Human Nature

A captivating exploration of climate change, through the lens of nine different emotions, to better understand the science, history, and future of our changing planet Dr. Kate Marvel is a renowned climate scientist and researcher whose work on climate change led her to grapple with strong, complicated emotions. Initially, she resisted those feelings, afraid they would interfere with her objective scientific judgement. But over time she realized that there is no one way to think--or feel--about climate change. To live on and care for our changing planet, we need to embrace the full spectrum of human emotion. That''s why she''s written Human Nature , the story of climate change told through nine different emotions. As Marvel argues, we need every emotion we can muster if we''re going to counter the usual myopic perspectives on climate change and care enough to make better decisions. And this book is a dazzling call to care. In Human Nature , each chapter uses a different emotion to illustrate the science behind our changing climate. We feel the wonder of being able to use climate models to predict the future. We feel anger at those who have knowingly destroyed the planet for profit. We feel love for our beautiful Earth, the only good planet. With Marvel as our guide, we get to feel it all--and we can begin to turn our strong feelings into strong action. Human Nature is a remarkable, hopeful look at climate science that prioritizes feelings--and in doing so charts a path forward for life together in our swiftly evolving world.

Autorentext

Kate Marvel is a climate scientist and one of the premier science communicators working today. A former cosmologist, Marvel received a PhD in theoretical physics from Cambridge University. She led the “Climate Trends” chapter in the U.S. Fifth National Climate Assessment, has given a TED Talk, appeared on Meet the Press and The Ezra Klein Show, and testified before the U.S. Congress. She has written for Scientific American, Nautilus magazine, and the On Being Project. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

Klappentext

A captivating exploration of climate change that uses nine different emotions to better understand the science, history, and future of our evolving planet

Scientist Kate Marvel has seen the world end before, sometimes several times a day. In the computer models she uses to study climate change, it’s easy to simulate rising temperatures, catastrophic outcomes, and bleak futures. But climate change isn’t just happening in those models. It’s happening here, to the only good planet in the universe. It’s happening to us. And she has feelings about that.  

Human Nature is a deeply felt inquiry into our rapidly changing Earth. In each chapter, Marvel uses a different emotion to explore the science and stories behind climate change. As expected, there is anger, fear, and grief—but also wonder, hope, and love. With her singular voice, Marvel takes us on a soaring journey, one filled with mythology, physics, witchcraft, bad movies, volcanoes, Roman emperors, sequoia groves, and the many small miracles of nature we usually take for granted.

Hopeful, heartbreaking, and surprisingly funny, Human Nature is a vital, wondrous exploration of how it feels to live in a changing world.

Human Nature is a biography of the Earth in nine emotions:

• Wonder
• Anger
• Guilt
• Fear
• Grief
• Surprise
• Pride
• Hope
• Love