Fans pick 100 books like Climate Shock

This is a short introduction to the science of climate change, written by a professor of earth science at MIT, whose writings and opinions can be relied upon.  The book explains a great deal about climate change in a concise but engaging manner.  Highly recommended!

Nordhaus was one of the first economists to explain the nature of climate change and why dealing with it is of economic importance.  In this book, he uses his DICE (Dynamic Integrated Climate and Economy) model to help explain --- at a textbook level --- how unrestricted GHG emissions can cause climate change to occur and lead to serious problems in the future. He also utilizes the model to illustrate some of the uncertainties we face when thinking about the climate system and when trying to predict the changes to expect under different policies. The book thereby provides students (and others) with a good introduction to climate change policy.

Almost all economists would agree that the best way to reduce GHG emissions is to impose a carbon tax. Don’t subsidize electric cars, and don’t subsidize wind farms. Just tax carbon emissions.  But why is that the best way to reduce emissions? This book provides an excellent explanation of why a carbon tax is the most efficient way to reduce emissions. And I also recommend this book as an introduction to the economics of climate change.

I was thrilled to read this book, with its moving environmental tales (one for a letter of the alphabet), beautifully illustrated by Wesley Allsbrook.

Here, Kolbert – an author who usually dives into science stories focusing on alarming cases – adopts an even more engaging style, still telling good stories but aiming for a broader readership. It seems to me that works of this kind are vital for the current age, providing accessible and authentic accounts of where humanity stands.

While the twenty-six pieces provide a bleak picture of a planet on the brink of collapse, possibly within the lifetime of a generation, I was captivated by the humanitarian tone and the emphasis on hope. For me, the narrative is gripping. I repeatedly get back to it, wishing I had more stories. 

I found this to be a very informative book, which stated a simple but significant proposition–climate change impacts our future economic viability. While many texts have addressed climate change from a moral as well as a scientific perspective, the economic implications were not fully outlined.

As someone with a business background, more specifically an accounting background, I found this book very interesting, as I could use the arguments in it to justify why business needs to be involved in sustainable development.

The subtitle of this book is rethinking the science, economics, and diplomacy of climate change. And trust me Simon does that for you and more.

Because the world is facing multiple disasters with heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, floods, and massive storms becoming more common and more deadly. But there is an underlying optimism in this book – things are changing and we are reducing carbon emissions, pollution, and destruction of the natural world.  But the message Simon is giving us is that we are not doing it quick enough.

The way our economic and political systems are set up means we are slow to respond – and as Simon eloquently points out with facts and figures we need to do everything 5 times faster.  The question is, will we?

This book resonated with me deeply.

Klein focuses on the most crucial issue we face today, climate change, fueled by a system obsessed with profits and constant growth, which resonated very deeply with me. This book is imperative because it shows how the consumption of resources and materials is what drives powerful states around the world to dominate and make modern colonies of weaker countries in the name of profit and at any cost. 

I really liked how Klein breaks down ways that show us how our current economic system is at the heart of this crisis and that change will have to be made. I loved the insights she gave, and they made me think about how we can truly turn things around and create a sustainable world. I like how she explains clearly why late capitalism cannot be sustainable. This book is must read, especially by those who… show more.

Fifty million years ago, alligators lived north of the Arctic Circle.

We humans evolved in a much cooler world. Today Earth’s climate is changing radically, to our own peril, as we spew long-buried carbon into the sky by burning fossil fuels.

In this sophisticated yet readable book, Peter Dorman lays out the political economy of climate change, explaining why to address this unprecedented threat we must redress the inequalities of wealth and power that plague modern society.

The bad news is that this will be hard work; the good news is that it is possible. Dorman’s book is a tour de force, a sobering call to action graced with rays of hope.

One of Stephenson’s most recent novels, Termination Shock is a present-day story about an eccentric billionaire who takes on climate change. As the former lead energy and transportation economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers who helped craft a lot of the legislation that governs climate change policy today, I’m often annoyed at how often writers are wrong about both the science and the economics of climate change. This novel is one of the more accurate representations of both the urgency and scope of the climate problem that avoids the fearmongering, while still telling a fun adventure story about princesses and queens and surprising true stories about feral hogs and rock-throwing Indian and Chinese martial artists fighting a real war recorded by social media.

When Greta Thunberg first appeared in public as a schoolgirl-on-strike, I admired her talent as a performer of political theater. By now, as a young woman, she has become a phenomenon, and I admire her talents as a writer.

In her new book, she deftly intersperses essays of her own with those of a hundred other environmentalists. She raises the alarm over the cataclysmic shipwreck that is heading our way and also over the incompetence, mendacity, and lethargy of our political leaders.

I fully agree with Greta’s alarm, and I found some of the possible environmental disasters outlined in her book totally scary, especially those described in the charts of tipping points in oceanic currents, polar ice sheets, the Amazon rainforest, and the monsoon rains.