5 books to understand climate change better

The world will mark Earth Day on April 22, a day to remind governments, institutions, businesses, and citizens to work towards building a climate-resilient future. Metrolife brings you five books on the subject by Indian authors.

A river runs again

Author: Meera Subramanian

The book looks at the cycle of life, loss and survival. It is divided into five segments, one devoted to each of the five elements (earth, fire, wind, water, and ether). It chronicles the inspiring stories of people who adopted organic farming, made smokeless stoves, and revived a dry river in a bid to reverse the damages done to their environment.

Climate change and energy options for a sustainable future

Authors: Dinesh Kumar Srivastava, V S Ramamurthy

By examining the effects of extreme weather events, the authors highlight the plight of ‘climate refugees’. The duo pinpoints how poor countries, the lowest contributors to global warming, are unprepared to deal with the climate crisis. They trace how a collective effort in making lifestyle changes, relying on clean energy, and keeping deforestation and pollution in check, can give us a chance at averting disaster.

The climate solution

Author: Mridula Ramesh

Climate change cannot be ignored anymore. The book foregrounds this urgency across two parts — Understanding, and Action. It lists out policy-level and individual actions to combat the threat. It also contains stories of climate warriors and innovative solutions.

Climate justice in India

Edited by: Prakash Kashwan

The repercussions of climate change are intersectional and disproportionate, impacting some communities more than others. Social scientist Prakash Kashwan talks about climate vulnerabilities, and distils the vision of a climate-just India as proposed by various academics, activists and artists in this crossover volume.

Who really feeds the world?

Author: Vandana Shiva

Environment activist Vandana Shiva articulates the reasons for the looming food crisis. Industrial agriculture and genetic modification are not the way forward; they are aggravating the problem, she argues. She calls for the need to save seeds, localise production, and empower small farmers and women.

(All books available online)