By Karlie Shoffner
April 22 is Earth Day, a holiday that becomes more and more important each year as the climate crisis continues. For those that want to educate themselves on climate issues, here are four nonfiction novels that discuss issues related to climate change.
The Story of More – Hope Jahren
Jahren’s novel serves as a great introduction to the climate crisis and how it began. This novel explores both the achievements of humanity and how these achievements led to the current climate crisis. She explains how many of our great inventions led to the mass amounts of carbon dioxide that exist in our atmosphere. The novel also explores the consequences we may face—like rising sea levels—because of greenhouse gases. It explores on the larger scale how new scientific technology could fight against climate change and also how individuals may prevent climate change in their own daily lives.
The Great Derangement by Amitav Ghosh
Ghosh argues in his novel that future generations may see us as deranged based on the way we handled the climate crisis. With how extreme modern climate disasters are, we can no longer view them through our simplified, contemporary way of thinking. Climate change is not as simple as it is explained. It is the product of many complex components working together. This novel works to explain how on an individual scale, especially for writers, climate change can be understood and confronted.
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
Though it was written in 1949, this novel still holds relevancy today. In his novel, Leopold records his observations as the Wisconsin countryside around him begins to change. He also writes about his journeys through many of the different woodlands in North America like those in Wisconsin, Oregon, and even Arizona. Throughout the novel Leopold shares his beliefs toward environmental conservation. He argues that it is our responsibility to protect and care for the natural world.
Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor by Rob Nixon
In his novel Nixon coins the term slow violence. This word describes the neglect that many face after climactic events such as deforestation, oil spills, and environmental damage from war. Heads of nations are aware of these issues but make no effort to help until it is too late. Nixon argues that poorer, more vulnerable people are most likely to experience slow violence. Slow violence becomes more prominent as we reach the later stages of global capitalism. Nixon’s goal is to bring visibility to the increase in environmental emergencies, and the unfair conditions many in the global South live in.
Climate change is a relevant and a urgent issue in our world. Reading nonfiction books like these can help educate those who want to learn more about the climate crisis and what caused it and how on an individual scale they can work to prevent it.
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