Often the topic of climate change can seem overwhelming as there are many moving parts. A great way to begin your journey is education. Here we have laid out a comprehensive list of resources including films, books, speeches, websites, and other media sources to get you excited and educated about climate change and action! Although these individual resources each involve many aspects of climate change, each page lists a resource based on the major theme of the resource: Agriculture, Energy, Environmental Justice, Policy, and Understanding the Science.
Agriculture
Films:
- Cowspiracy: A Sustainability Secret: This film tackles Big Ag and its links to climate change and environmental degradation by examining animal agriculture specifically.
- The Biggest Little Farm: Watch this inspiring film that follows a couple who buy a farm in hopes of transforming a degenerated ecosystem into one that flourishes.
Books:
- Call of the Reed Warbler: A New Agriculture, A New Earth by Charles Massy
- Charles Massy uses his own transformation from a chemical-using to a radical ecologist farmer to testify to how restorative agriculture is the pathway to healthier communities and to a healthier Earth.
- The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World by Amanda Little
- Amanda Little takes on what it will be like to feed a larger population in a world with diminishing resources.
Speeches and Other Short Videos:
- How regenerative farming can help heal the planet and human health Charles Massy gives a Ted Talk on the benefits of regenerative farming.
- Are We Getting Enough Crop per Drop? Kate Braumann, a professor at University of Minnesota, discusses her research surrounding water sustainability and agriculture.
- Regeneration of Our Lands: a Producer’s Perspective Gabe Brown gives a Ted Talk on how regeneration of our soil is crucial to food production, water quality, and the health of our communities.
- Climate Change: What it Means for Our Agriculture and Our Health is a longer video that hosts a group of expert panelists as they discuss climate, agriculture, health, and what we can do as individuals.
Journalism:
- The Water Wars of Arizona by Noah Gallagher Shannon: an article for the New York Times on drought conditions in Arizona caused by climate change and Big Ag production. The article explores the ramifications for residents of a rural Arizona valley.
- Can Dirt Save the Earth? by Moises Velasquez-Manoff: an article that dives into land use, agriculture, and how one couple rejuvenated the soil and ecosystem on their farm.
- From Apples to Popcorn, Climate Change is Altering the Foods America Grows by Kim Severson: a New York Times article that dives into how climate change is making farmers adjust their current structures.
Energy
Films:
- GASLAND: This award-winning documentary was made to spread public awareness about natural gas fracking and its environmental justice implications nationwide.
- Blowout: A documentary on how our fossil fuel production has had an impact on the people closest to it.
Books:
- Power Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells — Our Ride to the Renewable Future by Amanda Little
- This book follows journalist Amanda Little across the United States as she explores the history of fossil fuel energy in America and works to understand how and what energy will play in a role in our future.
- Energy and Climate: Vision for the Future by Michael B. McElroy
- This book lays out an overview of our current energy systems and their contributions to our transforming climate. It proposes actions we can take to move forward towards more sustainable systems.
Speeches and Other Short Videos:
- A guide to the energy of the Earth – Joshua M. Sneideman: this Ted Ed video gives an easy to digest overview of Earth’s energy and how we harness it.
- Can 100% renewable energy power the world? – Frederico Rosei and Renzo Rosei: this Ted Ed video covers potential solutions to our dependence on a declining energy source: fossil fuels. It also discusses the challenges of harnessing renewable energy but the potential of our advanced technology.
Journalism:
- Uprising: The Environmental Scandal That’s Happening Right Under Your Feet: Award-winning science journalism reporting on the natural gas fracking industry and its corruption, particularly in regards to leaking pipelines.
- Climate and Energy Experts Debate How to Respond to a Warming World by The New York Times: this article quotes opinions from multiple experts and scientists on what they think is best for the climate and our future.
Environmental Justice
Films:
- Sun Come Up: This Academy Award nominated documentary follows the relocation of islanders who are losing their homes due to rising sea levels caused by climate change. It focuses on the concept of climate refugees and climate justice.
- AWAKE, A Dream From Standing Rock: This award-winning film highlights the Indigenous fight for justice at Standing Rock through footage of the protests and interviews with Indigenous people at the frontlines of the fight against the Keystone XL Pipeline. This movie contains footage of violence.
- The Age of Consequence: This film explores the national and global security threats linked to climate change, including global wars and forced migration.
- The Condor & The Eagle: This documentary follows four Indigenous environmentalists in their fight to protect vulnerable around the world by attending summits and actions.
Books:
- Rising: Dispatches from a New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush
- With award-winning journalism, Elizabeth Rush examines consequences of sea level rise for America, particularly from a lens of climate justice.
- The Water Will Come by Jeff Gooddell
- Jeff Gooddell explores sea level rise and its consequences for humankind, including discussion of the IPCC estimates for sea level rise and why those may not be an accurate prediction.
Speeches and Other Short Videos:
- Oil, Gas, and the Effects of Environmental Racism by Viceland
- A Brief History of Environmental Justice by ProPublica
- Man-Killing Jobs and Environmental Racism by The Atlantic
- Climate Change Will Displace Millions. Here’s how we prepare by Colette Pichon Battle
Journalism:
- Whale Hunters of the Warming Arctic by Tom Kizzia: an article for the New Yorker about arctic Indigenous populations and the negative effects climate change is having on their livelihoods.
- Cancer Alley: Big Industry, Big Problems: Part of MSNBC’s Geographies of Poverty series, it examines life in Cancer Alley, Louisiana–a huge epicenter of environmental racism in the U.S.
- Flint Water Crisis: A page on the New York Times website dedicated to the articles they’ve published covering the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
- Resettling the First American ‘Climate Refugees’: A New York Times article on U.S. climate refugees from the flooded Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana.
- Photographing Climate Refugees, by Drone and On Foot by Josh Haner
Policy and Economics
Films:
- Merchants of Doubt: This documentary focuses on climate change deniers and other similar lobbying efforts and how their opinions have been disseminated and accepted.
Books:
- This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Klein
- Naomi Klein tackles climate change from an economic perspective in this insanely thorough book about capitalism’s intersection with the climate crisis.
- On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein
- Naomi Klein creates a compelling case for a Green New Deal, explaining her reasoning behind backing the controversial piece of legislation.
Speeches and Other Short Videos:
- Greta Thunberg at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York
- The Obama Era: The Threat to the Planet by President Barack Obama and The New York Times
- Sunrise Movement and the Ascent of the Green New Deal by NBC News
Journalism:
- A Major But Little Known Supporter of Climate Denial: Freight Railroads by Robinson Meyer: An article The Atlantic did on the powers of industry over climate change denial.
Policy:
- The Green New Deal is a congressional resolution introduced by Representative Alexandira Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward J. Markey to tackle climate change. Bills are dense and often difficult to parse through, here is a New York Times article that gives highlights of The Green New Deal.
- IPCC Report. The 2018 IPCC report was created because of an initiative in the Paris Climate Agreement to provide a special report on the impacts of global warming about 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. The Summary for Policymakers is the watered-down version of the larger several hundred page report. We have created a guide to reading the report which you can find here (PDF).
Understanding the Science and Climate Communication
Films:
- An Inconvenient Truth: This film, although less recent, provides a good overview of climate change science via Al Gore and addresses the difficulties in creating action around climate change.
- An Inconvenient Truth 2: Truth to Power: Al Gore’s sequel to his original film on climate change is a call to action in the wake of a decade of inaction since his last film’s release. He explores the current state of climate change and climate action.
- Before the Flood: Leonardo DiCaprio’s take on the climate crisis. A good overview of facts and figures worldwide.
Books:
- Climate Changed: A Personal Journey Through the Science by Phillippe Squarzoni
- Phillippe Squarzoni tackles climate change through a graphic novel filled with accessible scientific facts, interviews with leaders on the issue, and the emotions behind grappling with something as large as the climate crisis.
- Field Notes From a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert
- Scientist Elizabeth Kolbert tackles climate change in her book centering her research and travels around the world witnessing the effects of climate change firsthand.
- The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells
- David Wallace-Wells discusses ways that climate change will alter everything about the society we live in today, how our lives will be affected by warming, and calls us to action.
- The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
- Elizabeth Kolbert looks at the effects of climate change from a biodiversity perspective, arguing that the earth is in the middle of another big extinction event due to manmade climate change.
Speeches and Other Short Videos:
- The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: Talk about it by Katharine Hayhoe. Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist, discusses how we must incorporate our lifestyles, community, and shared values in discussions about climate change.
- Why humans are so bad at thinking about climate change by Vox
Journalism:
- Documenting Climate Change by Land, Air, and Sea by Josh Haner
- Seven National Geographic Photographers on Witnessing Climate Change by Jessie Wender
- Environmental Photographers of the Year 2019 Winners: In Pictures by The Guardian
- Peter Essick’s Journey into Environmental Photojournalism by Dennis Dimick
General Websites to Learn More
- Teach Climate Justice Campaign: A toolkit for educators or anyone looking to educate about the intersections of climate change and injustice.
- NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Resources: A source page of several types of resources related to environmental and climate justice ranging from toolkits to webinars.
- NASA: Offers pages on evidence, causes, effects, and solutions to climate change. It also provides news articles, resources for educators, and resources for kids.
- Yale Project on Climate Communication: A series of research dedicated to public climate change knowledge and attitudes, particularly the psychological, social, and cultural factors underlying attitudes and behavior.
- United Nations: A page dedicated to an overview of climate change, the IPCC, and legal enactments related to climate and instated by the UN.