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What We Can Do: A Climate Optimist's Guide to Sustainable Living
In this radically optimistic climate change book, find yourself empowered to achieve sustainable living across every facet of your life—the personal, the professional, and the political.
“Never has decisive action on climate and environment been more important. This book will help citizens all across America understand that while no one can do everything, everyone can do something—and offers a myriad of ways they can get started too.” —Dr. Trista Patterson, Time100 Climate Leader, 2023, and co-founder of Playing for the Planet
Using a science-based framework to unearth the top ten things anyone can do to make a meaningful difference, Charlie Sellars takes readers from overwhelmed to empowered in the face of the climate crisis.
What We Can Do provides a practical, data-based approach to guide readers toward environmental impact across three key aspects of their their daily choices, their careers, and their communities. This climate change book reminds readers they have far more power than they realize to make a meaningful difference on climate change.
Charlie Sellars pulls insight from his experience as a director of sustainability at Microsoft, which has underlined its commitment to be a green business with a pledge to become carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste by 2030 while protecting ecosystems. He also serves on the governing body of the iMasons Climate Accord, an industry coalition united to decarbonize digital infrastructure.
Inside this sustainable living book, you will learn how environmental science to make more sustainable decisions using the “Make It, Move It, Lose It, Use It” impact framework.Turn your job into a sustainability job, no matter what you do for a living.Unleash the power of your voice at the ballot box and in your local community.This refreshingly optimistic environmental book for adults and recent graduates makes for a great climate change gift, like Hannah Ritchie’s Not the End of the World and Katharine Hayhoe’s Saving Us.
Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. It’s not too late to defeat the climate crisis, and What We Can Do will show you how.
“Never has decisive action on climate and environment been more important. This book will help citizens all across America understand that while no one can do everything, everyone can do something—and offers a myriad of ways they can get started too.” —Dr. Trista Patterson, Time100 Climate Leader, 2023, and co-founder of Playing for the Planet
Using a science-based framework to unearth the top ten things anyone can do to make a meaningful difference, Charlie Sellars takes readers from overwhelmed to empowered in the face of the climate crisis.
What We Can Do provides a practical, data-based approach to guide readers toward environmental impact across three key aspects of their their daily choices, their careers, and their communities. This climate change book reminds readers they have far more power than they realize to make a meaningful difference on climate change.
Charlie Sellars pulls insight from his experience as a director of sustainability at Microsoft, which has underlined its commitment to be a green business with a pledge to become carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste by 2030 while protecting ecosystems. He also serves on the governing body of the iMasons Climate Accord, an industry coalition united to decarbonize digital infrastructure.
Inside this sustainable living book, you will learn how environmental science to make more sustainable decisions using the “Make It, Move It, Lose It, Use It” impact framework.Turn your job into a sustainability job, no matter what you do for a living.Unleash the power of your voice at the ballot box and in your local community.This refreshingly optimistic environmental book for adults and recent graduates makes for a great climate change gift, like Hannah Ritchie’s Not the End of the World and Katharine Hayhoe’s Saving Us.
Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. It’s not too late to defeat the climate crisis, and What We Can Do will show you how.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published April 22, 2025
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 30, 2025
This book has the right intentions, but fails to address the many difficult facets of reality those in the U.S. face.
Whilst Part Three briefly discusses rent and its impact on the environment, many more pages at the front of the book are spent discussing how to make one's own home sustainable. This does not at all speak to the growing number of Americans forced to rent whatever is available, nor the reality that most will never own a home.
An equal amount of time is spent on civic duty and taking a bold stand to advocate for sustainability. These are certainly laudable goals, but again seem to exist separate from the average person who works long hours, cannot save, and may not have the emotional capacity to become a green leader.
I appreciate the book for what it tries to say, but wonder what it might have looked like had it borne in mind poverty, the average American, and the growing attempts by the U.S. government to dismantle sustainability as a whole.
Whilst Part Three briefly discusses rent and its impact on the environment, many more pages at the front of the book are spent discussing how to make one's own home sustainable. This does not at all speak to the growing number of Americans forced to rent whatever is available, nor the reality that most will never own a home.
An equal amount of time is spent on civic duty and taking a bold stand to advocate for sustainability. These are certainly laudable goals, but again seem to exist separate from the average person who works long hours, cannot save, and may not have the emotional capacity to become a green leader.
I appreciate the book for what it tries to say, but wonder what it might have looked like had it borne in mind poverty, the average American, and the growing attempts by the U.S. government to dismantle sustainability as a whole.
July 12, 2025
Charlie's book is a mindful and great source of information and optimism about how individuals can contribute to better climate practices as individuals, at work and at a government level. All of it is presented with data and with the premise that it's up to the reader to what level of actions they might take. I have already passed it along and received a strong response from the reader.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews