Chapter Contents
- Apocalyptic Tales of Climate Change
- Use of Language and Perspective in Teaching Climate Change
- Hope and Optimism
- Considerations of Fear, Anxiety, and Mental Health
- Apocalyptic Prophesies Versus Predictions of Climate Change
- Reality Check: A Personal Perspective
- Science Teaching Toward a Sustainable World
- Resources
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Books With Apocalyptic Rhetoric
If you don’t have familiarity with the stories of Genesis and Revelation, start at the source. The Holy Bible, “King James Version.” Texas: National Publishing Company, 2000 from BiblesFree.org.
Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002. The classic book that is thought by many to be the start of the environmental revolution that led to the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and the founding of the Environmental Protection Agency. Available via Google Books.
Seuss. The Lorax. New York: Random House, 1971. The classic children’s book.
Books That Address Some Problems With Apocalyptic Rhetoric
Davis, Kenneth C. Don’t Know Much about the Bible: Everything You Need to Know about the Good Book But Never Learned. Harper Collins, 2009. Reading the Bible has challenges. This book offers a good overview of every book in the Bible with some interpretation and a bit of a sense of humor.
Olson, Randy. Don’t Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2009. Scientists are notorious for speaking above the heads of their audiences or being too dry in their communication style. Whether you're a scientist, a science teacher, or just someone who wants to be more clear and engaging in talking about science, this book is helpful.
Romm, Joseph J. Language Intelligence: Lessons on Persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga. CreateSpace, 2012. A thoughtful, helpful and amusing look at how to engage an audience in your writing and speaking.
Online Resources
You can find more information about stratospheric ozone at NASA’s website “Ozone Hole Watch."
Climate Change 101 with Bill Nye | National Geographic (YouTube)
Bill Nye’s Global Meltdown Climate Change Documentary, National Geographic Explorer (Vimeo)
The Climate Reality Project, Al Gore
The Canadian news site, Global News, has a regularly updated page of Fort McMurray wildfires and the ongoing issues associated with the most expensive disaster and largest evacuation in Canadian history.