The Climate We've Made

An exploration of the scientific, philosophical, and psychological perspectives that shape how we experience climate change.

Climate change poses a serious threat to humanity and Earth as we know it. Scientists have been collecting direct evidence of this for more than 60 years, yet despite the best efforts of climate scientists, activists, and policymakers to effect change, global temperatures and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere continue to increase. If climate change is truly a crisis–and it is–then why are so many people unmotivated to prevent it?

The Climate We’ve Made seeks to make sense of this by investigating the disconnect between the climate disaster predicted by scientists and societies’ understanding of the need for action to mitigate global warming; how we are certain that climate change is happening and humans are the cause; the ethical obligations that humans today have for maintaining a livable Earth for future generations; why it is so hard for humans, individually and collectively, to take action on climate change; and more. Stickel does this by dividing the book into three parts: science, philosophy, and psychology.

Considering the potentially massive magnitude and scope of climate change, assuredly altering human life and the entire Earth in profound ways, it is worth taking a step back and looking at climate change with a broader lens. Stickel does this by offering potential paths forward for saving the planet through direct insight into the effectiveness of climate-mitigating technologies, the pace at which they are being deployed, and the attitudes of society, media, and policymakers to encourage collective change by all of Earth’s inhabitants.