Climate Travels: How Ecotourism Changes Mindsets and Motivates Action

This book is a travelogue that explores the local impacts of climate change in the United States, highlighting inspiring initiatives to mitigate and adapt to these threats. It emphasizes direct personal experience and the importance of environmental justice, offering readers a hopeful message about how to take action on the local level.

Format: Hardback
Length: 360 pages
Publication date: 28 March 2023
Publisher: Columbia University Press

Winner of the 2023 Choice Outstanding Academic Title, this book takes readers on a captivating journey to explore the local impacts of climate change across the United States. Through vivid vignettes and insightful interviews, author Michael M. Gunter, Jr. highlights the diverse faces of the climate crisis, from rising sea levels in Virginia to floods sweeping inland in Tennessee, and the migration of Maine lobsters away from American territorial waters. However, he also presents inspiring initiatives to mitigate and adapt to these threats, such as wind turbines in a tiny Texas town, green building construction in Kansas, and walkable urbanism in Portland, Oregon. Climate Travels emphasizes direct personal experience and the centrality of environmental justice, showcasing how travel can help bring the reality of climate change home and empower readers to take action on the local level.

The book begins by examining the devastating consequences of climate change on distant places, such as melting ice caps, fearsome hurricanes, and all-consuming fires. It then challenges the notion that these disasters only affect faraway regions and argues that seeing the consequences of human impacts up close can help us grasp how global warming affects us and our neighbors.

Author Michael M. Gunter, Jr. takes readers on a journey around the United States, visiting various locations and communities affected by climate change. Through his storytelling, he highlights the diverse experiences and perspectives of people living in different parts of the country, from coastal residents dealing with rising sea levels to farmers adapting to changing weather patterns.

One of the key themes of the book is the importance of conscientious travel in broadening understanding of climate change and making its dangers concrete and immediate. Gunter argues that traveling to different parts of the world allows us to witness firsthand the impacts of climate change and gain a deeper appreciation for the urgency of addressing the issue. He also emphasizes the role of local action in mitigating and adapting to climate change, highlighting the success of projects such as wind turbines in Texas, green building construction in Kansas, and walkable urbanism in Portland, Oregon.

Climate Travels draws on interviews with government officials, industry leaders, and alternative energy activists to provide a comprehensive perspective on the climate crisis. The book emphasizes the importance of direct personal experience and the centrality of environmental justice in addressing climate change. It shows how travel can help bring the reality of climate change home and inspire readers to take action on the local level themselves.

Throughout the book, Gunter presents hopeful messages about the potential for positive change and the role that individuals and communities can play in driving it. He encourages readers to embrace sustainable practices in their daily lives, such as reducing their carbon footprint, supporting renewable energy, and advocating for environmental policies. He also highlights the importance of community engagement and collaboration in addressing climate change, emphasizing the need for individuals, organizations, and governments to work together to create a more sustainable and resilient future.

In conclusion, Climate Travels is a powerful and thought-provoking book that offers a unique perspective on the local impacts of climate change. Through vivid vignettes, insightful interviews, and inspiring initiatives, author Michael M. Gunter, Jr. empowers readers to understand the urgency of addressing climate change and take action on the local level. The book serves as a call to action for individuals, communities, and governments to work together to create a more sustainable and resilient future for ourselves and future generations.

Weight: 538g
Dimension: 223 x 148 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231205887