Saving Us

by Katharine Hayhoe

  “We’re not fighting for a merely ‘livable’ planet,” says my friend and fellow climate scientist Peter Kalmus. “We’re fighting for a riotous, wild, gorgeous, generous, miraculous, life-cradling planet that’s home to a society that works for everyone.”

  That’s what we are all looking for, and we are not alone.

  WHERE MY HOPE COMES FROM

  Real hope doesn’t usually come knocking on the door of our brains uninvited, though. If we want to find it, we have to roll up our sleeves and go out and look for it. If we do, chances are we’ll find it. And then we have to practice it.

  The idea of hope as a practice, rather than an emotion or a value, has ancient roots in Buddhist philosophy. In their book Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy, philosopher Joanna Macy and psychologist Chris Johnstone write:

  Active Hope is a practice. Like tai chi or gardening, it is something we do rather than have.… First, we take in a clear view of reality; second, we identify what we hope for;… and third, we take steps to move ourselves or our situation in that direction.… Rather than weighing our chances and proceeding only when we feel hopeful, we focus on our intention and let it be our guide.

  So that’s what I do. I make a practice of hope. I search for and collect and share stories and good news about people who are making a difference, about the tech innovations like solar fabric, floating solar farms on flooded open-pit coal mines in China, river-powered energy in remote Arctic villages, and more. I participate in events and partner with organizations that share my values and promote advocacy and action—from museums to teachers’ programs to faith-based initiatives. I offer them what I have: it might be my expertise, or my time, a donation or a skill. And I look to my faith; because the provenance for hope, the apostle Paul says, is not where we might think. It’s not in rosy circumstances and positive conditions. It doesn’t arrive when everything is going our way. In his epistle to the Romans, he lays it out: “We know that troubles help us learn not to give up. When we have learned not to give up, it shows we have stood the test. When we have stood the test, it gives us hope.” Paul doesn’t mention courage, but that runs through the entire verse. It takes courage to persevere under suffering; courage is part of character, and therefore courage is an essential ingredient of rational, constructive hope. And I love how he ends: “Hope never makes us ashamed because the love of God has come into our hearts.” Love casts out fear, the Bible tells us, and it casts out shame as well. It’s the glue that brings us together when every other force in the world, it seems, is trying to divide us into smaller and smaller tribes.

  Science tells us it’s too late to avoid all of the impacts of climate change. Some are already here today. Others are inevitable, because of the past choices we’ve made, and that can make us afraid. Science also tells us that much of what we do is actively contributing to the problem, from turning on our lights to what we eat for lunch. That makes us feel guilt. But the research I do is clear: it is not too late to avoid the most serious and dangerous impacts. Our choices will determine what happens.

  The future we collectively face will be forged by our own actions. Climate change stands between us and a breathtaking, exhilarating future. We cannot afford to be paralyzed by fear or shame. We must act, with power, love, and a sound mind. Together, we can save ourselves.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Giving a TED Talk is stressful. It’s even worse when you somehow miss the fact that you have to memorize the entire twenty-minute talk, every single word of it. A lot of cramming and a considerable amount of hard kombucha went into that last week—and when I finished, the relief was indescribable. Heading for lunch, feeling like a thousand-pound weight had just rolled off my shoulders, I heard someone calling my name. “That was a great talk,” a woman said. “Do you want to write a book?”

  Flush with euphoria I thought, “Why not?” And that was how this book began.

  Thanks first and foremost to that woman, whom I now know as my wonderful editor, Julia Cheiffetz, and to her capable associates Nicholas Ciani and Amara Balan at One Signal, for their inspiration to frame, write, and title this book. I’m also grateful to David Biello, who convinced me to give a TED talk in the first place and firmly rejected my proposal that it be about climate science. None of this would exist without them.

  Thank you also to Sonia Smith and Georgina Ferry, who provided critical and in-depth feedback on the manuscript in its various forms. I first met Sonia many years ago when she was assigned to write a profile about me for Texas Monthly. An accomplished journalist, she’s an absolute genius at nosing out the interesting people, places, and technologies that inspire some of the stories I tell in my PBS digital series, Global Weirding, and in this book. I met Georgina much more recently, when Nature assigned her to edit the obituary I wrote for pioneering climate scientist Sir John Houghton, whose life was lost to COVID-19 in April 2020. Georgina’s comments on the obituary were so masterly that I begged her to give the manuscript for this book a read. Being a lovely person, she did, and being a Brit, she called me on anything I said that would not be familiar or relevant to people outside of North American culture—so if you’re part of that group, you have her to thank for making the book much more readable!

  I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to my Texas Tech colleagues Bryan Giemza, Travis Snyder, and Ian Scott-Fleming, and my sister, Christy Hayhoe, who each took on the heroic task of reading the manuscript and providing invaluable critiques and insights and advice—and, in the case of Bryan, who is a literature professor, several good quotes as well.

  As a scientist I’m accustomed to having everything I write peer-reviewed, so I am particularly grateful to my wonderful colleagues who provided some of that review for this manuscript. Their feedback was invaluable on topics that are not my own area of expertise—economics, social science, theology, and more—feedback that, in some cases, led to the dismantling and rewriting of entire chapters. These generous colleagues include theologian Chris Doran from Pepperdine University, whose book, Hope in the Age of Climate Change, reflects the foundation of faith that motivates my own work; ecologist-turned-social-scientist Jenn Marlon, from the Yale Program on Climate Communication, and health communication researcher Ed Maibach, from George Mason University, whose detailed data on public opinion inspired the title of my TED Talk and so much of the discussion in the first third of the book; communication experts George Marshall and Leane de Laigue from Climate Outreach, whose research and wisdom never fails to inspire me; social scientist Brandi Morris from Aarhus University, who serendipitously emailed me at the very moment I was struggling with incorporating her challenging research into the chapter on fear, and got roped into reviewing it; economists Gernot Wagner from New York University, Max Auffhammer from the University of California at Berkeley, and Andrew Leach from the University of Alberta, who provided much appreciated insight into the finer nuances of carbon pricing and cap and trade that expanded my own horizons; my new colleague David Banks from The Nature Conservancy, who’s been giving me a crash course on nature-based solutions; sociologist Kari Norgaard from the University of Oregon, who untangles the complicated reasons we don’t act on climate; Ed Hawkins from the University of Reading, fellow climate scientist and creator of the Warming Stripes and many other creative and compelling climate graphics; permafrost experts Ted Schuur from Northern Arizona University and Katey Anthony from the University of Alaska, who have spent so much of their lives in the most remote areas of the world, trying to figure out what Arctic warming means for our world; ecologist Terry Chapin, whose invitation to Alaska inspired me and whose thoughtful leadership has done so much for the scientific community; David Fenton, pioneering public relations expert and tireless climate advocate, who encourages and informs my work; and solar expert Andreas Karelas from RE-volv, an organization that helps nonprofits invest in clean energy, who wrote the inspirational book Climate Courage: How Tackling Climate Change Can Build Community, Transform the Econ
omy, and Bridge the Divide in America, for which I provided the foreword. I am also deeply appreciative of the hundreds of studies and dozens of books that provide a deep dive into so many of the topics I tackle here, many of which I cite in the chapter notes. I stand on their wisdom and learning and take full responsibility for any errors of interpretation or fact.

  While facts are important, though, it’s stories, so neuroscientists tell us, that are essential to communication. As I mentioned, stories literally synchronize our brain waves as we empathize with one another—and when it comes to climate change, there’s a lot to empathize with. So last but perhaps most profoundly, I am incredibly grateful to all whose stories I share here, including those who have spoken with me over the years and in particular John Cook, Simon Donner, David Folland, Tim Fullman, Glyn Goodwin, Don Lieber, Rick Lindroth, Kirstin Milks, and Renée Rostius, who offered their experiences specifically for this book. Without their stories and those of so many others, this book would be a lot less interesting to read. And honestly, without all of these stories there probably wouldn’t even be a book: because it was hearing from people like Glyn that convinced me that it was even possible for this to make a difference.

  I hope you’ll agree—and if you do, I’d love to hear your story.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Katharine Hayhoe is a climate scientist and chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy. She is also the Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law and Paul W. Horn Distinguished Professor at Texas Tech University. She has been named a United Nations Champion of the Earth and one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, and serves as the climate ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance. Katharine was a lead author for the U.S. Second, Third, and Fourth National Climate Assessments, hosts the PBS digital series Global Weirding, and has written for the New York Times. Her TED Talk “The Most Important Thing You Can Do to Fight Climate Change: Talk About It” has been viewed over 5 million times. She has a BSc in physics and astronomy from the University of Toronto and an MS and a PhD in atmospheric science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  @KHayhoe

  @KatharineHayhoe

  SimonandSchuster.com

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Katharine-Hayhoe

  @OneSignalPub @OneSignalPub

  We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster ebook.

  Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.

  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

  Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.

  NOTES

  Part of chapter 8 was previously published in Foreign Policy as “Yeah, the Weather Has Been Weird” in May 2017; two paragraphs in chapter 14 were previously published in the PLOS SciComm blog as “The climate is changing. Why does that matter to me and why should it matter to you?” in March 2019; and a paragraph in chapter 2 was previously published in the New York Times as “I’m a Climate Scientist Who Believes in God. Hear Me Out” in October 2019.

  PREFACE

  The U.S. is arguably home Michael Dimock and Richard Wike, “America Is Exceptional in the Nature of Its Political Divide,” Pew Research Center, November 23, 2010, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/13/america-is-exceptional-in-the-nature-of-its-political-divide/.

  The Beyond Conflict Institute’s 2020 report Beyond Conflict, America’s Divided Mind, June 2020, https://beyondconflictint.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Beyond-Conflict-America_s-Div-ided-Mind-JUNE-2020-FOR-WEB.pdf.

  climate change tops that list Pew Research Center, “Election 2020: Voters Are Highly Engaged, but Nearly Half Expect to Have Difficulties Voting,” August 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/08/13/election-2020-voters-are-highly-engaged-but-nearly-half-expect-to-have-difficulties-voting/.

  Over 50 percent Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, Seth Rosenthal, and Teresa Myers, Global Warming’s Six Americas, Yale Program on Climate Communication, https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/.

  “there is a strong sense” Matthew Smith, “International Poll: Most Expect to Feel Impact of Climate Change, Many Think It Will Make Us Extinct,” YouGov, December 14, 2019, https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/articles-reports/2019/09/15/international-poll-most-expect-feel-impact-climate.

  In the U.S. American Psychological Association, “Majority of US Adults Believe Climate Change Is Most Important Issue Today,” February 6, 2020, https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/02/climate-change.

  are acting according to them Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion (New York: Random House, 2012).

  SECTION 1: THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION

  CHAPTER 1

  a common folk theory George Lakoff, Don’t Think of An Elephant! (White River, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2014).

  In 1998, a Gallup poll found Gallup, “Partisan Gap on Global Warming Grows,” May 29, 2008, https://news.gallup.com/poll/107593/partisan-gap-global-warming-grows.aspx.

  As recently as 2008 Michael O’Brien, “Gingrich Regrets 2008 Climate Ad with Pelosi,” The Hill, July 26, 2011, https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/173463-gingrich-says-he-regrets-2008-climate-ad-with-pelosi.

  By 2020, coronavirus Pew Research Center, “Election 2020: Voters Are Highly Engaged, but Nearly Half Expect to Have Difficulties Voting,” August 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/08/13/election-2020-voters-are-highly-engaged-but-nearly-half-expect-to-have-difficulties-voting/.

  In Canada Yale Program on Climate Communication, “Canadian Climate Opinion Maps 2018,” November 21, 2019, https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ccom/.

  Conservative members of parliament Jonathan Watts and Pamela Duncan, “Tory MPs Five Times as Likely to Vote Against Climate Action,” Guardian, October 11, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019oct/11/tory-mps-five-times-more-likely-to-vote-against-climate-action.

  Their claims were bolstered by disinformation Timothy Graham and Tobias Keller, “Bushfires, Bots and Arson Claims: Australia Flung in The Global Disinformation Spotlight,” The Conversation, January 10, 2020, https://theconversation.com/bushfires-bots-and-arson-claims-australia-flung-in-the-global-disinformation-spotlight-129556.

  people’s opinions on climate change Matthew Hornsey, Emily Harris, Paul Bain, and Kelly Fielding, “Meta-Analyses of the Determinants and Outcomes of Belief in Climate Change,” Nature Climate Change 6, no. 6 (2016): 622–626, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2943.

  the polarization is emotional Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure (London: Penguin Books/Random House U.K., 2018).

  many immediately changed their opinions Cass Sunstein, How Change Happens (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2019).

  “As media frames opposing viewpoints” Tania Israel, Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide (Washington, DC: APA LifeTools, 2020).

  Senator Ted Cruz told Glenn Beck Glenn Beck, https://www.glennbeck.com/2015/10/29/ted-cruz-climate-change-is-not-science-its-religion/.

  Senator Lindsey Graham said Council on Foreign Relations, https://www.cfr.org/event/lindsey-graham-irans-nuclear-program.

  Called Global Warming’s Six Americas Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, Seth Rosenthal, and Teresa Myers, Global Warming’s Six Americas, Yale Program on Climate Communication, https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/, accessed September 2020.

  the helpful Skeptical Science website Skeptical Science, https://skepticalscience.com/.

  cognitive linguist George Lakoff explains George Lakoff, Don’t Think of An Elepha
nt! (White River, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2014).

  Research on everything from airplane seatbelts Tali Sharot, The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals About Our Power to Change Others (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2017).

  CHAPTER 2

  “Climate change public communication” Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, Seth Rosenthal, and Teresa Myers, Global Warming’s Six Americas, Yale Program on Climate Communication, https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/, accessed September 2020.

  26,500 independent lines of evidence Cynthia Rosenzweig, David Karoly, Marta Vicarelli, Peter Neofotis, Qigang Wu, Gino Casassa, Annette Menzel, et al. “Attributing physical and biological impacts to anthropogenic climate change,” Nature 453 (2008): 353–357, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06937.

  Fort Hood now draws American Association for the Advancement of Science, How We Respond: Community Responses to Climate Change (2019), https://howwerespond.aaas.org/community-spotlight/fort-hood-embraces-renewable-energy-other-military-posts-follow-suit/.

  As of 2020 American Wind Energy Association, State Fact Sheets, https://www.awea.org/resources/fact-sheets/state-facts-sheets; Solar Energy Industries Association, States Map, https://www.seia.org/states-map.

  a study I did for Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated staff, “Going, Going Green,” Sports Illustrated, March 12, 2007, https://vault.si.com/vault/2007/03/12/going-going-green.