79 pages • 2 hours read
Greta ThunbergThe Climate Book
Greta ThunbergNonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key Figures
Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg was born in 2003 in Sweden. Her climate activism journey began in 2011, when she became aware of the impending climate crisis, and three years later, she was diagnosed with autism spectrum syndrome. In 2018, Thunberg shifted her activism from personal lifestyle changes—including encouraging her family to go vegan and no longer traveling by plane—to political activism. She attends protests, gives speeches, and has organized movements, including school strikes and “Fridays for Future.” In 2019, Thunberg was invited to speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit and at a congressional hearing. Along with arranging The Climate Book, Thunberg has also published a collection of her speeches, entitled No One is Too Small to Make a Difference, in 2019 (“Greta Thunberg.” Iowa State University).
Thunberg authored 17 of the essays in The Climate Book. Given her widespread, well-known, and thoroughly researched political activism, Thunberg is considered by many to be a credible source of climate-related information despite her young age. Thunberg uses a combination of scientific and statistical information and satirical comments to enhance the persuasiveness of her arguments. Her approach reflects her background as an activist. She identifies the wealthy elite and overconsumption as the primary drivers of climate change, and she stresses that everyone can make a difference by reducing their personal carbon footprints.
Scientists
Multiple scientists from various branches of science contributed to The Climate Book. Given the content of the text, climate scientists constitute a significant portion of the scientific voices. Contributing climate scientists include: Hayhoe, Hausfather, Samset, Ceppi, Francis, F. Otto, Marvel, Winkelmann, Rahmstorf, Portner, Kvale, Gleick, Gergis, Edwards, Shindell, Huq, Taylor, Anderson, Peters, and Larkin. The book also includes scientists from other areas, including medicine, environmental science, forestry, atmospheric science, sustainability, and Earth sciences, ecology, physiology, hydrology, epidemiology, biogeochemistry, botany, hydroclimatology, physiology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and geophysics.
The Climate Book incorporates diverse scientific perspectives because climate change and mitigation involve numerous interconnected factors. Climate scientists and those working in various Earth sciences contribute to the explanations of The Science of Climate Change and to the discussions on implications of climate change and potential mitigation strategies. Medical and environmental scientists show how the causes of climate change, like aerosols and deforestation, are also causing environmental degradation and declining human health. They also note that mitigating climate change will have positive side effects, like improved human health and well-being. The contributing scientists are well-respected, and many are outspoken climate change activists. These authors bolster the credibility of The Climate Book by demonstrating the scientific consensus for the need to combat climate change in order to preserve livable conditions on Earth.
Writers
Writers, including authors and journalists, also contribute significantly to The Climate Book. Contributing writers include: Brannen, Kolbert, Lustgarten, Labba, Linden, A. U. Otto, McKibben, Vermeulen, Joshi, Lowrey, Ghosh, Monbiot, Atwood, S. Klein, Wallace-Wells, N. Klein, and Ravi. Several of the contributors from other professional backgrounds are also authors and have written non-fiction climate-related texts.
The writers enhance the text with their adept research and rhetorical skills. Most of the writers appearing in the text are non-fiction writers specializing in fields such as science journalism, economics, social and political activism, and climate reporting. Such writers often bridge the gap between the science or political communities and the general public. They take in technical information and translate it into digestible content to be consumed by the general public. As such, the text emphasizes the responsibility of writers to portray accurate and honest information regarding climate change.
A few fiction writers also contributed to the collection of essays, including Margaret Atwood. Atwood is best known for her dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). In her essay, 5.9, Atwood identifies the need for literature to portray utopian societies where climate change has been mitigated. This idea contrasts with the popular modern dystopian trend, which often emphasizes the dangers of corrupt ruling bodies and unchecked consumerism. Such representation could help spread climate change awareness and demonstrate the potential benefits of acting to preserve the climate.
Activists
Social, political, and environmental activists constitute another group of contributing authors. Arguably, every contributing author of The Climate Book is a climate activist, but those with professional backgrounds centering on activism include: Patterson, Ibrahim, Guajajara, Stephens, Narain, Wrigley, Becker, Ravi, Nakabuye, Munoz, Shikongo, Siddua, Tan, Mathai, and Thunberg.
Activists are generally well-informed regarding their areas of activism, and they incorporate an interdisciplinary approach. Similar to writers, activists synthesize their scientific, social, and political research to present cohesive arguments to support their causes. They are skilled at spreading public awareness, and many activists establish movements and non-profit organizations to enact social change. Given their diverse backgrounds and their abilities to influence public opinion, activists are critical to the fight against climate change.
Others
Other professions represented by the contributing authors include the philosophers Taiwo and Ghebreyesus, economists Hsiang, Stern, Raworth, Chancel, and Piketty, researchers Barret, Garvey, Anable, Brand, and Berners-Lee, campaigner Schrank, urban development specialist Kaza, and historian Oreskes.
The economists help address the financial factors involved in climate change. Their combined input shows that, while mitigating climate change will be expensive, it will ultimately be cheaper than addressing the potential climate crisis if no action is taken. Like the activists, the philosophers and researchers utilize an interdisciplinary approach that synthesizes multiple streams of information to draw conclusions and identify potential solutions and benefits. For example, Ghebreyesus discusses the connections between climate change, health, and global inequality, proposing that global solidarity and lifestyle changes need to be implemented to limit climate change, and doing so will reduce global inequality and benefit human health. Oreskes, meanwhile, uses her professional background to examine a historical perspective of human’s environmental impact. While human history is an important facet to climate change, it is not the focal point of the text; instead, The Climate Book focuses on current problems and future solutions. The diverse voices reflect the holistic approach to climate—where emissions, equality, health, the environment, and the climate are inextricably linked.
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