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Visions of Climate Futures
by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
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.
Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create.
If you haven't yet been able to picture a transformed and replenished world—or to see yourself, your loved ones, and your community in it—this book is for you. If you haven't yet found your role in shaping this new world or you're not sure how we can actually get there, this book is for you.
With grace, humor, and humanity, Johnson invites readers to ask and answer this ultimate question together: What if we get it right?
"In addition to asking perspicacious questions and curating a diverse and brilliant set of voices, Johnson leads us through the material with a witty, brainy frankness... . An exuberantly hopeful read ... an inspiring compilation of voices from the environmental justice movement." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"There are countless means by which a sustainable future is possible, if only society has the political will to enact them...Johnson's account is buoyed throughout by her adamant belief that sweeping change is possible, with a little push. This is a much-needed antidote to 'climate grief.'" —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"In What If We Get It Right: Visions of Climate Futures, the brilliant scientist and climate expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson asks an audacious question: What if we don't surrender to hopelessness and instead believe we can address climate change? With a thoughtfully curated series of essays, poetry, and conversations, Johnson has assembled a group of dynamic people who are willing to imagine what seems impossible, and articulate those visions with enthusiastic clarity. The problem of climate change is a significant one, but What If We Get It Right? reminds us that with passion and ingenuity, there is so much we can accomplish. We can, in fact, save ourselves." —Roxane Gay
"An optimistic bent and eager embrace of solutions ... these conversations are as much about 'getting it right' as they are about what we are currently getting wrong. Johnson is a top-notch interviewer, and her guests are insightful and candid on topics ranging from community farming to environment-focused litigation." —Scientific American
This information about What If We Get It Right? was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and Brooklyn native. 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. Dr. Johnson 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 serves on the board of directors for Patagonia and GreenWave, and on the advisory board of Environmental Voter Project. Above all: She is in love with climate solutions.
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