Runaway Climate

Rapid, catastrophic climate change may have little precedent in human history, but the rocks tell us it has happened before. This riveting book clearly outlines the potential scope of the crisis that we are unleashing through our continued burning of fossil fuels. If you care at all about our future, you must read Runaway Climate. —Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute and author, Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival

Climatologists provided us with early warning of the climate crisis, and now – as this fascinating account makes clear – geologists are making clear that the past both confirms those warnings and intensifies them. Reading this will, I hope, be a prelude to activism that matters. —Bill McKibben, author, The End of Nature

Earle’s new book is a compelling call to climate action that is uniquely engaging and disturbing in equal measure. By setting today’s climate crisis within the long story of our planet, he invites us all to acknowledge realities of these times and to find inspiration to act in the climate solutions stories that he shares. —Laura Lengnick, author, Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate

I love it. Earle understands the big climate picture and paints it with exceptional clarity. —James Hansen, director, Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions, Columbia University Earth Institute

An Informative, succinct, and fascinating read —Steven Earle offers a unique and detailed account of Earth’s climate history. His innate story-telling ability, coupled with his remarkable talent for making complex scientific information accessible, makes this page-turner a must read for anyone seeking to understand the Earth’s climate system. —Andrew Weaver, Professor, University of Victoria, former Lead Author, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Scientific Assessments, former chief editor, the Journal of Climate

An engaging tour through the complex natural processes at play in writing the Earth’s long history of natural climate change to our present climate emergency. This primer will give campaigners, policymakers, and concerned citizens a more thorough understanding of climate science and renewed conviction to go all in on applying the brakes, leaving fossil fuels behind, and embracing a cleaner, healthier, and more equitable future. —Tom Green, Senior Climate Policy Advisor, David Suzuki Foundation

Steven Earle, PhD, has worked as a geologist and developed and taught university-level courses in earth sciences and climate change for over four decades. He is the author of the IPPY award-winning A Brief History of the Earth’s Climate and the widely used post-secondary textbook Physical Geology, now in its second edition. A dedicated community activist, he spearheads local engagement with climate change solutions including low-carbon transportation initiatives, heating systems, and land stewardship. Steven and his family live in a nearly net-zero house on a small sustainable farm on Gabriola Island, BC, Canada.