Urgent Message from a Hot Planet: Navigating the Climate Crisis

by Ann Eriksson, Belle Wuthrich (Illustrator)

Overview

The climate crisis is the issue of our time.

Scientists have warned for over 100 years that burning fossil fuels and destroying nature will warm the earth's atmosphere and affect the climate in adverse ways: more severe and intense storms, prolonged heat waves, drought, flooding, wildfires, rising sea levels and ocean acidification.

Urgent Message from a Hot Planet: Navigating the Climate Crisis outlines the science behind global heating and its root causes, provides ways to take action and honors the efforts of the millions of youth and adult allies from around the world working tirelessly to make a difference. Their powerful message: do something now!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459826328
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	01/18/2022
Series:	Orca Issues Series , #6
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	1260L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Biologist and writer Ann Eriksson is the author of five adult novels and two nonfiction books for younger readers: Dive In!: Exploring Our Connection with the Ocean and Bird's-Eye View: Keeping Wild Birds in Flight. Ann is a director of the Thetis Island Nature Conservancy and works for the SeaChange Marine Conservation Society, restoring nearshore marine ecosystems. Ann lives on Thetis Island, British Columbia.

Belle Wuthrich is an illustrator and designer specializing in books for young readers. Belle has contributed to more than a dozen books for kids, a number of which have won awards or been republished internationally, including the Montaigne Medal Award–winning Eyes and Spies: How You’re Tracked and Why You Should Know and the Silver Birch Award nominee Eat Up: An Infographic Exploration of Food. She lives in Campbell, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Global Heating 101 13

A Climate Science Primer

2 Climate Changed 41

The Consequences of Global Heating

3 How We Got Here 79

The Root Causes of the Climate Crisis

4 Changemakers and Climate Heroes 101

5 What Now? 133

Solutions to the Climate Crisis

6 What If … Just in Case 173

How to Live in a Changing and Uncertain World

A Final Word from the Author 191

Acknowledgments 193

Glossary 194

Resources 200

Photo Credits 202

Index 203

What People are Saying About This

Elizabeth May

“I encourage any interested youth – and their parents – to read this book. It is an amazing achievement – comprehensive and informative, stretching from climate science to the intersecting issues of inequality and racism. Ultimately, it is a toolbox for hope.”

Editorial Reviews

Comprehensive…For young readers who want a deeper understanding of the climate crisis.

Booklist

An excellent choice for students…Hopeful but realistic…I recommend this purchase for all middle school and high school libraries.

School Library Connection

Makes a clear case for taking action to keep from feeling hopeless in the face of issues that seem impossible...This is an important read for teens looking for real scientific facts about climate change. It also provides fire for those wanting to make changes.

Sal's Fiction Addiction

Urgent Message From a Hot Planet, with its powerful and urgent message, is a must-read. Guaranteed to spur some readers to action, it is both frightening and hopeful. Highly Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

[An] accessible first-person narrative that makes space for emotions as well as scientific facts and figures...A well-researched and emotionally impactful call to make choices that revitalize nature and our planet.

Kirkus Reviews

Eriksson honours the powerful voices of Indigenous Peoples, climate scientists, professors, political leaders, environmentalists, artists, and citizens. She features the voices of today’s youth, who share their heartfelt poetry, stories, and artwork, revealing that “taking action, no matter how small, works.” Highly recommended for all school libraries.”

BC Books for Schools

A heartfelt plea for all of us to do our bit…Stands out from other books on the subject because it is not afraid to point a finger at the root cause of global warming and other instances of environmental degradation.

Montreal Serai

Prompts and steadies readers’ immersion into these complexities, and they will linger over the illuminating, relatable stories and works by teen environmental activists…Recommended for teens looking for facts about climate change or for those who ­understand the consequences ­already and are committed to environment activism.

School Library Journal (SLJ)

An antidote to the crushing question that dogs many of us, but young people even more acutely – ‘What can I do about it?’ – this richly illustrated book not only explains the climate crisis in clear, engaging language, but also offers concrete plans of action.

The Globe and Mail

This is a no-nonsense, make you feel better read. This is a call to action that points a path for change. Recommended for every library and science classroom.

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD)

Urgent Message From a Hot Planet, with its powerful and urgent message, is a must-read. Guaranteed to spur some readers to action, it is both frightening and hopeful. Highly Recommended.

CM Reviews

I encourage any interested youth – and their parents – to read this book. It is an amazing achievement – comprehensive and informative, stretching from climate science to the intersecting issues of inequality and racism. Ultimately, it is a toolbox for hope.

Elizabeth May

03/01/2022

Gr 8 Up—Canadian biologist and writer Eriksson applies her scientific knowledge and careful research, including references to international programs, experts, and youth activists from around the world, to define the global climate crisis and expressively promote a resounding call to action. Filled with vital information and sobering perspectives about the human causes and multifaceted, worldwide consequences of the climate crisis, Eriksson's book connects readers with threads from scientific, economic, environmental, and sociological fields of knowledge. It explains the current state of the Earth and the impact that present and future action, as well as inaction, has on climate change. The author's invested, first-person narrative voice both prompts and steadies readers' immersion into these complexities, and they will linger over the illuminating, relatable stories and works by teen environmental activists. A unique segment of the book includes content that seeks to reassure readers who may carry a sense of restless helplessness in the face of the crisis, with a proactive outlook that knowledge is power. There is also an emphasis on community participation and a revived respect for nature as an integral step to invoking meaningful solutions to cope with and resolve this ever-present, global change. The text includes photographs and diverse illustrated characters, a few very clear infographics, a glossary, lists of print and online resources, photo credits, and an index. VERDICT A compelling call to action, with equally compassionate advice for those who view the crisis with despair, this book offers clear-cut explanations and international perspectives that will prove eye-opening. Reccomended for teens looking for facts about climate change or for those who understand the consequences already and are committed to environmental activism.—Rachel Mulligan

School Library Journal

2021-10-26
A call to action that is both sobering and hopeful.

Biologist and science writer Eriksson outlines the three major problems that contribute to the climate crisis: “global heating, ecological destruction, and inequality.” She conveys unvarnished facts about the climate crisis from reputable sources along with their causes and how societies can prepare for natural disasters, disruptions to the global food supply, mass population displacement, and armed conflicts. Eriksson makes an impassioned case for young people to take action to cultivate hope and fend off despair. Along the way, she shares inspirational stories and words of wisdom from interviews with activists and changemakers from around the world. The book concludes with eco-anxiety self-care suggestions. An intimate relationship between author and readers is created through the accessible first-person narrative that makes space for emotions as well as scientific facts and figures. The layout is crisp and inviting, with color photographs and graphic design illustrations with speech bubbles and bold color. Artwork and writing by youth from all over the world are spotlighted throughout. The disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations is emphasized, with the work of Indigenous activists and organizations being championed and the need to “unite with and learn from Indigenous peoples” cited as vitally important. Only solutions that meet the needs of both equity and ecology are presented as truly viable in the fight for climate justice.

A well-researched and emotionally impactful call to make choices that revitalize nature and our planet. (glossary, resources, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews