Hothouse Earth: The Climate Crisis and the Importance of Carbon Neutrality

by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson

As hurricanes, droughts, floods, and wildfires are increasing in regularity and intensity, climate change can no longer be ignored. Melting permafrost, forest dieback, ocean acidification, and other processes are creating positive feedback loops which could, if not aggressively and quickly addressed, spiral out of control and take global warming past the point of no return. Hothouse Earth examines how science, politics, and social justice must all be part of the equation to counteract climate change.

Genres: Nonfiction

136 pages, Library Binding

Published March 2, 2021

About the author

Stephanie Sammartino McPherson wrote her first children's story in college. She enjoyed the process so much that she's never stopped writing. A former teacher and freelance newspaper writer, she has written twenty-eight books and numerous magazine stories. She especially enjoys writing about science and the human interest stories behind major discoveries.

Stephanie and her husband, Richard, live in Virginia but also call California home. They are the parents of two grown children.

Reviews

[Lys · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-researched introduction to climate change that strikes a perfect balance between assuming young adults have some prior knowledge about climate change, while keeping the information clear, concise, and compelling.

[Michelle Glatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewing for School Library Connection. Recommending for high school students.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as a potential nominee for the MA Teen Choice Book Awards.

This is an important read and is a good resource about the climate crisis. I really enjoyed the brief bios of people who have played/are playing a role in trying to save our planet.

Overall I felt like the format made for a choppy read with the side notes not always placed at the break of the narrative. And I’m not convinced this text is accessible to the teen readers it’s supposed to be geared towards. But for teens that want to learn more about the climate crisis, I think they’ll walk away with the better understanding of how we got to where we are now, and some of the options we have moving forward.

[NCHS Library]

Publisher's Description: As hurricanes, droughts, floods, and wildfires are increasing in regularity and intensity, climate change can no longer be ignored. Melting permafrost, forest dieback, ocean acidification, and other processes are creating positive feedback loops which could, if not aggressively and quickly addressed, spiral out of control and take global warming past the point of no return. Hothouse Earth examines how science, politics, and social justice must all be part of the equation to counteract climate change.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

very informational, I used this book for my personal narrative in English. I definitely recommend, the chapters are relatively short, and the inside of the book is eye-catching and easy to follow.

[Everet Redman · Rating 5 out of 5]

My book is Hothouse Earth: the climate crisis and the importance of carbon neutrality, by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson. This book is all about the causes of climate change throughout human history and what we can do to help revert it. I was looking for a book about problems with the earth that are caused by humans and came across this one.

Hothouse Earth is about the Co2 emissions in the atmosphere throughout the years and how it has grown in number since the past few centuries. This is caused due to the industrial revolution and everything leading up from the moment that humans realized they can use machines to do all of the hard work. The book also talks about many ways that humans can start to change the climate for the better and that if we plan on doing it we need to do it within the next fifty years. There is also a point of no return that can happen if nothing is done to stop the ever-heating surface of our planet.

The book ultimately ended saying that people can still have the chance to revert the changes that were made in global warming but it's going to require a lot of people to wake up and realize the importance of planet Earth. My favorite part of the book is where they are saying that scientists estimate that we only have till about the year 2100 to make changes. If these changes are not made by then, we reach the point of no return and there is no fixing global warming. I like this part because anyone that reads this part will realize that changes need to be made soon.

My personal opinion on this book is that it is a very good book and I think everyone should read it once in their life. Anyone that reads this book will realize the significance of climate change and the reasons why it is happening. People that like the study of planets and the earth will love this book because it teaches them the causes for climate change and it will make you realize how many everyday things pollute the air that we breathe. All in all, I think that this book is very informative and I am glad that I chose to read it.

[Kara Sofilka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley for an honest review.

This is the perfect book on climate change for Young Adults. Specifically middle school to lower high school. The book breaks down climate change vs global warming as well as factors. It also highlights a variety of Climate Change “Heroes” and different positive actions taken. I would definitely use parts of this text in my classroom and allow students to read the whole thing on their own.