Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service on “Inspiring Climate Action”, featuring the VanU Environment Team and Karen Crosby on Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books, and to have coffee and conversation.
VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:
1. The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist’s Guide to the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres, 2021, 363 FIG
Gift of John Boyle. From LibraryThing: “… Figueres and Rivett-Carnac–the architects of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement–tackle arguably the most urgent and consequential challenge humankind has ever faced: the world’s changing climate and the fate of humanity. … the authors outline two possible scenarios for the planet. In one, they describe what life on Earth will be like by 2050 if we fail to meet the Paris targets for carbon dioxide emission reduction. In the other, they describe what it will take to create and live in a carbon neutral, regenerative world. They argue for confronting the climate crisis head on, with determination and optimism. How we all of us address the climate crisis in the next thirty years will determine not only the world we will live in but also the world we will bequeath to our children and theirs. The Future We Choose presents our options and tells us, in no uncertain terms, what governments, corporations, and each of us can and must do to fend off disaster”
2. The Sea Is Rising and So Are We: A Climate Justice Handbook by Cynthia Kaufman, 2021, 363.73874
From LibraryThing, provided by the publisher: “… By explaining the entrenched forces that are preventing rapid action, it helps you understand the nature of the political reality we are facing and arms you with the tools you need to overcome them. The book offers background information on the roots of the crisis and the many rapidly expanding solutions that are being implemented all around the world. It explains how to engage in productive messaging that will pull others into the climate justice movement, what you need to know to help build a successful movement, and the policy changes needed to build a world with climate justice. It also explores the personal side, how engaging in the movement can be good for your mental health. It ends with advice on how you can find the place where you can be the most effective and where you can build climate action into your life in ways that are deeply rewarding”.
3. The Archipelago of Hope: Wisdom and Resilience from the Edge of Climate Change by Gleb Raygorodetsky, 2018, 304 RAY
From LibraryThing, on the book jacket: “… while our politicians argue, the truth is that climate change is already here. Nobody knows this better than Indigenous peoples who, having developed an intimate relationship with ecosystems over generations, have observed these changes for decades. For them, climate change is not an abstract concept or policy issue, but the reality of daily life. … shows how these communities are actually islands of biological and cultural diversity in the ever-rising sea of development and urbanization. They are an “archipelago of hope” as we enter the Anthropocene, for here lies humankind’s best chance to understand how to take care of the Earth. These communities are implementing creative solutions to meet these modern challenges. Solutions that are relevant to the rest of us. …”.
4. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson, 2021, 363.7
From LibraryThing: “… There is a renaissance blooming in the climate movement: leadership that is more characteristically feminine and more faithfully feminist, rooted in compassion, connection, creativity, and collaboration. While it’s clear that women and girls are vital voices and agents of change for this planet, they are too often missing from the proverbial table. More than a problem of bias, it’s a dynamic that sets us up for failure. To change everything, we need everyone. All We Can Save illuminates the expertise and insights of dozens of diverse women leading on climate in the United States – scientists, journalists, farmers, lawyers, teachers, activists, innovators, wonks, and designers, across generations, geographies, and race – and aims to advance a more representative, nuanced, and solution-oriented public conversation on the climate crisis. These women offer a spectrum of ideas and insights for how we can rapidly, radically reshape society. …”.
5. American Exodus: Climate Change and the Coming Flight for Survival by Giles Slade, 2013, 304.8 SLA
Written by a UCV member. From Amazon: “… Giles Slade argues that we are entering a long period of global desperation which will be characterized by human migration on an unprecedented scale. American Exodus is a frighteningly believable survey of our immediate future, but it ends on a note of hope: we may yet survive the coming century of climatic change if we act now to safeguard our shelter of last resort. …”.
6. Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Anxiety by Britt Wray, 2023, 155 WRA
Donated by John Boyle. From LibraryThing: “An impassioned generational perspective on why climate anxiety is completely natural and necessary, and how we can be stronger for it. Climate and environment-related fears and anxieties are on the rise everywhere, with few resources to address them. As with any type of stress, eco-anxiety can lead to paralysis, burnout and avoidance. … seamlessly merges scientific knowledge with emotional insight to show how these complicated feelings are a sign of our humanity, and acknowledging and valuing them is key to making it through present and future crises. This isn’t a simple process, and it’s not a level playing field when it comes to our vulnerability, she notes. However, with the worsening situation, we are all on the field–and unlocking deep stores of compassion and care is a crucial step in healing our relationship to the planet and each other. With openness and curiosity, Britt explores her own fears about starting a family when evidence of dangerous environmental shifts creates an especially bleak picture of what lies ahead. …”.
7. Just Cool It!: The Climate Crisis and What We Can Do – A Post-Paris Agreement Game Plan by David Suzuki and Ian Hanington, 2017, 363.738
Gift of Mei Jia Lam. From LibraryThing: “A resounding post-Paris Agreement wake-up call about the urgency of the climate crisis that offers a range of practical solutions-and above all, hope. Climate change is the most important crisis humanity has faced, but we still confront huge barriers to resolving it. So, what do we do, and is there hope for humanity? The problem itself is complex, and there’s no single solution. But by understanding the barriers to resolving global warming and by employing a wide range of solutions-from shifting to clean energy to planting trees to reforming agricultural practices-we can get the world back on track. … offers a comprehensive look at the current state of climate science and knowledge and the many ways to resolve the climate crisis, imploring us to do what’s necessary to live in a better, cleaner future. When enough people demand action, change starts happening-and this time, it could be monumental.”.
8. Winds of Change: Short Stories About Our Climate by Keith Wilkinson, 2015, FIC WIL
Written by a VanU member. From DragonFly: “… is a diverse collection of eighteen insightful, witty, and emotional short stories about climate change. The selected stories are the result of a short story contest run by Dragonfly.eco (then eco-fiction.com) in the summer of 2014. In collaboration with 100,000 Poets (Artists/Authors) for Change, Dragonfly engaged authors from Vancouver, BC, and other places around the world, to create speculative fiction about a harsh reality: our planet-at-risk. With a foreword by Michael Rothenberg, Winds of Change also includes several poems by Stephen Siperstein and Carolyn Welch. …”.
9. The New Northwest Passage: A Voyage to the Front Line of Climate Change by Cameron Dueck, 2012, 910.91 DUE
From LibraryThing: “In the summer of 2009, Cameron Dueck and the rest of the crew of the Silent Sound completed a journey made by fewer people than have climbed Mt. Everest; they sailed through the infamous Northwest Passage. These waters are normally locked in ice, but due to climate change it is now possible to sail here for a few short weeks each summer. Their voyage from Victoria to Halifax carried them through raging storms and mechanical breakdowns and took them into sea ice that threatened to crush their hull. But more importantly it brought them face to face with modern Arctic life in tiny, isolated Inuit communities where the challenge of climate change is added to the already crushing load of social and economic woes. Each person they met along the way added their story to the colourful tale of life in the Arctic; a unique place where the climate change experience is affected by the critical and ongoing debates over sovereignty, resources and cultural assimilation.”.
10. Nuclear is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change by M.V. Ramana, 2024, 621 RAM
Gift of Huguette Hayden. From LibraryThing: “Breaks any illusions in the hope of nuclear power to create a green energy future”.
11. Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global Warming, by Bjørn Lomborg, 2007, 363 LOM
From LibraryThing: “Argues that many of the elaborate actions being considered to stop global warming are too costly and will have little impact, and suggests that society’s focus should be on such immediate concerns as fighting HIV/AIDS and maintaining a fresh water supply.”.
12. Lytton: Climate Change, Colonialism and Life Before the Fire by Peter Edwards, 2024, 971 EDW
From LibraryThing: “… This book is the story of Lytton, told from a shared perspective, of an Indigenous playwright and the journalist son of a settler doctor who quietly but sternly pushed back against the divisions that existed between populations (Dr. Edwards gladly took a lot of salmon as payment for his services back in the 1960s). Portrayed with all the warmth, humour and sincerity of small-town life, the colourful little town that burned to the ground could be every town’s warning if we don’t take seriously what this unique place has to teach us.”.
13. For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy Toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future by Herman E. Daly, 1989, 330.1 DA
From LibraryThing: “… demonstrate how conventional economics and a growth-oriented industrial economy have led us to the brink of environmental disaster, and show the possibility of a different future.”.