Our climate future is not yet written.
WHAT IF WE ACT AS IF WE LOVE THE FUTURE?
Sometimes the bravest thing we can do while facing an existential crisis is imagine life on the other side. This provocative and joyous book maps an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures.
With clear-eyed essays, vibrant interviews, data, poetry, and art, Ayana guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice.
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Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and teacher working to help create the best possible climate future. She co-founded and leads Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for the future of coastal cities, and is the Roux Distinguished Scholar at Bowdoin College.
Ayana co-edited the bestselling climate anthology All We Can Save, co-created and co-hosted the Spotify/Gimlet podcast How to Save a Planet, and co-authored the Blue New Deal, a roadmap for including the ocean in climate policy. She earned a BA in environmental science and public policy from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in marine biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She serves on the board of directors for Patagonia and GreenWave and on the advisory board of Environmental Voter Project. Above all: Ayana is in love with climate solutions.
Getting it right is all about collective wisdom.
This book is an anthology of sorts, a mosaic — 20 interviews, 5 poems, 3 co-authored chapters, 2 artists’ new works, a note from my dad, and a quote from my mom.
It includes visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, producers and policy wonks. Mega brains. All stars.
On possibility and transformation with:
Abigail Dillen • Adam McKay • Archibald Frederick Johnson • Ayisha Siddiqa • Bill McKibben • Bren Smith • Brian Donahue • Bryan C. Lee Jr. • Colette Pichon Battle • Erica Deeman • Franklin Leonard • Jacqueline Woodson • Jade Begay • Jean Flemma • Jigar Shah • Judith D. Schwartz • K. Corley Kenna • Kate Marvel • Kate Orff • Kelly Sims Gallagher • Kendra Pierre-Louis • Leah Penniman • Marge Piercy • Mustafa Suleyman • Oana Stănescu • Olalekan Jeyifous • Paola Antonelli • Régine Clément • Rhiana Gunn-Wright • Samantha Montano • Steve Connell • Wendell Berry • Xiye Bastida
YOUR CLIMATE ACTION
How you – specifically you – can help with climate solutions:
To find your meaningful and bespoke way to help address the climate crisis, draw your own Climate Action Venn Diagram.
What are you good at? What are your areas of expertise? What can you bring to the table? Think about your skills, resources, and networks—you have a lot to offer.
What work needs doing? Are there particular climate and justice solutions you want to focus on? Think about systemic changes and efforts that can be replicated or scaled. There are heaps of options.
What brings you joy? Or perhaps a better word is “satisfaction.” What gets you out of bed in the morning? Choose climate actions that energize and enliven you.
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Forward-looking musings on climate & culture from a scientist and policy nerd.
AN ENTIRELY CREDIBLE (AND ENTIRELY ENCHANTING) VOICE…
...Ayana Johnson is no Pollyanna. She’s a hard-nosed and extremely competent scientist who has not shied for a minute from facing the hard truths. So if she thinks there remain ways we can use this crisis to build a better world, then rejoice, listen, and act!
– Bill Mckibben, activist and journalist