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The Air They Breathe: A Pediatrician on the Frontlines of Climate Change
A timely, revelatory first look into the impact climate change has on children—the greatest moral crisis humanity faces today—by a pediatrician in the fastest warming city in America.
Wildfires, hurricanes, and heat waves make headlines. But what is happening in Debra Hendrickson’s clinic tells another story of this strange and unsettling time. Hendrickson is a pediatrician in Reno, Nevada—the fastest warming city in the United States, where ash falls like snow during summer wildfires. In The Air They Breathe, Dr. Hendrickson recounts patients she’s seen who were harmed by worsening smoke, smog, and pollen; two boys in Arizona, stricken by record-setting heat while hiking; children who fled for their lives from Hurricane Harvey and the Tubbs Fire; and a little girl whose life was forever altered by the Zika virus outbreak in 2016.
The climate crisis is a health crisis, and it is a health crisis, first and foremost, for children. Children’s bodies are interwoven with and shaped by their surroundings. As the planet warms and their environment changes, children’s health is at risk. The youngest are especially vulnerable because their brain, lungs, and other organs are forming and growing every day, and because their physiology is so different from that of adults. Childhood has always been a risky period of life; throughout history, babies and children have met peril, from polio to famine, from cyclones to war. Yet they have never quite had to face, in quite this way, the potential loss of the future itself.
The Air They Breathe is not just about the health impacts of global warming, but something a soul-stirring reminder of our moral responsibility to our children, and their profound connections to this unique and irreplaceable world.
Wildfires, hurricanes, and heat waves make headlines. But what is happening in Debra Hendrickson’s clinic tells another story of this strange and unsettling time. Hendrickson is a pediatrician in Reno, Nevada—the fastest warming city in the United States, where ash falls like snow during summer wildfires. In The Air They Breathe, Dr. Hendrickson recounts patients she’s seen who were harmed by worsening smoke, smog, and pollen; two boys in Arizona, stricken by record-setting heat while hiking; children who fled for their lives from Hurricane Harvey and the Tubbs Fire; and a little girl whose life was forever altered by the Zika virus outbreak in 2016.
The climate crisis is a health crisis, and it is a health crisis, first and foremost, for children. Children’s bodies are interwoven with and shaped by their surroundings. As the planet warms and their environment changes, children’s health is at risk. The youngest are especially vulnerable because their brain, lungs, and other organs are forming and growing every day, and because their physiology is so different from that of adults. Childhood has always been a risky period of life; throughout history, babies and children have met peril, from polio to famine, from cyclones to war. Yet they have never quite had to face, in quite this way, the potential loss of the future itself.
The Air They Breathe is not just about the health impacts of global warming, but something a soul-stirring reminder of our moral responsibility to our children, and their profound connections to this unique and irreplaceable world.
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Published July 2, 2024
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About the author
Debra Hendrickson
1 book3 followersDebra Hendrickson, M.D., is a board-certified pediatrician in Reno, Nevada, the fastest-warming city in the United States. She is the author of The Air They Breathe: A Pediatrician on the Front Lines of Climate Change, published by Simon & Schuster in 2024. Dr. Hendrickson is a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, where she lectures on the impact of early childhood experiences (such as poverty and trauma) on long-term health. She has an honors degree in environmental studies from Brown University and was an environmental analyst and planner in New England and Seattle for ten years before attending medical school. Dr. Hendrickson has received many awards for academic achievement and research in both environmental studies and medicine. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a member of its Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change, and a founding member of Nevada Clinicians for Climate Action. She has 3 grown children and 1 granddaughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 25, 2024
I wish this got as much publicity as The Anxious Generation.
January 20, 2024
The Air They Breathe by Dr. Debra Hendrickson covers a topic of great importance, the impact of climate change on the heath of children. This very well researched book with many references at the end of the book covers the consequences of poor air due to forest fires, extreme heat, hurricanes, and mosquito borne pathogens. Dr. Hendrickson has a very accessible writing style and tells the stories of many individual patients impacted by the perils of climate change. As someone who has lived in Houston for more than 20 years and saw the impact of Hurricane Harvey firsthand, I was very moved by her description of the consequences of catastrophic weather events on children.
I was unclear who the intended audience for this book should be. As a scientist, I felt that the vast amount of research that Dr. Hendrickson completed to write this book was diluted by an over emphasis on personal stories and under emphasis on data. This approach may be more impactful to other readers.
Dr. Hendrickson attempts to make the point that we need to reduce fossil fuel usage. I fully agree with this point. However, I felt that the point could have been a lot stronger with more emphasis on facts and figures.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was unclear who the intended audience for this book should be. As a scientist, I felt that the vast amount of research that Dr. Hendrickson completed to write this book was diluted by an over emphasis on personal stories and under emphasis on data. This approach may be more impactful to other readers.
Dr. Hendrickson attempts to make the point that we need to reduce fossil fuel usage. I fully agree with this point. However, I felt that the point could have been a lot stronger with more emphasis on facts and figures.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 5, 2024
This is a remarkable book, and a surprisingly good summer read - part adventure story, part science, part poetry, part urgent manifesto on an overlooked aspect of climate change: the growing and dramatic impact that rising temperatures are having on our children.
Each chapter is a page-turning story of kids from every background ravaged by the heat of Phoenix, the floods of Hurricane Harvey, the smoke of California, the Zika threat in Florida, and other climate-related calamities.
But Dr. Hendrickson also deftly weaves in the science behind why childrens’ developing bodies suffer much more from these events and conditions, and in engaging poetic prose that challenges us to address climate change not just to save the planet, but as a moral responsibility to our kids.
I particularly liked how she linked her own practice of helping to heal her rambunctious young patients, in some of the book’s most delightful and heartfelt passages, with our collective responsibility to take action. Her hope, I think, is that parents who now demand - for good reason - every conceivable medical treatment for their kids will begin to realize that their children’s health is even more closely tied to the health of the planet.
This is a fresh and unique take in a sea of depressing climate books lamenting our inaction and overwhelming us with to-do lists. Instead, with moral clarity and lyrical prose that may evoke comparisons with Rachel Carson. Dr Hendrickson inspires and challenges us as parents to rise to the occasion and demand action on behalf of our children.
To paraphrase her stirring conclusion, climate change has a new face, the face of a child.
Each chapter is a page-turning story of kids from every background ravaged by the heat of Phoenix, the floods of Hurricane Harvey, the smoke of California, the Zika threat in Florida, and other climate-related calamities.
But Dr. Hendrickson also deftly weaves in the science behind why childrens’ developing bodies suffer much more from these events and conditions, and in engaging poetic prose that challenges us to address climate change not just to save the planet, but as a moral responsibility to our kids.
I particularly liked how she linked her own practice of helping to heal her rambunctious young patients, in some of the book’s most delightful and heartfelt passages, with our collective responsibility to take action. Her hope, I think, is that parents who now demand - for good reason - every conceivable medical treatment for their kids will begin to realize that their children’s health is even more closely tied to the health of the planet.
This is a fresh and unique take in a sea of depressing climate books lamenting our inaction and overwhelming us with to-do lists. Instead, with moral clarity and lyrical prose that may evoke comparisons with Rachel Carson. Dr Hendrickson inspires and challenges us as parents to rise to the occasion and demand action on behalf of our children.
To paraphrase her stirring conclusion, climate change has a new face, the face of a child.
October 14, 2025
Goodreads reviews are notoriously stingy with high ratings—which adds to their credibility. Here’s one that truly merits those 5 stars. This is a book that personalizes the slow creeping blob that is global warming, personalizes it in a way that you can feel in your gut. Dr. Hendrickson’s writing style seems far removed from academic peer reviewed literature—which is a good thing. She tells stories with recurring characters and follows their heroic and tragic dramas. It’s these stories that draw you in, very deeply, reading more like an engaging screenplay than some bullet point recitation of "climate change bad." But within those stories is the superbly researched science that shows the reader the direct causal link from personal tragedy to the burning of fossil fuels. Throughout the book the theme of our human interconnection with nature is incontrovertible. Now, that might sound kind of woo woo to some but if you don't come away from this book feeling that inextricable bond to the life forces on this planet then go back and read it again. As a climate activist it's rare for me to read something about global warming that doesn’t find me skimming the pages over information I already know. But in her book even old information takes on a shape shifting that makes me want to scream at the perpetrators, the ones killing our children. Hyperbole? I think not. Read it for yourself and get involved in any way you can.
December 30, 2024
I'm used to thinking about climate change from a technical perspective: what technologies can we use to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and methane going into the atmosphere. In The Air They Breathe, Debra Hendrickson has a different perspective: how climate change impacts the lives of her patients. Hendrickson is a pediatrician, so she is particularly concerned about the health of children. She highlights four ways climate change is hurting her patients today:
1. Bad air from burning fossil fuels and from forest fires caused by climate change hurt children, particularly those with breathing problems like asthma.
2. Excessive heat can cause heatstroke in children, particularly in infants left in hot cars and high school football players who practice in the extreme heat. Children are especially sensitive to overheating. Heat waves can kill.
3. Trauma and Post traumatic stress disorder can occur in children who experience disasters caused by climate change, such as a hurricane, flood, or forest fire.
4. Infectious diseases caused by climate change, such as an increase in malaria caused by a greater range for mosquitoes.
I found this book to be a call for me to make an even greater effort to address global warming, because--as Hendrickson warns us--"The only heroes our children have are us."
1. Bad air from burning fossil fuels and from forest fires caused by climate change hurt children, particularly those with breathing problems like asthma.
2. Excessive heat can cause heatstroke in children, particularly in infants left in hot cars and high school football players who practice in the extreme heat. Children are especially sensitive to overheating. Heat waves can kill.
3. Trauma and Post traumatic stress disorder can occur in children who experience disasters caused by climate change, such as a hurricane, flood, or forest fire.
4. Infectious diseases caused by climate change, such as an increase in malaria caused by a greater range for mosquitoes.
I found this book to be a call for me to make an even greater effort to address global warming, because--as Hendrickson warns us--"The only heroes our children have are us."
September 5, 2024
The trend in climate change books for the last 10 years has to been to tell stories - facts are no longer sufficient since the political polarization means each side has their own set of facts (or lies).
So instead we tell stories to connect with people. After we connect, then we try the facts.
Dr. Hendrickson's book is full of stories about air pollution, mosquito and tick born diseases, and her work as a pediatrician treating her patients who have been seriously impacted by the impact of climate change. Because she resides just east of California in Reno, NV, the air quality and thus people's health has been severely impacted by the wildfire smoke.
Perhaps too many stories for some readers, but eventually we get the facts. Climate change has brought more exposure to ticks and mosquitoes and diseases that heretofore only impacted the tropics. Our dependency on fossil fuels for transportation along with the warmer climate means there is more PM2.5, bad ozone, and NOX, and more deaths and hospitalizations.
People cannot wrap their heads around the fact that unless we drastically change our current use of fossil fuels, scientists predict global temperatures at the end of the century will be warmer than it has been for 40 million years. Perhaps stories like Hendrickson's will awaken them.
If you're already familiar with the facts of climate change, you may still find the tick and mosquito stories interesting.
So instead we tell stories to connect with people. After we connect, then we try the facts.
Dr. Hendrickson's book is full of stories about air pollution, mosquito and tick born diseases, and her work as a pediatrician treating her patients who have been seriously impacted by the impact of climate change. Because she resides just east of California in Reno, NV, the air quality and thus people's health has been severely impacted by the wildfire smoke.
Perhaps too many stories for some readers, but eventually we get the facts. Climate change has brought more exposure to ticks and mosquitoes and diseases that heretofore only impacted the tropics. Our dependency on fossil fuels for transportation along with the warmer climate means there is more PM2.5, bad ozone, and NOX, and more deaths and hospitalizations.
People cannot wrap their heads around the fact that unless we drastically change our current use of fossil fuels, scientists predict global temperatures at the end of the century will be warmer than it has been for 40 million years. Perhaps stories like Hendrickson's will awaken them.
If you're already familiar with the facts of climate change, you may still find the tick and mosquito stories interesting.
January 30, 2024
This book, authored by pediatrician Dr. Debra Hendrickson, is an eye-opening account of the effects of Climate Change on our children, both physically and emotionally. They are more vulnerable than adults to our planet's changing conditions due to their smaller, still developing bodies. Dr. Hendrickson outlines both the physical and mental effects caused by rising temperatures, wildfires, pollution, hurricanes and flooding, and more. She does so using a balance of current research and scientific explanation, along with anecdotal accounts of her young patients and others. This book is very readable and inspiring due to this balance of research data and personal accounts.
I learned a lot from this book. Her explanations and accounts were very helpful in bringing increased understanding. It's not just an abstract issue. It is an important issue that affects us all, in one way or another. It helped me to understand better the far reaching effects, and how we are in crisis stage. Changes must be made now to help future generations. Let's take care of our children!
This book is due out in July of 2024. I received an advanced copy to read from NetGalley.
I learned a lot from this book. Her explanations and accounts were very helpful in bringing increased understanding. It's not just an abstract issue. It is an important issue that affects us all, in one way or another. It helped me to understand better the far reaching effects, and how we are in crisis stage. Changes must be made now to help future generations. Let's take care of our children!
This book is due out in July of 2024. I received an advanced copy to read from NetGalley.
October 20, 2025
THE AIR THEY BREATHE by Debra Hendrickson, MD
Dr. Hendrickson’s stories about children and their families, facing climate change, provides inspiration and and urgency to reduce fossil fuels in our own lives and across society. Dr. Hendrickson is not only a wonderful storyteller, but also her work is well researched, and can serve as a source for information on climate, storms, toxins, and medical effects.
While starting to read the optimistic section of the final chapter I couldn’t help but think that the Trump Administration has radically reduced our environmental options and toolkit. Her “Afterword”, written this year, acknowledges the changed atmosphere but still provides a sense of hope and a path forward.
Thank you, Dr. Hendrickson, for this wonderful although disturbing book. It is easy to read, with stories from your own life and your patients’ experiences, mixed with well referenced information. I hope everyone will read this book, take it to heart and share it with friends and neighbors.
Dr. Hendrickson’s stories about children and their families, facing climate change, provides inspiration and and urgency to reduce fossil fuels in our own lives and across society. Dr. Hendrickson is not only a wonderful storyteller, but also her work is well researched, and can serve as a source for information on climate, storms, toxins, and medical effects.
While starting to read the optimistic section of the final chapter I couldn’t help but think that the Trump Administration has radically reduced our environmental options and toolkit. Her “Afterword”, written this year, acknowledges the changed atmosphere but still provides a sense of hope and a path forward.
Thank you, Dr. Hendrickson, for this wonderful although disturbing book. It is easy to read, with stories from your own life and your patients’ experiences, mixed with well referenced information. I hope everyone will read this book, take it to heart and share it with friends and neighbors.
May 4, 2025
This book is about the air they breathe and also about the impacts they experience from other climate-related traumas, like extreme heat, mosquito borne illnesses, and natural disasters like hurricanes and flooding. Hendrickson relates personal stories of individual children impacted by each of these types of events. Although she notes that pediatricians cannot simply "prescribe" emissions reductions for the health of their patients, she shows why doctors, parents, and anyone who cares about children should also care about reducing emissions to make a healthy planet for young people. She also mentions some of the science-backed interventions that can reduce emissions.
I think people who care a lot about climate change and / or public health should read this book. From there, this book would be a good recommendation to close friends or family members who are open to learning more about climate risks to youth and might be spurred to action through personal stories.
I think people who care a lot about climate change and / or public health should read this book. From there, this book would be a good recommendation to close friends or family members who are open to learning more about climate risks to youth and might be spurred to action through personal stories.
September 5, 2024
It is hard to wrap our heads around the slow changes we are imposing on the environment; The Air They Breathe is not just about the experience with asthma and the death our pediatricians witness, it is about a changing environment that is not designed to be naturally human. It is about the little influence we 'adults' grant to our future generations, and the disregard we have for our collective legacy. The first chapter about the air taught PM2.5, NOx, and Ozone; we all know where these are coming from. What I did not know was the dimension of the death-toll, and the dust "directly" entering our cells. Debra then dwells on many of the issues, the most immediate issues, climate causes. An important hear
August 6, 2024
I've been looking forward to reading this since Dr Hendrickson first announced writing it at the 2019 AAP Experience conference in New Orleans. The book delivered all I was hoping for: a clear presentation of the data through the lens of pediatric clinical care stories. The stories will stay with me as I work to make changes, both big and small, to slow global warming and the climate crisis that impacts my health, the wellness of all those I love, and the children of today and tomorrow. Last year we changed our gas stove to induction, in the coming years I plan on an electric car, and, although it's proving to be a challenge, renewable sources of electricity. We can do this!
March 23, 2025
Been a while since I’ve had the chance to do any digging into more of the science on climate change and its impact on our health!
Really enjoyed Dr. Hendrickson’s personal testimony and the examples she brought up about the ways our climate trends are affecting the health of young people around the world. Definitely lagged at times but also I don’t know if this one was supposed to be a page turner haha.
A solid read with great information, losing a couple of stars from me for the narrative style that at times felt like too much. She made her points quite clear which was great, but very little nuance at times where there ought to have been some I would think. Overall a solid read!
Really enjoyed Dr. Hendrickson’s personal testimony and the examples she brought up about the ways our climate trends are affecting the health of young people around the world. Definitely lagged at times but also I don’t know if this one was supposed to be a page turner haha.
A solid read with great information, losing a couple of stars from me for the narrative style that at times felt like too much. She made her points quite clear which was great, but very little nuance at times where there ought to have been some I would think. Overall a solid read!
August 8, 2025
This book viscerally does what many books have tried and failed to do: make you feel the direct and horrible health impacts of climate change. It does this by focusing on the most vulnerable and most innocent: children. Children that choke on smoke and pollution. Children that suffer and die in the heat. Children that succumb to diseases exacerbated by climate change.
Read this book if you want to re-energize your drive to fight for a better future. Read this book if you feel disconnected from our planet and our climate. Read this book if you've ever interacted with a child. Read this book.
Read this book if you want to re-energize your drive to fight for a better future. Read this book if you feel disconnected from our planet and our climate. Read this book if you've ever interacted with a child. Read this book.
December 7, 2025
I just read this book for the second time, because I the message is so important I wanted to be sure it really became a part of me. This is a beautifully written plea for all of us to take action to reduce fossil fuel usage and slow climate change. High temperatures and air pollution are damaging the health of pregnant women and young children in ways that damage or cripple them and even affect learning ability. Those who live in low income communities suffer the most. Please read this book --- the text is only about 250 pages. Recommended with 5 🌟 stars
July 11, 2024
So powerful and left me inspired. If you were raised in this generation in CA, you too have felt climate change become ever-present and worsening... loved how climate change was portrayed from a health lens and still left me with lots of hope! The science is made accessible for all kinds of audiences, and reminds us that if we would do anything for our children, why aren't we doing enough for the current and future climate crisis?!
November 11, 2024
This beautiful collection of stories told with the deep understanding and empathy of a pediatrician provides a vivid picture of the true cost of climate change to children today and in the future. Stories make it real for readers. Dr. Hendrickson provides multiple examples of real actions and solutions to protect our kids. A must-read for anyone looking for an inspiring and non-preachy way to understand climate change.
June 27, 2025
A beautifully written and compelling plea for urgent action on climate change
This is a quick read but not a easy one, due to the emotional impact of the text. If you only read one piece of nonfiction this year, let it be this one. Chock full of information woven carefully into her personal experiences in pediatric care, she puts a human face onto the tiny lives who are suffering due to a warming climate, rapid acceleration in severe storms and fires, and the proliferation of diseases carried by ticks and mosquitoes. Packs a powerful pinch. Recommended with 5 stars.
This is a quick read but not a easy one, due to the emotional impact of the text. If you only read one piece of nonfiction this year, let it be this one. Chock full of information woven carefully into her personal experiences in pediatric care, she puts a human face onto the tiny lives who are suffering due to a warming climate, rapid acceleration in severe storms and fires, and the proliferation of diseases carried by ticks and mosquitoes. Packs a powerful pinch. Recommended with 5 stars.
November 11, 2024
Well-written, engaging stories from the author's pediatric practice illustrate the scientific evidence about how climate change adversely affects kids' health currently and in the future. Should be required reading for pediatric health professionals! And highly recommended for parents, teachers, and all those who care about our youth.
December 13, 2024
I absolutely loved this book! As a pediatrician and a father I felt like this book says exactly what needs to be said: climate change is harming our health, especially children’s health, and puts their future at great risk. The book makes this clear in many ways and at the end describes how we can act to make a difference. Please read it and share with others.
May 26, 2025
A very important and compelling read outlining the magnitude of the harm inflicted upon the planet and how that affects humanity's most vulnerable and innocent lives. This should be required for the pro-life crowd. Maybe collective protest against fossil fuel companies would be a better use of both sides' time and effort.
January 21, 2025
I love the message this book sends. We need to change our carbon emissions.
May 24, 2025
Out of all the books I have ever read- this is the one I hope you’ll read too.
July 1, 2025
So much in the book.
August 13, 2025
truly this was everything i wanted and needed !! i was searching for a book on the impact of air pollution on pediatric populations and then i came across this book. SO GOOD!!!
November 12, 2025
Loved reading a climate book from a pediatrician’s perspective. Made me cry!
January 8, 2025
Repeat read... Contains a lot of pertinent easily digestible information in a short quick read. Made many highlights I wanted to go back to. It doesn't matter which side of the coin you are in, this factual book is for everyone.
Thinking about buying multiple copies, one for me and a few to hand out.
Thinking about buying multiple copies, one for me and a few to hand out.
October 26, 2024
“To all of [our children], we owe the possible world.”
I loved Dr. Hendrickson’s voice and writing style immediately. She provided a brilliant mix of anecdotes/patient stories along with medical and environmental science.
I read a lot of books about natural sciences and how our world is changing. Not one of those previous books, though, has addressed how those changes impact our children.
I have to admit I found it stressful to read the chapter about what’s possible this close to an election where one result will take us closer to a healthier future, and the other will steer us towards a more polluted and frightening tomorrow. As we march closer to the election, I have been thinking back to this book when I consider the consequences.
I loved Dr. Hendrickson’s voice and writing style immediately. She provided a brilliant mix of anecdotes/patient stories along with medical and environmental science.
I read a lot of books about natural sciences and how our world is changing. Not one of those previous books, though, has addressed how those changes impact our children.
I have to admit I found it stressful to read the chapter about what’s possible this close to an election where one result will take us closer to a healthier future, and the other will steer us towards a more polluted and frightening tomorrow. As we march closer to the election, I have been thinking back to this book when I consider the consequences.
November 29, 2025
Scary and important.
November 26, 2025
I wholeheartedly recommend reading this book. I heard Dr. Hendrickson speak about her book and decided to buy it and read it entirely. I am glad that I did buy the book. She begins with a story about a patient and weaves science with the stories. She ends relating all the stories to the threat climate change is to children.
The writing style is easy to read. So many links to science and how those data get linked to an individual. Dr. Hendrickson puts a face on every aspect of climate change and the threat of climate change to everyone, but particularly children.
The writing style is easy to read. So many links to science and how those data get linked to an individual. Dr. Hendrickson puts a face on every aspect of climate change and the threat of climate change to everyone, but particularly children.
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November 10, 2024Notables 2024 #92
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews