HUMAN NATURE

Books on climate change need not be all depressing.

Earth science can inspire wonder, having favorite places can engender love, and learning from the past can kindle hope. Marvel, a climate scientist, explains global phenomena such as ocean currents and greenhouse gas emissions and their influences on our climate in clear, accessible language. Current climate models, she argues, are quality tools for understanding the interactions among the planet’s air, land, ice, and water. The models explain past eras—warmer and cooler ones—which lend credence to future predictions: If carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere continue to increase, we will experience ever warmer global temperatures and their consequences on storm severity, drought, and rising seas. There is no doubt, Marvel asserts, that humans are changing the climate. And yet, we are the loose cannons here—no one can predict what we will (or won’t) do to address the problem. The doom and gloom in the book is balanced with notes of hope: Past efforts to tackle acid rain and to save the ozone layer demonstrate collective action for good. Marvel both outlines the facts and accommodates her feelings. Her book is personal—indeed, the chapter titles are emotions (“Wonder,” “Anger,” “Guilt”)—and, in her telling, turns out to feel necessary. The work contains loads of geeky earth science and playful asides, including imagined Hollywood scripts for portraying outcomes and human foibles. It’s full of quotable lines that one might use to argue with climate skeptics. To wit: “We are more sure that greenhouse gases are warming the planet than we are that smoking causes cancer.”

A highly readable argument for tackling climate change that reckons with both cold hard facts and the human heart.