Mark Lynas’ 2008 book Six Degrees soon became a must-read for anyone concerned about the speed and severity of global heating. In its 2020 incarnation, updated to reflect the most recent scientific research and projections, Lynas’ analysis of how the world will change with each degree of warming pulls no punches about what’s at stake. But in leaving space for optimism and hope, the evidence he sets out becomes a powerful call to action as well as a timely and terrifying warning.
Degrowth 101 for young adults, The Story of More takes readers through the science explains how key inventions, like electric power and large-scale farming, have helped and harmed this world. Readers learn about these processes that release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and the current and projected consequences of greenhouse gasses -and discover what action we can all take to avoid climate devastation.
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The year is 2100 and fifteen-year-old Mara’s island is in danger. As the sea levels rise, her home could soon be underwater. It’s up to Mara to lead her community to safety – and to figure out a way to stop the rest of the planet’s land from slipping beneath the waves.
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An exciting, fast-paced thriller with an ecological message as two teens fight to save the planet, this cli-fi modern classic explores the themes of labour, pollution, technology, and relationships. There’s a romantic heart beating at the centre of this award-winning novel – and an environmentalist core that will stir the imagination.
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This simple guide introduces kids to the history, dangers, and challenges of global warming, and leads them to explore possible solutions. Bolstered by classic Ladybird illustrations, the book provides clear and accessible information on the causes and effects of climate change. It also highlights the youth climate change movements and steps we can all take to help slow the progression of climate change.
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The Arctic treeline is the frontline of climate change, where the trees have been creeping towards the pole for fifty years. These vast swathes of forests, which encircle the north of the globe in an almost unbroken green ring, comprise the world’s second largest biome.
Scientists are only just beginning to understand the astonishing significance of these northern forests for all life on Earth. Six tree species – Scots pine, birch, larch, spruce, poplar and rowan – form the central protagonists of Ben Rawlence’s story. In Scotland, northern Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland, he discovers what these trees and the people who live and work alongside them have to tell us about the past, present and future of our planet.
At the treeline, Rawlence witnesses the accelerating impact of climate change and the devastating legacies of colonialism and capitalism. But he also finds reasons for hope. Humans are creatures of the forest; we have always evolved with trees. The Treeline asks us where our co-evolution might take us next. Deeply researched and beautifully written, The Treeline is a blend of nature, travel and science writing, underpinned by an urgent environmental message.
It’s tomorrow and the Arctic summer sea ice has completely melted. The long-sought sea route between Asia and Europe is finally open – and while nations strategise for control, private corporate powers are already taking it. The new Arctic has no protection – and business has no scruples.
This is the story of Sean Cawson, an ambitious and wounded man, who reunites with his oldest friend, conservationist Tom Harding, to fuse their goals. One wants to own the Arctic, the other, to save it. Bonded in the past through their love of this unique place, and their fascination with polar heroes, they are going to embody a new way to profit from doing good. When Tom is killed in the accident that Sean survives, although their venture goes on to thrive, Sean’s inner world starts to crumble like the glacier that killed his friend. Three years later when Tom’s body is found and a date for the inquest is set, he knows this is not closure. A story of friendship and betrayal, greed and love, The Ice weaves archival material from centuries past, with the latest research on developments in the Arctic Ocean.
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‘Beard sank into a gloom of inattention, not because the planet was in peril – that moronic word again – but because someone was telling him it was with such enthusiasm.’
Michael Beard is a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose best work is behind him. He now spends his days speaking for enormous fees and half-heartedly heading a government-backed initiative tackling global warming. A compulsive womaniser, Beard finds his fifth marriage floundering. But this time, she’s having the affair.
When Beard’s professional and personal worlds collide in a freak accident, an opportunity arises for Beard to simultaneously save his marriage and the world from environmental disaster.
‘Savagely funny… Enormously entertaining.’ Sunday Times
‘A stunningly accomplished work, possibly his best yet.’ Financial Times
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