One of the greatest challenges facing authors of climate nonfiction, climate fiction, and climate communication in general can be summed up in a single sentence. How do we convey the urgency and severity of the climate crisis without leaving our audience feeling like there’s nothing they can do about it?
There are no quick or easy answers to this question. Climate authors and climate communicators almost inevitably err in one direction or the other, either leaving their audience in a cloud of gloom and doom or convincing their audience that we can solve everything by installing a few solar panels and voting differently in a few years.
And then there are books like What If We Get It Right by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.
What if we get it right?
What If We Get It Right asks one of the most important questions any climate author or climate communicator can ask. What if we get it right? What if we make the changes we need to make in our communities, cities, states, nations, and world in order to resolve the climate crisis in alignment with the principles and practices of environmental and climate justice? What would that look like? And how do we get from here to there?
This is a simple question. Each of us can probably come up with some meaningful and potentially actionable ideas in response to this question. But here’s another question. What would it look like if we posed this question to dozens of experts and organizers who are actively working on programs and policies that are each answering this question in their own way in practice?
That’s the premise – and power! – of What If We Get It Right. Rather than try to write her own book-length synopsis of what she learned by talking to all of these experts and organizers, Johnson chose to compile her interviews with them and share them with readers.
We, the readers, get to follow along with Johnson in her journey of climate discovery. We get to hear from people who are active in their fields about what they’re working on and what they would like to see happen going forward. Johnson herself serves as both tour guide and co-contributor on this journey, sharing her own stories and offering some helpful framing and context for the interviews and other pieces included in the book. The end result is a comprehensive overview of what it might look like if we “get it right” on many aspects of the climate crisis and our response to it.
Why is this such an important question for the climate movement and the world in general?
What If We Get It Right offers a powerful contribution to discourse on the climate crisis for at least two important reasons.
First, it provides a thorough overview of many different types of climate solutions that are already in progress, and many more that are on the horizon if only we can muster the economic and political support necessary to make them a reality.
Second, and perhaps most importantly, it provides the audience with a compelling narrative about the climate crisis and climate justice. It emphasizes the importance of envisioning solutions, working together with others in support of those solutions, and ensuring that those solutions are rooted in the principles of environmental and climate justice. Otherwise we’ll just be continuing and replicating the same systems of oppression and exploitation with different technology.
This book was published in September of 2024, so the tone is far more upbeat and solutions-focused than so much public discourse on climate since the re-election of Donald Trump. Some cynics may wonder if a book focused on innovative climate solutions and climate justice even has any relevance anymore in a time when the climate movement is busy scrambling to resist a resurgence in fossil fuel development and environmental regulation rollbacks.
But the solutions-focused and justice-oriented narrative of What If We Get It Right is now more important than ever. Of course, the resistance component of the climate movement has an essential role to play too. But if there’s no popular vision for climate solutions that benefit the public, then the future course of our society will be charted by fossil capital and its defenders.
What If We Get It Right offers a bold vision of many climate solutions that are rooted in scientific evidence and the principles of climate justice. The climate movement and the world in general need such visions now more than ever.
What topics does the book explore?
What If We Get It Right covers so much important ground that it’s hard to summarize it all without reading the entire book! There’s also so much personality and culture in this book that a dry summary of the overarching themes can’t do it justice. However, a compelling summary can explain why this will be a rewarding read for so many climate-concerned readers.
The book is organized into eight main parts that each explore a different theme. Each part includes a combination of interviews, poetry, art, and commentary related to the theme. I appreciated the fact that the majority of these parts start with a list of “10 Problems” and “10 Possibilities” that are all related to that part’s theme. These lists serve as both a concise overview of many important points related to the theme and a way of framing the discourse in the interviews and other content.
Possibility
“Possibility” introduces the overall concepts and inspiration of the book. The first interview with climate scientist Kate Marvel offers a global-scale perspective that helps frame the more particular and local topics of the rest of the book in a broader context. I’ve heard Marvel talk about climate science in numerous interviews and always appreciate her insights.
Replenish and Re-Green
“Replenish and Re-Green” features interviews with science journalist Judith D. Schwartz, historian and farmer Brian Donahue, and Soul Fire Farm founder Leah Penniman. They each share important insights and personal experiences related to nature-inspired solutions, regenerative agriculture, and the role of farming in both climate solutions and society generally.
If We Build It…
“If We Build It…” has interviews with landscape architect Kate Orff, design justice pioneer Bryan Lee, architect and curator Paola Antonelli, and tech executive Mustafa Suleyman. These conversations explore various aspects of the intersection between climate and design, including regional-scale design, design justice, built architecture, the role of computers and artificial intelligence in design and climate solutions, and many other related topics and solutions.
The interview with Mustafa Suleyman was one of the most challenging conversations for me in the entire book. I’m an anticapitalist with a fair amount of skepticism of current trends in AI. Suleyman is essentially an AI entrepreneur. There’s an inherent conflict in perspective there. However, I’m also a lifelong technophile and advocate for some degree of pursuing climate solutions within existing economic institutions while also seeking to transform those systems. Therefore, I found the conversation deeply fascinating and informative, even while finding myself at times disagreeing with Suleyman.
Follow the Money
“Follow the Money” features interviews with writer and activist Bill McKibben, CREO Syndicate CEO Régine Clément, and former director of the Loan Programs Office in the US Department of Energy, Jigar Shah. There’s also a chapter called “Corporations, Do Better” that lists ten steps that corporations should take (and five steps that governments should take) in response to the climate crisis.
I also struggled with some portions of this part because I simply don’t believe that for-profit corporations and billionaires have any role to play in serious long-term solutions to the climate crisis. However, since these people and organizations do exist currently, I found it fascinating and informative to read about what they could be doing within current economic and political systems – short of working to change those systems, of course. And the interviews with McKibben and Shah offered a nice contrast between an activist who is agitating in favor of divestment and an investor who is advocating for clean energy investment.
Culture Is the Context
“Culture Is the Context” has interviews with filmmakers Franklin Leonard and Adam McKay, science journalist Kendra Pierre-Louis, and youth climate activists Xiye Bastida and Atisha Siddiqa. These conversations explore climate themes in pop culture media, climate journalism, and the history and importance of youth climate action.
I have long believed that culture and media narratives play a central role in how we understand and respond to the climate crisis, so I was especially excited to read this part of the book. I found it exciting and inspiring to read interviews with people talking about the state of climate discourse and how we can improve it. I expect to refer back to it periodically in my own work as a climate fiction author, climate change book reviewer, and climate radio show host. For people who don’t work in writing and culture-related fields, these interviews offer a compelling introduction to how creative writing, journalism, climate communication, and political organizing can all play vital roles in the movement for climate justice.
Changing the Rules
“Changing the Rules” features interviews with dean and professor of energy and environmental policy Kelly Sims Gallagher, political scientist Rhiana Gunn-Wright, and environmental lawyer Abigail Dillen. These conversations explore the Green New Deal and other ways that laws and policies can contribute to climate solutions. There’s also a chapter called “A Blue New Deal” that explores the history and current (as of publication) state of the movement for a Blue New Deal.
I’ve been following the discourse around the concept of a Green New Deal since long before the current Democratic Green New Deal movement took shape. I was excited to see the idea rise to prominence in U.S. politics and still hold out hope that the Green New Deal will have an influence on present and future policy at the local, state, and federal levels of government (if those levels of government survive the current crisis). I was also delighted to learn more about the Blue New Deal – an emerging concept and movement that I had heard of but admittedly hadn’t studied in detail. Reading this book has definitely inspired me to learn more about the Blue New Deal and do what I can to support it.
Community Foremost
“Community Foremost” has interviews with disasterologist Samantha Montano, lawyer and organizer Colette Pichon Battle, and Indigenous rights and climate policy expert and organizer Jade Begay. These conversations explore community disaster preparation and response, climate migration, the Land Back movement, and how historically marginalized communities are protecting their rights and land and supporting community-led climate solutions.
As a municipalist, I am absolutely convinced that local community organizing and local participation in democratic decision-making must play a central role in any movement for justice, including the movement for climate justice. This is especially true for Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities. These communities have survived hundreds of years of colonial violence. They’re seeking to establish their own sovereignty by resisting deadly pollution in their communities and organizing community projects at the local and regional level. This is vital work both for the sake of responding to the climate crisis and for the sake of these communities liberating themselves from a long history of colonial violence and oppression.
Transformation
“Transformation” features an interview with ocean farmer and organizer Bren Smith along with several short chapters that serve to wrap up the book and provide important framing for the preceding chapters and the work that lies ahead when we set the book down and head back into the world. This includes a Climate Oath chapter, a reflection on finding joy and purpose in your own personal climate work, and a final reflection on what it would look like if we get it right on climate change.
I found many aspects of this book moving, but this final part in particular felt especially moving. This is the part where we as readers really start to process all of the wonderful interviews and other content we’ve just read and reflect on what it all means, what our personal role is in all of this (with the help of the Climate Action Venn Diagram), and what our communities, societies, and world will look like if we get it right.
Reading this part of the book while living under the Trump regime felt bittersweet. The vision of the politicians and billionaires who control the major institutions of this country is severely and tragically out of line with the vision presented in this book.
However, reading this book while living under the Trump regime also felt like a wonderful breath of fresh air. People living under this regime don’t have to abide by the logic of the regime. We can read, write, and talk about our own visions for society. And we can meet in our communities to organize for change. If we work together, with our powers combined, we can still make many of the “what if we get it right” visions described in this book a reality.
How can this book help individuals and local communities respond to the climate crisis?
If you have a particular topic related to the climate crisis that you’re interested in, you’ll probably find something about it in this book, or at least something closely related. Reading the relevant chapter or chapters may inspire you to take action or introduce you to groups and projects that are related to your interests.
On the other hand, if you’re not sure where to start in your response to the climate crisis, that’s great too! This book is full of so many personal stories and so many tangible solutions to various aspects of the climate crisis. If you’re looking for inspiration or guidance on where to start, something in here is bound to grab your attention. In fact, you may find so much inspiration here that you’ve got too many ideas of where to start instead of too few!
Either way, the Climate Action Venn Diagram presented in this book is a great way to explore your personal approach to supporting climate solutions and climate justice.
This is also an excellent book for a book club or local community group to read together. Read about all of the different projects that people are working on, talk about local needs and circumstances, and decide together on one or more projects that local people may be interested in starting or supporting.
Does this book have an official website or podcast?
The official website for the book includes helpful supplemental materials such as the Climate Action Venn Diagram, a reading guide, a resources section, and music and art that will keep you inspired and motivated to work for climate justice. These supplemental materials help ensure that readers get the most out of the book and feel inspired and empowered to move from the step of reading to the step of action.
The author, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, also hosts a What If We Get It Right podcast. If you like podcasts, this one is a wonderful opportunity to listen to Johnson and some of the people she interviewed in this book talk about their work and inspiration to continue working on climate solutions and climate justice.
If you can’t decide where to start on your own climate action journey after reading the book or listening to the podcast, you may want to start with the Climate Action Venn Diagram. It poses three simple questions:
What are you good at? What work needs doing? What brings you joy?
Try to find what forms of climate action, career goals, and other life practices lie at the center of this Venn diagram. That way, you’ll be doing something that you love, something you’re good at, and something that helps, all at once.
Where can I read this book?
There are so many options! The book is available for purchase through many online booksellers. I personally recommend either Bookshop or a locally-owned bookstore in your area.
You may also be able to borrow a copy from your local library. As an avid reader with a limited income, I know the importance of having access to reading materials even if you don’t have the cash necessary to buy a large selection of new books. Therefore, I encourage people to borrow climate-themed books from the library if they can’t afford to buy them.
As a climate fiction author myself, I know from experience how important it is for authors to have a base of readers who buy their books. But I also take great joy in knowing that my books reach a broader audience when readers can access through public libraries.
Where can I read more books like this?
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out All We Can Save. It’s another book edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson with many inspiring and insightful essays by women working on climate solutions and climate justice. Climate Change Books also has other climate nonfiction reviews and climate change reading lists that you may find helpful.
If you like email newsletters, you’re in luck! Here are three great newsletters :
- For more from Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, check out her “What If We Get It Right?” newsletter.
- For more reviews like this one, check out the Climate Change Books newsletter.
- For more news and updates from the author of this review, check out Treesong’s newsletter.
In the meantime, thank you for reading. Reading, writing, and talking about the climate crisis is such powerful and transformative work. With our powers combined, we can make climate justice a reality.
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