What do you do if you're a nationally recognized meteorologist witnessing the way that extreme weather manifests our changing climate and wanting to make things better? Author Paul Douglas met this challenge by writing a book geared toward readers ages eight through 13; it's about not only the threats to our planet but — even more — the limitless opportunities to create a more sustainable world.
Full of sidebars about young activists making a difference, this book offers hope that we will come up with solutions, "possibly sooner than most people realize." But in no way does it gloss over the problems. Opening chapters include "The World Is Warming," "How a Warming Planet Flavors the Weather," and "The Polluted States of America." These pages are full of striking details, for instance: "Since 2010, the most extreme rains impact twice as much of the US as they did from the 1930s to the 1970s."
Apt metaphors make the information easy for young readers to take in:
"Lately it seems like someone secretly turned up the volume on weather mayhem." And,
"Natural greenhouse gases are the perfect chemical blanket, keeping temperatures relatively stable for thousands of years. Unfortunately, human-made gases have thrown on too many blankets, increasing the greenhouse effect."
The remaining two-thirds of the book are devoted to how we have cleaned up messes before, how a clean-energy revolution is even now underway, and how young people can take action and even base their careers on helping. The careers section — with 20 (!) ideas ranging from (eco-savvy) Architect and Climate Scientist to Wildlife Biologist and Writer — is especially motivating and likely to inspire futures devoted to change.
The book concludes with a selected bibliography of online links where young readers can learn more. At the very end, acknowledgments underscore the importance of this book which, Douglas writes, was an attempt to "highlight the amazing kids already doing great things to address environmental challenges today. They are not waiting around; they are stepping up now." And he thanks his first grandchild, Jordan, "whose birth in early 2020 was a reminder to me that I have a duty and an obligation to speak up for future generations."
