Publishers Weekly
06/14/2021
Practical advice abounds in this compassionate guide to conducting meaningful discussions about the environment from climate scientist Hayhoe (All We Can Save). Aiming to show “how to have conversations” that “ genuine relationships and communities,” Hayhoe casts aside the notion of believers versus deniers and instead makes use of a grouping system devised by researchers Tony Leiserowitz and Ed Maibach that divides people into six categories: the alarmed, concerned, cautious, disengaged, doubtful, and dismissive. It is easier to target messages, Hayhoe notes, when one better understands the audience: if talking to someone doubtful, for instance, scientific explanations can help change their minds, but taking the same approach with dismissives will lead to them doubling down on their rejection. The author also considers the emotions of fear and guilt that come up when talking about the health of the planet, and suggests it’s key to channel these emotions into a belief that things can be fixed. Above all, Hayhoe’s advice comes down to bonding and connecting with people; a way to begin, she writes, is to ask “Because of what we both care about, why might climate change matter to us?” While some may find her outlook a bit rose-tinged—“We can fix it. There are solutions”—those in search of a hope-filled approach will find plenty of encouragement. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
A must-read if we’re serious about enacting positive change from the ground up, in communities, and through human connections and human emotions.”
—Margaret Atwood, Twitter
"Katharine Hayhoe is a connector of dots...an ambassador, if you will, between the science of climate change and the world of evangelical Christian faith and practice...Yet to delve into that with her is to learn a great deal that refreshingly complicates the picture of what is possible and what is already happening, even across what feel like cultural battle lines. If you want to see and walk differently on this frontier, even with humans with whom you disagree, this is for you."
—Krista Tippett, On Being
"A welcome effort to address the politicisation of climate change head-on...Hayhoe is an appealing messenger."
—Financial Times
"Practical advice abounds in this compassionate guide to conducting meaningful discussions about the environment. Those in search of a hope-filled approach will find plenty of encouragement."
—Publishers Weekly
"This heartfelt and empathetic book focuses on shared values ... to build essential bonds and the courage required for the work ahead. Read this vital book and take its exigent message to heart."
—Washington Independent Review of Books
“I’ve seen [Katharine] speak in person and it was electrifying and probably the most powerful moment I’ve ever experienced in the climate movement. This book will be worth every second you spend reading it.”
—Kawai Strong Washburn, author of the PEN/HEMINGWAY award-winning Sharks in the Time of Saviors
“Before you book a flight to Mars, read this book. Conversations fueled by respect and shared values can help save our planet, and Katharine Hayhoe gives us the confidence to do what it takes.”
—Alan Alda, Emmy Award-winning actor and host of "Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda"
“Katharine shares an optimistic outlook on what we all can do to move the needle toward solutions and invite allies under the big tent.”
— Don Cheadle, Academy Award-nominated actor and UN Environmental Program Goodwill Ambassador
"Saving Us contains profound insights on human behavior, and it shows us how our conversations can launch us on the journey away from despair toward awareness and engagement. A real joy to read."
— Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
“Katharine Hayhoe intertwines stories, including her own, with scientific snapshots to provide a powerful blueprint for how we can talk to others about our changing planet. Bold and pragmatic- Saving Us is a vital contribution to the discussion on climate change.”
—Chelsea Clinton, New York Times bestselling author and global health advocate
"There are lots of brilliant climate scientists in America, and some are able to communicate capably to non-scientists. But none of them are quite as clear or as forceful as Dr. Katharine Hayhoe when it comes to telling everyday Americans the truth about climate change. She's one-in-a-million."
—David Gelber, Emmy Award-winning producer, and creator of Years of Living Dangerously
"Saving Us provides the transition from the mind to the heart. And it takes a communicator like Katharine Hayhoe to draw connections between the scientific facts and our hope for healing a fragmented world."
—Patriarch Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church
"Saving Us offers a roadmap to transform our approach to tackling climate challenges from sprawling global crises to community-driven solutions, recognizing that our diverse and collective voices are key to creating lasting change."
—Abby Maxman, President and CEO, Oxfam America
"Those of us who see climate science clearly can become too despairing and too angry. Saving Us reminds us we need to start from a place of love, open-mindedness and respect. Katharine is the rarest of gifts to our troubled world, equipped with the mind of a scientist and the heart of a saint. This is the book we all need."
— Elizabeth May, Former Leader of the Green Party of Canada
"In Saving Us, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe teaches all of us how to open hearts and minds to the truths of climate change. Talking about global warming with our own family and friends is one of the most important things we each can do, creating a shared understanding, rooted in empathy, to motivate action."
— Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of the Yale University Project on Climate Change
"Saving Us is a uniquely hopeful approach to the conversation on climate change. Katharine Hayhoe's expertise is on full display both in the way she talks about the science, and in the wealth of ideas she offers for how we can overcome over divisions, but her core argument is simple: we need to talk more with each other."
—Archbishop Thomas Shirrmacher, Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance
"Dr. Hayhoe writes personally and persuasively—as a person of faith and a as a scientist—about both the peril of the climate crisis and why we can still have hope. With clear vision, Saving Us gives us the tools to have serious and sustained conversations about the climate."
—Dan Misleh, Executive Director of the Catholic Climate Covenant
"A masterful playbook exploring why past approaches have failed, and how we can all help get it right. In this climate emergency the global fire alarms are still muffled for many; Katharine Hayhoe empowers us to turn up the volume to 11."
—Professor Dave Reay, Chair in Carbon Management and Executive Director of Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, University of Edinburgh
Library Journal
★ 08/01/2021
Climate scientist Hayhoe (political science, Texas Tech Univ.; chief scientist of the Nature Conservancy) offers a highly readable, well-organized study of polarizing issues surrounding climate change; it's also memoiristic. The book loudly announces its intentions in the first pages, where Hayhoe articulates the intersection of her scientific research and her situated knowledge (the idea that knowledge reflects the context in which it is produced and the identity of its producer). Too often, realism and hope exist in opposition, which is deflating (and, as Hayhoe brilliantly argues, defeatist) during a time of cataclysmic unrest in social, environmental, medical, and political spaces. Hayhoe's book contains careful arguments, scientific data, and personal stories about climate change, but its most significant contributions are, first, showing readers that conversations with others have an impact, and second, explaining how to have dialogues in open, loving ways to move toward change. Hayhoe is open about the deleterious effects of partisan politics on the ability to talk about environmental issues. The strategies she leaves her readers with are therefore as much about having difficult conversations across party lines as they are about science. VERDICT Spanning the intersection of science, politics, and memoir, Hayhoe's debut offers guidance on what readers can do to effect change.—Emily Bowles, Lawrence Univ., WI
