Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World
September 16, 2021
Katharine Hayhoe packs an informative and interesting read that many of us should look through to better acquaint ourselves on some of the most important topics of our time in order to hold meaningful conversations—even with those who don’t want to have them.
Saving Us: A Climate Scientists case for Hope and Healing in A Divided World by Katharine Hayhoe, One Signal Publishers/ Atria
We all have individuals in our lives with whom the words “climate change” provoke long rants and an uncomfortable shift in the conversation. There are those aunts and uncles, or maybe even siblings, we know not to bring up politics or climate change with. Climate change shouldn’t be political, but these trigger words can create anger and tension, no matter your original intention.
Grounded in her personal experience, facts, and research, Katharine Hayhoe, a recently appointed chief climate scientist at The Nature Conservancy, delivers a book that is far from the “Earth is burning” read; it’s a wonderful guide in how to have meaningful conversations, and speak about a subject that is affecting humans worldwide and, yet, has become so polarizing. Traveling the country speaking on these topics, Katharine knows more than most about how to navigate these treacherous waters and finds a common ground to attain a similar goal, protecting our home, Earth. To do this, she says to tap into what you know and who you are.
How you connect with others doesn’t have to fit any mold, example, or pattern. Whoever you are, you are the perfect person to talk about climate change with others who share your interests and values.
The importance of climate change and how it is discussed in the divided world we now live in can be mind boggling and overwhelming. Hayhoe denounces a myriad of false scientific facts and how to speak to them without putting yourself into a corner. She also states that facts are not the only thing to acknowledge when trying to change the outlook of deniers. It is just as important to find shared values, to be able to relate to each other. What is important to you, your community, your wellbeing, and your life?
We care because the cascade of events triggered by that warming affects everything we already care about: where we get the food that we eat and how much it costs; how clean or dirty the air that we breathe is; the economy and national security; hunger, disease, and poverty across the planet; the future of civilization as we know it. We’ve woven a million reasons why we already care about climate change into the fabric of our society. We just haven’t fully realized it yet.
Hayhoe packs an informative and interesting read that many of us should look through to better acquaint ourselves on some of the most important topics of our time in order to hold meaningful conversations—even with those who don’t want to have them.
