Best green reads of 2024

Whether you are an avid reader or like your climate literature in bite-sized chunks, the best green reads of 2024 offer valuable insights into the current state of our planet as well as inspiration for the future. Through fact and fiction, these sustainability books provide a unique perspective on the environmental challenges we face and the things we can do to overcome them.

Mobility: A Novel by Lydia Kiesling

Blending personal drama with the broader forces of climate change and global capitalism, Lydia Kiesling’s Mobility is a compulsive and often surprisingly fun read. The story follows the life of Bunny Glenn, an American woman who grows up in the oil-rich worlds of Baku, Azerbaijan and later Houston, Texas. Through Bunny’s eyes, Kiesling examines the moral ambiguities and contradictions faced by those working in an industry that is both a source of livelihood and a contributor to the climate crisis. An insightful portrayal of how personal choices are intertwined with larger economic and environmental systems, Mobility is a powerful reflection on the complexities of sustainability in the modern world.

Birding to Change the World: A Memoir by Trish O’Kane

Trish O’Kane never expected to be a birder. A former journalist who covered war zones, she admits she never cared for birds. Then, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit her home in New Orleans. In the aftermath of the destruction, she took a cup of coffee and sat on the back stoop. ‘About a dozen small brown sparrows clung to a few spindly trees,’ she writes. ‘Where did they go during the hurricane? How did they survive?’ Over the following weeks, this ‘sparrow show’ in her backyard got her through the mornings. Her interest in birds continued to grow to the point that she quit journalism, went back to school at the age of 45 and became a passionate ornithologist and conservationist.

In her inspiring memoir, Birding to Change the World, O’Kane chronicles this journey. She recounts the astonishing science of bird life, including migration and survival strategies, along with stories about birds and the humans who love them. She shows what birds can teach us, and how those lessons can be a force for environmental action.

Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto by Kohei Saito

Environmentalists have argued for years that endless economic growth is a major contributor to the climate crisis. In Slow Down, a bestseller in Japan and now available in English, philosopher Kohei Saito makes the case that it is also leading to a crisis of inequality. In his view, capitalism puts perpetual growth above all else. It is therefore impossible to reverse climate change in a capitalist society.

As an alternative, Saito advocates degrowth and deceleration – essentially, slowing down and doing less. He believes we can achieve decarbonization (removing or reducing carbon dioxide emissions) through shorter working hours and an end to mass consumption. By transitioning from quantity to quality, he argues, we can restore abundance and focus on the activities that are essential for human life. In doing so, we can effectively reverse climate change and save the planet. It’s an interesting perspective, and convincingly presented, whether you agree with Saito’s Marxist leanings or not.

Not the End of the World by Hannah Ritchie

Hannah Ritchie is one of our favorite climate scientists for her radical optimism backed up by hard data. She has now turned both into this fascinating sustainability book. Not the End of the World is a refreshing antidote to the mainstream narrative of climate doom. Ritchie combines her expertise in data analysis with a hopeful outlook on the future. She argues that we have the tools and knowledge to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The book is filled with actionable insights and success stories that demonstrate how we can all contribute to a sustainable future. Without glossing over the huge challenges we face, Ritchie explains what works, what doesn’t and what we need to prioritize to build a truly sustainable planet.

At 700+ pages, Alexis Wright’s Praiseworthy has a lot to say. Set in the fictional Australian town of the title, the novel weaves together the stories of its larger-than-life characters as they confront an impending ecological catastrophe and the exploitation of their land. A master storyteller, Aboriginal-Australian author Wright uses her unique blend of magic realism and social commentary to highlight the resilience of Indigenous Australians and their sacred connection with the Earth. Both satirical and lyrical, Praiseworthy is a big, bold green read for anyone interested in understanding the intersection of environmental justice, cultural preservation and the fight against climate change.

Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts

Part natural history lesson, part historical adventure, Jason Robert’s Every Living Thing is the thrilling story of the race to identify and catalog every species on Earth. The book is told from the dual perspectives of 18th-century rivals Carl Linnaeus and Georges-Louis de Buffon. However, Roberts clearly comes down on the side of Buffon. Linnaeus, a Swedish doctor, liked neat categories and ranked species, including humans, according to European values. Meanwhile, Buffon, a French naturalist, rejected racial hierarchies. He also believed the natural world was not fixed and put forward early ideas about evolution.

The book details the two men’s very different worldviews and looks at why Linnaeus’ views are still so much better known. Roberts, who spent more than a decade researching the book, expertly weaves together tales of discovery and the legacy of sometimes flawed science in the age of climate change and species extinction.

H Is for Hope: Climate Change from A to Z by Elizabeth Kolbert

Elizabeth Kolbert, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction, returns with H Is for Hope, a fresh and accessible take on the climate crisis. Organized as an A-to-Z guide, Kolbert covers a wide range of topics, from ‘A’ (for Svante Arrhenius, the Swedish scientist – and distant relative of Greta Thunberg – who created the world’s first climate model in 1894) to ‘Z’ (for the Colorado River Basin, which is seen as ground zero for climate change in the United States). Along the way, she offers us a comprehensive overview of the current state of climate science, policy and action.

Each entry is written with Kolbert’s signature humor and clarity – and is beautifully illustrated by Wesley Allsbrook – making complex subjects appealing for a broad audience. In addition, the book’s hopeful tone makes it a motivating read, despite the sometimes-alarming statistics.

What If We Get It Right? by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

As the cherry on our literary cake, there’s What If We Get It Right?. Already a New York Times Bestseller, the book is a collection of data, art and conversations with visionary farmers, financiers, artists and architects who imagine a climate future in which we get things right. As author Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, points out, our climate future hasn’t been written yet. This joyful book aims to change the mood around the climate debate and inspire us all to act – in whatever way we can – as if we love the future.

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