Psychologist Bob Rich advises people who are suffering from climate anxiety to “Do the best you can then don’t worry”. Ryan Hagen’s book Your Guide to Climate Action takes this advice a step further by coaching us on how to do our ‘best’. It is one of the most comprehensive books I have come across on individual climate action.
Ryan invites his readers to find their place in the climate movement by discovering the sweet spot at the intersection of activities which give you joy, those skills you are good at, and what climate activities need further progress. As I said in an earlier post, this could boil down to something as simple as baking cakes for the climate group down the road. Every contribution counts.
Ryan kicks off his ten most effective actions with a chapter entitled Talk About It! As author Rebecca Huntley has observed, climate change can be harder to talk about than sex or drugs or religion. So, Ryan appropriately follows the counsel of Katharine Hayhoe and others and advises his readers to focus on listening and connecting to find common ground, rather than trying to debate or convince.
He advocates for being an active voter, and to search for climate champions among the candidates seeking election or even being a candidate yourself.
He then discusses ways you can influence your city, company or school to take climate action. In the chapter on minimizing your carbon footprint I was pleased to see his caveat that the corporate world would like nothing better than individuals to blame themselves for the climate crisis. We are working in a system that is broken, so while we can reduce our individual emissions there are bigger forces at play. This brings in the concept of the ‘climate shadow’ that I have written about previously, which takes into account emissions that you have prevented through, for example, lobbying. Ryan would score positively on climate shadow.
A chapter considers climate-friendly banking and investment, followed by chapters on supporting nonprofits and on protesting and civil resistance.
One of the best features of the book are the links to the resources that Ryan comprehensively references, allowing readers to learn more or make connections with organizations that resonate with them.
The part of the book that was closest to my heart was on the last page when Ryan asks how will you answer when a child in the future asks you “What did you do?” Indeed, that was the motivation and premise of my novel, play and audio drama Court of the Grandchildren – and why I continue to maintain this website and blog.
Your Guide to Climate Action is an easy-to-read and comprehensive handbook for anyone who is concerned with climate change and would like to do more. I highly recommend it.
The reviewer is a co-author of Court of the Grandchildren, a novel set in 2050s America.
For book reviews and posts on similar themes, consider:
How to Cope with Climate Anxiety
How to talk about Climate Change
How to talk about Climate Change – Part 2
The best thing you can do to tackle global warming
