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When The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change was first published in 2014, it offered something entirely new: a fun, illustrated guide to a planetary crisis. If that sounds like an oxymoron, you've never seen the carbon cycle demonstrated through yoga poses or a polar bear explaining evolution to her cubs.
That creativity comes from the minds of Yoram Bauman, the world's first and only "stand-up economist", and award-winning illustrator Grady Klein. After seeing their book used in classrooms and the halls of Congress alike, the pair has teamed up again to fully update the guide with the latest scientific data from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
A lot has happened to the climate over the last decade, and the authors tackle the daunting statistics with their trademark humour. They realize it's better to laugh than cry when confronting mind-blowing facts about our changing world. Readers will become familiar with critical concepts, but they'll also smile as they learn about climate science, projections, and policy.
Sociologists have argued that we don't address climate change because it's too big and frightening to get our heads around. The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change takes the intimidation and gloom out of one of the most important challenges of our time.
PART I. Observations
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. A Brief History of Planet Earth
Chapter 3. The Ice Ages
Chapter 4. Carbon Dioxide
Chapter 5. Energy
Chapter 6. Climate Science
PART II. Predictions
Chapter 7. Global Warming
Chapter 8. Water
Chapter 9. Life on Earth
Chapter 10. Beyond 2100
Chapter 11. Uncertainty
PART III. Actions
Chapter 12. The Tragedy of the Commons
Chapter 13. Techno-Fix
Chapter 14. Putting a Price on Carbon
Chapter 15. Beyond Fossil Fuels
Chapter 16. The Challenge
Glossary
Yoram Bauman performs regularly at colleges and corporate events. He has appeared in TIME Magazine and on PBS and NPR, and is the co-author of the two-volume Cartoon Introduction to Economics, which is now available in Chinese, German, Italian, and other languages. He is a carbon tax Fellow at Sightline Institute, where he co-authored Tax Shift with Alan Durning.
Grady Klein is a cartoonist, animator, and graphic designer. He is the co-author with Yoram Bauman of The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volumes One and Two; the co-author with Alan Dabney of The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics; and the creator of The Lost Colony series of graphic novels.
Reviews of the first edition:
"Yoram Bauman and Grady Klein find a way to make climate change humorous and comprehensible in this visuals-driven book."
– Los Angeles Times
"It's difficult to imagine that a book about climate change could be easy to understand, let alone funny. But Yoram Bauman and Grady Klein's The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change, an illustrated book that walks readers through the basics of climate science, is both. [...] approachable and engaging."
– The Nature Conservancy Magazine
"Illustrated with deceptively simple black-and-white art that masterfully supports the text, this book provides a skillful tour of the issues that face our developing world and it serves as a model of how educational works of this sort should be crafted."
– Publishers Weekly
"An often amusing graphic primer about an issue the authors recognize as apocalyptically serious."
– Kirkus
"It's like An Inconvenient Truth meets Peanuts! (Not really, but that's somehow a very pleasant idea.)"
– The Stranger
"Not only is [The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change] entertaining, it's packed full of facts, presented as cartoons and peppered with a few transparently-unrealistic zingers. You can read it in an afternoon, and so could your kid, or your grandparent. And thanks to the illustrations and simple analogies, I'd bet they will retain more of the information."
– Greenpeace's The EnvironmentaList Blog
"Don't let the format fool you – this is sophisticated stuff. [Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change] draws on science from the latest IPCC report and explains technologies and policies that can make a positive difference – all kidding aside."
– Conservation Magazine
"[The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change is] not only a fun read to educate yourself or your crazy uncle about climate science basics, it's also full of practical information presented in simple but elegant illustrations and comic strips."
– Desmog Blog
"The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change is a 'must-read' for its accessible, balanced, and non-judgmental approach to an extremely thorny issue."
– Midwest Book Review
"Everybody should pick up a copy, it does look pretty interesting."
– AOL's The Street
"So if you've sort of had it with graphs and numbers about climate change, you'll enjoy this irreverent new take on the future of our planet."
– Upworthy
"The illustrations from Klein and text from Bauman present an important issue in such an accessible manner that it should be applauded."
– The SunBreak
"I know we're trashing the planet, but do we have to add to our misery by reading gloom and doom books about it? The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change offers another way: learn some serious science, evaluate strategies for change, and have a good laugh in the process."
– Annie Leonard, creator of The Story of Stuff
"Are you curious about the science and economics of global warming? You can find many dull books on the subject. A better bet is The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change, which tickles and teaches at the same time. Who says that sophistication is only in equations?"
– William Nordhaus, Sterling Professor of Economics, Yale University
"A clear, concise rendition of the story of human-induced climate change, candid and yet brimming with warm-hearted humor and well-founded optimism. Gently persuasive, beautifully illustrated [...] an innovative springboard for discussion of what we can do as individuals and as a society to turn down the heat in our planetary 'compost pile.'"
– John Michael Wallace, Professor Emeritus, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington
"Climate is no laughing matter – but it beats crying. Maybe this is the secret passage into people's hearts and minds."
– James E. Hansen, former Director, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, author of Storms of My Grandchildren
"Fresh! Cheeky! Accurate and inspiring! An accessible, friendly, and fun explanation of climate change – free of politics, free of jargon, and fresh with insights. Cartoons you can believe in!"
– Jane Lubchenco, Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology, Oregon State University
"Grady Klein and Yoram Bauman are a national treasure. The economics of climate policy has never been more accessible."
– Kevin Hassett, Senior Fellow and Director of Economic Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
"The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change will tickle your fancy while expanding your mind. Highly recommended."
– Martin Weitzman, Professor of Economics, Harvard University
"Rarely do you read books that attempt to deal with the world's biggest problems and present the information in a way that the average public can absorb it. Bravo to Yoram Bauman and Grady Klein, and thank you on behalf of everyone who is deeply concerned about this issue."
– Mark Reynolds, Executive Director, Citizens Climate Lobby
