver proven health benefits, and they capture and store carbon, which combats climate change. Yet trees are in trouble. Forests are struggling to adapt to climate change, and deforestation is a major threat. Recently, researchers and citizen scientists made the surprising revelation that trees communicate with each other through an underground system of soil fungi and other methods. Complex social networks help trees survive and thrive by transferring resources to each other, sending defense signals, communicating with their kin, and more. Meet the tree scientists and learn more of their fascinating discoveries.
Extreme Weather and Climate Change: What’s the Connection? by Stuart A. Kallen
September 2020 stood out for a number of reasons. The month was the hottest September on record, and the year was on track to be the hottest since records were first kept in 1880. The sweltering temperatures were blamed for extreme weather in the United States, Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. Extreme heat was not the only news in September. At the other end of the weather spectrum temperatures in the Northern Plains plunged 55°F (30°C) in one day, bringing a rapid end to the growing season a month sooner than average. Scientists say the upsurge in volatile weather is caused by a rapidly heating climate that is a direct result of fossil fuel consumption.
Climate and Environmental Injustice by Gail Terp
Describes the history of climate and environmental injustice, including the history of climate and environmental injustice, climate issues today, key moments fighting climate injustice, and possible ways to end climate and environmental injustice.
A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis by Vanessa Nakate
A founder of the Rise Up Climate Movement discusses ways we can all build a livable future, with a focus on the role of African voices, while revealing the rampant inequalities within the climate-justice movement.
No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg
In August 2018 Thunberg decided not to go to school one day in order to protest the climate crisis. Her actions sparked a global movement, inspiring millions of students to go on strike for our planet. This collection of her speeches provides a rallying cry for why we must all wake up and fight to protect the living planet, no matter how powerless we feel. Our future depends upon it.
Fiction
Buffy The Last Vampire Slayer by Casey Gilly
On an alternate earth ravaged by climate change, vampires daywalk unimpeded under a polluted sky. But even amidst the dystopian harmony between the vampire regime and their human cattle, a hardened, 50-year-old Buffy Summers stumbles across hope in the form of a little girl that believes she is the last Slayer.
Unnatural Disasters by Jeff Hirsch
Lucy Weaver has her future all figured out. Make an appearance at prom, ditch graduation, and then head out on an epic road trip with her boyfriend, Luke. But when everyone’s phones start to ring halfway through the dance, Lucy knows something terrible has happened–something big. Decades of climate change have left the world teetering on the brink–entire cities drowned, violent extremism on the rise, millions of refugees with nowhere to turn. Is this the night it finally slips over the edge?
The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson
In a world ravaged by global warming, teenage Owen Parker discovers that he may be the descendant of a highly advanced, ancient race, with whose knowledge he may be able to save the earth from self-destruction.
Exodus by Julie Bertagna
In the year 2100, as the island of Wing is about to be covered by water, fifteen-year-old Mara discovers the existence of New World sky cities that are safe from the storms and rising waters, and convinces her people to travel to one of these cities in order to save themselves.
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
In a future world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America’s indigenous population – and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow – and dreams – means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a 15-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones, and take refuge from the “recruiters” who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing ‘factories.’
Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block
After a devastating earthquake destroys the West Coast, causing seventeen-year-old Penelope to lose her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother, she navigates a dark world, holding hope and love in her hands and refusing to be defeated.
The Ones We’re Meant To Find by Joan He
In a near future when life is harsh outside of Earth’s last unpolluted place, Cee tries to leave an abandoned island while her sister, STEM prodigy Kasey, seeks escape from the science and home she once trusted.
Seven Second Delay by Tom Easton
In a future where few places are still habitable and people share their entire lives on the Web, Mila illegally enters the Isles, is captured and has a telephone implanted in her brain, and escapes–but government agents are after her and her greatest asset is a seven second delay from the time she acts until they receive the signal.
The Last Princess: a Novel by Galaxy Craze
Tired of the royal family’s relative comfort while they suffer in the wake of worldwide catastrophes in 2090, rebels kill the British king and abduct two of his children, but Princess Eliza escapes, disguises herself, and joins the rebels to seek revenge and the safe return of her siblings.
Frozen by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston
More than a century after a catastrophic disaster wiped out most of humanity and covered much of the earth with ice, sixteen-year-old Nat yields to the voice in her head urging her to embark on a dangerous journey across a poisoned sea to the mythical land, the Blue.
