Must-Read: 10 Best Books on Saving the Planet | TheReviewGeek Recommends

Hey there, eco-conscious reader, have we got some inspiring page-turners for you!

You already care about leaving our planet in better shape for future generations, but are you looking for ways to take your environmentalism to the next level? These 10 essential books on saving the planet are chock-full of knowledge and actionable tips for making a bigger difference.

From climate change to renewable energy, species extinction to pollution solutions, these authors have done their research and are ready to empower you with the information and motivation you need to drive real change.

So brew yourself a mug of fair trade coffee, find a quiet spot, and dive into these life-changing works. By the time you finish the last page, you’ll be ready to get out there and make a tangible impact on the sustainability of our shared world. The planet will thank you for it.

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Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is a seminal work that helped launch the modern environmental movement. Published in 1962, this book exposed the dangers of pesticides like DDT and galvanized people around the concept of environmental protection.

Silent Spring opens with a frightening scenario: an American town afflicted by a “strange blight” that has killed all plant and animal life. Carson goes on to argue that this grim vision could become a reality if people don’t wake up to the effects of uncontrolled pesticide use. She details how DDT and other chemicals enter the food chain and build up in the environment, poisoning wildlife and posing threats to human health.

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This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything makes a compelling case that our economic system is deeply flawed and incompatible with a livable climate. She argues that free market capitalism itself is the root cause of climate change. According to Klein, our global economy is addicted to fossil fuels and endless growth, which is fueling global warming.

Klein travels around the world, highlighting communities that are fighting back against environmental destruction. She shows how people are coming together to build a new economy based on community and sustainability, not profit and greed.

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The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells is a sobering look at the future consequences of climate change if global warming continues unchecked.

Wallace-Wells examines how every aspect of our lives will be impacted by rising temperatures, from the food we eat and the places we live to the stability of our governments and global economy.

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American War by Omar El Akkad

Omar El Akkad’s debut novel American War paints a dystopian future of a second American civil war fueled by climate change. The story follows Sarat Chestnut, a young girl from Louisiana, over several decades as her family is torn apart by the war.

Set in the mid-21st century, the world has been ravaged by climate change. Rising sea levels have erased much of the coastline, and fossil fuels have been outlawed. However, a new energy source emerges in the South and reignites tensions between the North and South. A second civil war breaks out, and much of the fighting centres around access to fossil fuels.

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Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior is an eye-opening read on the effects of climate change. The story follows Dellarobia Turnbow, a young woman living in rural Appalachia who discovers millions of monarch butterflies have taken roost on her family’s farm. This anomaly sparks a transformation in Dellarobia and her small community as scientists, journalists, and environmental activists flock to witness this strange phenomenon.

Kingsolver crafts a moving tale that shows how the impacts of a changing planet are affecting real people and places. She brings the monarchs’ plight into sharp focus through Dellarobia’s awakening. As Dellarobia learns from the scientists about deforestation, pollution, and the monarchs’ delicate migratory patterns, so too does the reader. We come to see these fiery orange creatures as a metaphor for the natural world under siege.

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The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi

The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi paints a chillingly realistic future where water scarcity has devastated the American Southwest. Set in a drought-stricken Phoenix, the story follows Angel Velasquez, a “water knife” who works for a cutthroat water baron. Angel’s job is to secure water rights for his boss through bribery, blackmail, and violence.

As the water crisis intensifies, refugees flock to Phoenix from Texas and Nevada, hoping for relief. But the city is ill-equipped to handle the surge, descending into chaos. Gang violence erupts over control of wells and access to the Colorado River. As the story plays out, the whole region teeters on the brink of collapse.

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Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi paints a chilling portrait of a dystopian future shaped by climate change and biotechnology. Set in a post-oil Thailand, the story follows several compelling characters whose lives intersect in a world ravaged by global warming and engineered plagues.

As sea levels rise and genetically modified crops fail, Thailand has become one of the few countries that have stubbornly resisted the power of calorie companies – biotech firms that have patented and monopolized the world’s food supply.

Bangkok’s bustling streets have been submerged, its citizens travel by boat instead of cars, and its economy has been crippled. However, its seed bank still remains intact. This makes Thailand a threat to the calorie companies and a target of their agents seeking to gain control over the kingdom’s agricultural heritage.

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Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

Kim Stanley Robinson’s Ministry for the Future is a sobering yet hopeful science fiction novel on humanity’s fight against climate change. Set in 2025, the story follows Mary Murphy, the executive director of the UN’s Ministry for the Future, an organization dedicated to advocating for future generations impacted by climate change.

The book opens with a devastating heat wave in India that kills 20 million people. This catastrophic event spurs the Ministry into action, pushing for new policies like a carbon tax, renewable energy investments, and population control measures. However, powerful corporations and nations are reluctant to change, valuing short-term profits over long-term sustainability.

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We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom is a powerful picture book highlighting the efforts of indigenous groups fighting against environmental destruction. It brings awareness to the dangers of oil pipelines that threaten land, water, and wildlife.

The story is told from the perspective of a young Anishinaabe girl named Alma. She lives near an Ojibwe reservation in Northwestern Minnesota that is under threat from oil companies wanting to build a pipeline through their land. The pipeline would cross under rivers and lakes, putting the community’s water supply at risk of oil spills and leaks.

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The Overstory by Richard Powers

This book by Richard Powers is a moving and insightful story that follows nine Americans whose lives intersect in a last-chance effort to save the planet. The “overstory” refers to the network of roots and fungi that allow trees to communicate and thrive together as a community.

The story begins by introducing memorable characters from different walks of life who are all profoundly shaped by experiences they have had with trees at a young age. Their paths eventually cross as they become involved in environmental activism and protest.

You’ll get to know Nicholas Hoel, a misfit college student who can’t get trees out of his head; Olivia Vandergriff, a gifted artist who survives a near-death experience; and Neelay Mehta, a programmer who suffers a tragedy that leads him to create a virtual reality “tree network”.

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There we have it, our list of books on saving the planet. What do you think about our picks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below: