We are the music makers,
We are the dreamers of dreams.
(Arthur O'Shaughnessy)

Among the number of books on Climate Change out there, many of them very well-researched and worth a read, very few manage to address the issue in a way that is both accessible and hopeful to a young audience. Here in this brief piece I want to simply point to two remarkable exceptions.

The first of them is Australian leading writer-scientist and thinker in environmental science, Tim Flannery's We Are the Weather Makers: The Story of Global Warming (Text, 2006), an adaptation for young adults of his international bestseller The Weather Makers. The second title that merits a special highlight is Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming, the young adult version of his book of the same name (a joint effort by Penguin Young Readers Group and Rodale, to be released in April).

In their books, Flannery and Gore provide a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the current state of knowledge on climate change — the most urgent issue of our time and of our children's future — by focusing on its history and future impact. They do a terrific job of getting the urgent message out to young people on how we all contribute to, are affected by, and must help address environmental problems. Drawing from a seemingly bottomless well of climate change woes, they also speak of hope when addressing a generation of potential environmental ambassadors that will be inspired to face the challenge and become part of the solution.

By demonstrating with facts, figures and images that "what happens locally has worldwide consequences" they make it easy for young adults to see how they can, for example, consume less nature by treading more lightly on our world garden. Their message is a plea for action and a rousing one at that : if humans are the main driving force pushing the world toward environmental imbalance, they can also be the driving force that will turn the car the other way, toward making the world more sustainably prosperous — no small thing to grasp fully, let alone act upon.

Including definitions and explanations of complex terms and scientific concepts specifically written for a younger audience, We Are The Weather Makers: The Story of Global Warming and An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming are, in my opinion, two of the most potentially impactful reads on climate change for a younger audience available nowadays. Their message deserves a well-carved space in everyone's conscience.

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All of the profits from An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming will be donated to fighting global warming.

The Weather Makers' website offers many educational resources, a list of "11 Realistic Ways You Can Help Reduce Global Warming", and a glossary of important terms.

Posted March 2007