Summer is reading time and at Meteored we encourage you to do so, for which here are our recommendations: six books that address climate change from different perspectives. Publications on this topic continue, although these books do not perform well in terms of sales.. There is probably a saturation of titles and the supply is greater than the demand, despite the undoubted interest (and concern) that this issue arouses in society.
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We have grouped the books in pairs, in such a way that the titles that make up each of them are quite complementary to each other. The first book we will stop at is fundamentally a history treatise.but the author strives to demonstrate – throughout the almost 900 pages that comprise it – the decisive role that climate changes and high-impact hydrometeorological episodes have had in the evolution of humanity.
The reading of The Earth transformedby Peter Frankopan is a must. The Spanish edition of the book was published in March of this year (2024) and the edition was carried out by the Crítica publishing house. In this magnificent and revolutionary work, the renowned historian explores the origins of our species, the development of religion and language, and how these are intertwined with the natural environment.
The changes to which it is continually subjected are not only a crucial, but possibly the defining factor in global history, not only of our civilization.
This inseparable relationship between human beings and the climate leads us to the second book that we will discuss. Its titled Social impacts of climate changeits author is Cristina García Fernández (Professor of Economics at the Complutense University of Madrid [UCM]) and has been published by the Catarata publishing house, in collaboration with the IUDC (University Institute of Development and Cooperation, of the UCM.
Throughout its 144 pages, The author analyzes the phenomena of migration, inequality, poverty and the major conflicts that take place in the world today., as a consequence of the environmental alterations that are occurring, hand in hand with anthropogenic climate change. In her analysis, Professor García Fernández highlights the importance of the commitment and strength of the international community to face all these growing problems that affect our society.
Two titles that do not leave you indifferent
The third book we recommend is Climate crime. How global warming is producing genocide (Debate, 2023) and also comes from the hand of another economist: David Lizoain. The title is shocking, but it should not surprise us, since today all politics is climate politics, and at stake is who lives and who dies. We are experiencing a decisive moment for the planet, which is on the verge of collapse due to human actions.
Can we affirm that what is happening is a climate genocide? It is the question that Lizoain poses at the beginning of the book. Her response, clear and forceful, is that No one but man, with his obsession with perpetual growth, has paved the way for catastrophe.. Ours is already a world of eco-apartheid, and climate genocide takes place thanks to the widespread complicity of the powerful. The author adds that it is time to end impunity, mobilize and achieve a radical (and sustainable) break with the status quo.
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If we have reached this point it is because we have not done things well. The title of the fourth book we recommend hits the mark: There was a time when we could change this (Alianza Editorial, 2024), is signed by the sociologist and anthropologist Ramón J. Soria Breña and the prologue is signed by the person signing these lines. I extract the following quote from it: “It is urgent and a priority to wake people from their lethargyeffectively transmit to the population the risks we face, based on scientific knowledge.”
Global warming has unleashed a series of national and international government, political, economic and social measures that affect and will affect the daily lives of citizens.
Besides, There has been a phenomenon of overinformation in the media, amplified by sensationalist and incoherent communication styles. For this reason, citizens continue to maintain indifference, conformism, denialism or fatalism towards this issue of global and fundamental importance for the future of humanity.
Global warming brought to the front pages
The third and last pair of books that we will discuss share a similar exterior aesthetic, which we immediately associate with global warming. Two suns with intense yellow and orange colors dominate their respective covers. Climate emergency (Malpaso y cía, 2024) is the latest book by environmentalologist Andreu Escrivà.
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True to his style and great communication skills, the author writes unapologetically about a world in which the climate is unleashedwhich challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths and take sides before it’s too late.
With direct and simple language, which avoids academicism and avoids the avalanche of data, Andreu Escrivà explains everything we need to know about climate change, dismantling myths and denialist speeches. But, above all, it places readers in the current moment: we must decide where we are going and what we are willing to do to save our planet.
The last recommended reading for the summer has a very explicit title (HeatDebate [2024]) and comes from the hand of the scientific journalist Miguel Ángel Criado, who is part of the Materia team, from El País. with the subtitle How the climate crisis affects usthe work focuses on the magnitude that the impacts of climate change already have in Spain; increasingly evident (droughts, heat waves, high-impact meteorological phenomena and a long etcetera).
In Heatthe author immerses himself in an unprecedented investigation. Those who do not consider the impact on flora and fauna to be sufficient cause for alarm may understand the immediate need to take action if they see the industries on which this country depends, such as wine or tourism, in danger. They feel challenged by the increasing difficulty of surviving (in some cases, literally) the harsh summers in the cities.
