Books
Every year, more excellent books are written and published about the climate crisis—its causes, consequences, solutions, inspiration, and more. I've listed many of the books that I've learned from as well as others recommended by people I respect, but this is an ever-growing list. I've attempted to organize the titles but many defy easy categorization. Where possible, please buy these and other books from independent bookstores or check them out from your local library.
Environmental science & what’s at stake
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1962
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert, New York: Henry Holt, 2014
The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World by Jeff Goodell, New York: Little, Brown, 2017
This is Climate Change: A Visual Guide to the Facts by David Nelles and Christian Serrer, New York: The Experiment, 2021
The Atlas of Disappearing Places: Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis by Christina Conklin, New York : The New Press, 2021
There Is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years by Mike Berness-Lee, Cambridge; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2019
Policy and politics of climate change
On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2019
Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming by Naomi Oreskes and Eric M. Conway, New York: Bloomsbury, 2010
Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States by Leah Cardamore Stokes, New York: Oxford University Press, 2020
A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Dealby Kate Aronoff, London ; New York : Verso, 2019
Hell and High Water: Global Warming—the Solution and the Politics—and What We Should Do by Joseph Romm, New York, NY : William Morrow, 2007
Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low Carbon Energy by Hal Harvey, Robbie Orvis, and Jeffery Kissman, Washington, DC : Island Press, 2018
The Carbon Farming Solution: A Global Toolkit of Perennial Crops and Regenerative Agriculture Practices for Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security by Eric Toensmeier, White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2016
The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet by Michael Mann, New York, NY: PublicAffairs, Hatchette Book Group, 2021
We’re All Climate Hypocrites Now: How Embracing Our Limitations Can Unlock the Power of a Movement by Sami Grover, Gabriola, BC : New Society Publishers, 2021
Environmental justice and racism
The Hidden Woundby Wendell Berry, Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2010
The Wrong Complexion for Protection: How the Government Response to Disaster Endangers African American Communities by Robert Bullard and Beverly Wright, New York: New York University Press, 2012.
Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman, White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2018.
We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy edited by Natalie Baszile, New York, NY : Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2021
Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future by Mary Robinson, New York: Bloomsbury, 2018
The World We Need: Stories and Lessons From America’s Unsung Environmental Movement edited by Audrea Lim, New York : The New Press, 2021
Youth activism
How to Change Everything: The Young Human’s Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other by Naomi Klein, New York: Atheneum, 2021
Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use It by Jamie Magolin (foreword by Greta Thunberg), New York: Hachette Go, 2020
Solutions
The Drawdown Review: Climate Solutions for a New Decade Edited by Katharine Wilkinson. San Francisco: Project Drawdown, 2020
The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food by Janisse Ray, White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2012
Water in Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World by Judith D. Schwartz, White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2019
Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer by Bren Smith, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2019
Windfall: Unlocking a Fossil-free Future by Ketan Joshi, New South Wales: NewSouth, 2020
Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis by Al Gore, New York : Melcher Media ; Emmaus, PA : Rodale, 2009
Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low Carbon Energy by Hal Harvey, Robbie Orvis, and Jeffery Kissman, Washington, DC : Island Press, 2018
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert, New York: Crown, 2021
The Future Earth: A Radical Vision of What’s Possible in the Age of Warming by Eric Holthaus, HarperOne, 2020
There Is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years by Mike Berness-Lee, Cambridge; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2019
The Five-Ton Life: Carbon, America, and the Culture That May Save Us by Susan Subak, University of Nebraska Press, 2018
Conscientious lifestyles
The Climate Diet: 50 Simple Ways to Trim your Carbon Footprint by Paul Greenberg, New York : Penguin Books, 2021
Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle: Why Individual Climate Action Matters More Than Ever by Lloyd Allen, Gabriola, British Columbia : New Society Publishers, 2021
Taking on Water: How One Water Expert Challenged Her Inner Hypocrite, Reduced Her Water Footprint (without Sacrificing A Toasty Shower), and Found Nirvana by Wendy J. Pabich, Seattle, WA : Sasquatch Books, 2012
One: Pot, Pan, Planet: A Greener Way to Cook for You and your Family by Anna Jones, New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2022
Every Day is Earth Day: Simple Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by Harriet Dyer, Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2021
Under the Sky We Make: How to Be Human in a Warming World by Kimberly Nicholas, Penguin Group 2021
Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution by Peter Kalman, city: New Society Publishers, 2017
We’re All Climate Hypocrites Now: How Embracing Our Limitations Can Unlock the Power of a Movement by Sami Grover, Gabriola, BC : New Society Publishers, 2021
Agriculture/food systems
Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman, White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2018.
One: Pot, Pan, Planet: A Greener Way to Cook for You and your Family by Anna Jones, New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2022
The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food by Janisse Ray, White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2012
Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer by Bren Smith, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2019
Planet Palm: How Palm Oil Ended up in Everything-and Endangered the World by Jocelyn Zuckerman, New York : The New Press, 2021
We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy edited by Natalie Baszile, New York, NY : Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2021
The Carbon Farming Solution: A Global Toolkit of Perennial Crops and Regenerative Agriculture Practices for Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security by Eric Toensmeier, White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2016
Buildings
Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine Benyus, New York: Harper Collins, 2009
Creating Biophilic Buildings by Amanda Sturgeon, Seattle: International Living Future Institute, 2017
Water
Taking on Water: How One Water Expert Challenged Her Inner Hypocrite, Reduced Her Water Footprint (without Sacrificing A Toasty Shower), and Found Nirvana by Wendy J. Pabich, Seattle, WA : Sasquatch Books, 2012
The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World by Jeff Goodell, New York: Little, Brown, 2017
Water in Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World by Judith D. Schwartz, White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2019
The Atlas of Disappearing Places: Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis by Christina Conklin, New York : The New Press, 2021
Inspiration and spiritual response
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worldsby adrienne maree brown, Chico, CA: AK Press, 2017
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 2013
Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In Without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, Novato, CA: New World Library, 2012
Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change by Sherri Mitchell, Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2018
No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg, New York: Penguin Books, 2019
Erosion: Essays of Undoing by Terry Tempest Williams, New York: Sarah Crichton Books, 2019
What We’re Fighting for Now Is Each Other: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Climate Justice by Wen Stephenson, Boston: Beacon Press, 2016
The Future Earth: A Radical Vision of What’s Possible in the Age of Warming by Eric Holthaus, HarperOne, 2020
All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K Wilkinson, New York : One World, 2021
The World We Need: Stories and Lessons From America’s Unsung Environmental Movement edited by Audrea Lim, New York : The New Press, 2021
Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh, San Francisco : HarperOne, 2021
Communication resources
Good Energy: A Playbook for Screenwriting in the Age of Climate Change edited by Anna Jane Joyner, Carmiel Banasky, Scott Shigeoka, and Rae Binstock, online: Good Energy, 2022