Just Cool It!

The Climate Crisis and What We Can DO—A Post-paris Agreement Game Plan

David Suzuki, Ian Hanington, Greystone Books Softcover $18.95 (312pp), -978-1-77164-259-0

As climate change gains ground in the consciousness of the public, the audience for books like Just Cool It! grows. The public is increasingly aware of climate change, but not necessarily clear about it, and lacking context, can’t get excited about solutions. This book provides that context in a straightforward manner that makes it ideal for entry into climate activism.

Like many books that try to deal with climate change from soup to nuts, Just Cool It! struggles with the problem of currency. Its brief reference to the 2016 US presidential race is a good example of this, though the mention doesn’t injure the book much; Just Cool It! is insulated enough by its own generality to be derailed much by quick changes. Still, this currency issue may impact credibility with some audiences.

Some of the information presented here, including less-publicized climate-change solutions like dark earth and agroecology, may make this book a valuable discovery resource. Just Cool It! also pulls no punches around climate-change answers that come with drawbacks, such as biodiesel. However, none of the criticism that the book offers is scathing. The tone recalls a book report in its determination to list and explain as much about climate change as possible, albeit a book report on a subject about which the writer is very passionate. However, it also plugs the David Suzuki Foundation quite regularly, a behavior that calls to mind an advertisement and does not necessarily do the book any favors.

Nevertheless, it is hard to ask for a more well-rounded introduction to climate change that is both realistic about the workability of potential solutions and optimistic about the future. Just Cool It! is a quick, easy read that covers a lot of ground. In an era when time is running out, it’s hard to argue with that.