Nowhere Left to Go: How Climate Change Is Driving Species to the Ends of the Earth

by Benjamin von Brackel, Ayca Türkoglu (Translator)

Harrowing journeys of animals and plants—fleeing skyrocketing temperatures and mega-droughts—reported from the frontlines of the greatest migration of species since the Ice Age As humans accelerate global warming while laying waste to the environment, animals and plants must flee to the on scattered nature reserves, between major highways, or among urban sprawl. And when even these places become too hot and inhospitable, wildlife is left with only one path to an often-formidable journey toward the poles as they race to find a new home in a warming world. Tropical zones lose their inhabitants, beavers settle in Alaska, and gigantic shoals of fish disappear—just to reappear along foreign coastlines. Award-winning environmental journalist Benjamin von Brackel traces these awe-inspiring journeys and celebrates the remarkable resilience of species around the world. But the lengths these plants and animals must go to avoid extinction are as alarming as they are Sea animals—like fish—move on average 45 miles a decade to cooler regions, while land animals—like beavers and butterflies—move 11 miles. As even the poles of the Earth heat up, we’re left with a stark and irreversible Halt the climate emergency now, or face a massive die-off of species, who are increasingly left with nowhere else to go.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Animals, Environment, Climate Change

288 pages, Hardcover

Published July 5, 2022

Reviews

[Ericka Clou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about the changing face of conservation now that global warming is causing the migration of species. It was persuasive but I've read at least one book about the frequent mishaps intervening in the environment (was in Under a White Sky by Kolbert possibly?) so I'm not sure what to believe. The entire issue with climate change is that humans should stop changing the planet so rapidly, so trying to intervene some more, although well-intentioned might be misguided.

[Wendelle]

This book describes a phenomenon, wherein as warmer climates retreat towards the poles, the animals and plants also follow in an exodus poleward in attempts to stay within their niche temperatures. This migration is more clearly evident among oceanic species than land species that can seek respite from temperature changes in the refuge of forests, or are hampered from total mobility by habitat fragmentation. Studying this phenomenon is important because it gives clues about possible mitigation methods to the imminent deterioration or extinction of species, through steps like assisted migration-- evacuating plants and animals to their required climes-- and the preservation of forest corridors that will facilitate migration among patches of refuge among forests that have become fragmented.

This book is very good because it draws its sources from a lot of published research, interviews with various German and American professors, and eyewitness reporting.

Ps. Learned that 50 billion bees died in a single year span (2018-19) alone, an unscalable tragedy that has ripple effects for wildflowers, meadow species, other pollinators and agricultural crops, too; 2 billion animals died in the Australian bushfires; as much as90% of coral reefs are under threat of bleaching; half of Amazonian species could be wiped out by end of century

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Due to higher temperatures, insects that migrate due to colder climate are not and thus are staying in warmer climates. This can cause more insect infestation and destruction of trees and plants.

Insects do not act with malice, they act according to the temperatures and their natural surroundings. Humans alter their habitats and boundaries.

[Marcin · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Każdy, kto sądzi, że człowiek może istnieć niezależnie od ekosystemów i bioróżnorodności, jest pozbawiony wyobraźni i rozumu.”

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

In another life, I might have chosen one of the science paths, and thus enjoy the well written articles that explain some of the most technical written articles into language that anyone can understand.

In this case, Mr. von Bracket delivered a deeply insightful book while gathering resources from diverse fields within the world's biological research communities and created a comprehensive, clear to follow, reason for why biologists have been sounding the alarm around the world about climate change.

Traveling the world and pulling findings together that show the pattern so clearly from arctic to tropics, land to ocean, and even from all the other animals to our own beginning migrations to cooler climates, this book simply presents it in a compelling narrative that draws the reader into the consider what each of these studies that continue to show why nature is migrating the way it is.

The minute changes that each of us may see in our own yard, and our own weather, and can relate so clearly to one of those studies that is happening around the globe. A reason to consider whether to eat what is in season versus the shipping of fruits and vegetables out of season, a reason to consider whether to change the light switches to motion sensors to help with just one iota of the energy being used that could be generated by a fossil fuel.

This is one book that I would love for every policy creator to sit and read and understand why we may need to do something now; to suggest to big companies that have created dependency on some of what we as consumers do that shifting to also help replace, repair and help sustainability may be in the best interest and cost less in the long run.

Truly an amazing read, and I am grateful that I was able to read this as an advanced readers copy.
#nowherelefttogo #advancedreadercopy #netgalley #bookreview

[Buchstabenwald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein überraschend kurzweiliges informatives Leseerlebnis hat mich hier erreicht, das ich viel zu lange aufgeschoben habe!
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Benjamin von Brackel, Umweltjournalist der Süddeutschen Zeitung, beschreibt in seinem Buch das Wandern der Arten bedingt durch die Erwärmung der einzelnen Klimazonen, was (grob gesagt) durch den Klimawandel verursacht wird. Er bedient sich dabei wissenschaftlichen Artikeln, Statistiken und Studien und fasst diese gekonnt zusammen, so dass auch ein Normalsterblicher die Bedeutung dieser Forschungsergebnisse erfassen kann.
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Die Arten - Pflanzen, Insekten, Tiere an Land und im Wasser - brauchen bestimmte Lebensbedingungen. Verschieben sich diese, folgen die Arten ihnen… oder versuchen es zumindest - horizontal wie auch vertikal. Logisch eigentlich. Nur ich wäre definitiv niemals auf diesen Gedanken gekommen. Anhand vieler verschiedenster Beispiele von Flora und Fauna und rund um den Globus wird gezeigt, wie dramatisch die Lage um unsere Artenvielfalt wirklich ist. Und was man dagegen tun kann.

Mein Fazit: ERSCHRECKEND, was um uns herum passiert, ohne dass wir es mitbekommen. Ich zumindest nicht. Keine der abwandernden, neu ankommenden oder aussterbenden Arten ist oder war auch nur jemals in meinem Blickfeld. Gut, als Laie ist das natürlich auch nicht einfach. Aber da merkt man mal, wie eingeschränkt das Bewusstsein für unsere Natur ist.
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Große große Leseempfehlung für jeden, der sich mit dem menschenverursachten Klimawandel und dessen Folgen auseinander setzen will.
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In mir löst dieses Thema sehr große Angst aus. Ich will jedoch trotzdem darüber Bescheid wissen, ich will wissen was um mich herum passiert, was ich besser machen kann. Was ich meinen Kindern irgendwann einmal beibringen muss, damit sie es noch besser machen können.

[Norman Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr eindringlich und gleichzeitig unaufgeregt geschrieben. Aber da es sich nicht um apokalyptische Visionen, sondern um bereits heute belegbare Tatsachen handelt, wirkt das Ganze um so bedrückender.

[Grace Hauser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Elizabeth Kolbert— well done

[Mehtap exotiquetv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gibt es bereits Anzeichen dafür, dass die Umwelt Tiere und Pflanzen sich umsiedeln? Dieser Frage geht der Autor nach. Er hat während seiner Buchrecherche etliche Expert:innen weltweit interviewt und ist zu dem erschreckenden Ergebnis gekommen, dass die veränderten Bedingungen, die Flucht der Tierwelt begünstigen. Sei es durch den anthrophogenen Klimawandel oder eben durch den direkten Einschnitt durch den Menschen.
Wo siedeln sich neue Korallen an, wo sterben sie aus? Wie sieht es mit den Bienen & Hummeln aus? Warum macht sich die Tigermücke in Deutschland breit? - Träger von Malaria und weitere Stechinsekten - Träger von Gelbfieber Virus.

Ein Buch, dass einem klar vor Augen führt was passiert und was mit 1,5 Grad mehr uns noch alles erwartet.

[FSLi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first English no fiction. A very good book and I learnt a lot. We could not do nothing face to the climate change! Let take action...

[kurp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sama koncepcja przedstawiona na otwarciu jest ciekawa, i trochę przerażająca. Autor pokazuje, jak natura dostosowuje się do przesunięć stref klimatycznych przez powolne migracje obszarów występowania gatunków. I pokazuje też, jak izolowane rezerwaty stają się pułapką, bo uniemożliwiają zadziałanie tego mechanizmu. Kolejne rozdziały to przykłady konkretnych gatunków i nieco dylematów wynikających ze zmian (np. czy powinniśmy chronić las takim, jakim był tu przez ostatnie wieki, skoro gatunki drzew w naturze raczej przesuwałyby się już na północ, ustępując innym, przychodzącym z południa).

[Wojtek Gruszczyński · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo ciekawa książka oparta na interesujących badaniach i artykułach. Zmusza do refleksji nad tym czy aktualny, utrzymujący się od lat, pogląd na to jak powinniśmy chronić przyrodę jest na prawdę właściwy, czy jego skutkiem nie jest na przykład nieświadome tworzenie "pułapek" na liczne gatunki. Warto czytając przejrzeć od razu przypisy i zapoznać się z badaniami tam przytoczonymi, polecam!

[Matthew Engum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this library find! Took a very observational approach to a problem where folks often sway into opinion. The facts were laid out through the many observations we have of the changing climate. Left room at the end for some “next steps”. Only critique is it did move from species to species quite quickly and was a bit challenging to keep up at times.

[Cecil · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Many species will be pushed beyond their evolutionary limits without time to react. Even nature reserves won't be able to help them." -186

This analysis of species and ecological movement across the globe from climate change, as the title suggests, was horrifyingly enlightening. I went into this already having a limited understanding on how climate change has been changing the world's forests, weather, oceans- really everything. And yet I was still blown away by how much has been destroyed and is endangered that is intentionally made invisible to the general public.

As a very, very general overview of some *recent* trends in forests, arctic and ocean changes this book works beautifully. I am still building my stamina for more data heavy research studies and Brackel's writing balances "highbrow" academic analysis and casual "nonprofessional" readership incredibly well. Even as an outsider to many of these fields, notably marine sciences, I was still able to understand and recognize the catastrophic loss of so many kelps, corals, fish in general.

The only issues I had was a lack of direct, acknowledged criticism of the power disparities and/or companies/people behind climate change and the ever-increasing drivers of extinction; and the concentrated focus on economic issues resulting from these changes over the other, more personal results. Brackel does emphasize the amount of work and dedication the researchers and communities directly affected put in to try to save as many creatures as possible. But I find the closing chapters fall into the general trap of vague hand-waving of individual responsibility for climate change- getting involved in politics, practicing more eco-friendly habits- over specifically calling out the companies and, frankly, rich folks buying up and privatizing public land and forests to turn into waste lands of profit a little disappointing. We all do have a role in preventing climate change, but there are folks who could and should be doing a whole lot more. I don't care about economic prosperity if the poorest people in the world and all the animals deemed un-profitable are left to suffer and die for someone else's profit.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this book. It is a bleak recognition of all that we, as humans, have already and may still lose if climate change and unregulated/unrestrained habitat destruction continue to ravage our planet. But it is also a reminder that there are still folks who are doing all they can for the people, creatures, and plants they love. And that there is still time, no matter what, to find ways to get involved and help.

[David Rudin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those rare science oriented books that successfully marries storytelling with current scientific research. In this case, the book offers a series of case studies of plants and animals “upsticks” and moving up mountains or to higher latitudes to escape increasing heat. The stories of individual species and the knock on affects are fascinating.

A case in point is how sugar maples are moving further north where they are predicted to wind up gutting the maple syrup industry and the traditions of many in New England. One scientist has even been experimenting with other tree saps to see how they might fare. The short answer is there are no easy substitutions.

Whether it’s Sugar Maple trees, schools of Mackerel in the North Sea, Japanese Kelp or whole systems like the Amazon Rainforest's increasing number of fires, it is clear that the world is already changing due to climate change.

It is not all doom and gloom as scientists try to plot out areas to conserve that species will need to use both as corridors to escape current habitats as well as areas that will serve as future homes for those displaced. This is an eye opening book making a strong case for the need for historically wide spread efforts by the world community to slow climate change to the greatest extent possible to lessen the damage to what will be a changing world we all will inhabit.

[Johan D'Haenen · Rating 5 out of 5]

De natuur is niet statisch, maar in constante evolutie. Sinds halfweg de jaren '70 is die evolutie door de opwarming van de Aarde evenwel omgeslagen in een revolutie... een revolutie met desastreuze gevolgen. En jammer genoeg willen velen, waaronder vooral de bewindvoerders wereldwijd, dit niet onder ogen zien, juist omwille van hun fixatie op de natuur als een statisch gegeven. Per slot van rekening leven mensen graag met de illusie van grenzen en door hen opgelegde controle.
In duidelijke journalistieke taal beschrijft Benjamin von Brackel de gevolgen van de klimaatverandering op flora en fauna van de poolgebieden tot de evenaar. Daar bestaan menselijke grenzen niet en stelt menselijke controle niets voor, wel integendeel. Bovendien zijn menselijke acties doorgaans gericht op geïsoleerde gevallen, terwijl in realiteit alles met alles verbonden is en er dus niet zoiets als "geïsoleerde gevallen" is.
En blijft het daar nu bij? Natuurlijk niet... met de migratie van fauna en flora komt ook menselijke migratie op gang, al was het maar om te overleven. En dan beginnen de problemen pas echt... maar dat is een ander verhaal.

[Bebe Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a vast journey throughout all the regions of the planet describing the lengths that species must go to find regions that will sustain them. Species from plants and trees to insects, coral, and mammals, and even humans are studied. Excellent statistics and nature studies are quoted as well as some of our government’s and scientist’s response to all this. We must act now. Personally, I view dietary change as more of a solution than its brief mention in this book. Understanding and protecting these regions and a few other solutions are also vital. This author did answer many questions for me and gave a fascinating read as we followed the migrations of bees, butterflies, even algae and coral. This book teaches how our world has changed. There were so many amazing sections that I want to quote and tell others about. Personally, I will always remember this read as one on which I was able to practice my faster reading strategies. The author’s clear approach to the subject matter made it a natural fit.

[Daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy by publisher via NetGalley, and I'm incredible thankful I had the opportunity of reading this book.

I took a course last semester named Earth sciences and planetary resilience, and this book helped me connect everything I learned in that course. What I'm saying is that this book should be mandatory to read for all biologist, ecologists, climatologists and other -gists.

Even though is a full science text, it doesn't feel like reading an article, it's easy to digest and for me, at least, it felt like I was watching a documentary in my head. It was so well written and it made me feel worried, we are not doing enough, even us, the scientists are not doing enough, but we are doing something.

[Urszula · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very interesting to read, as it shows the beginnings of factoring in animals into discussions about climate change. I wish they would not only focus on the ecosystem and different species moving or going extinct, but on the actual numbers of animals affected and potential suffering and deaths. But overall very interesting book on how we can already observe a huge impact of climate change on species migration or the decrease of different populations.

[Katarzyna Jezierska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Painful, yet carefully documented story on how climate change impacts the geographic dispersion of different species, how some of them change their historical habitats to survive and how our environmental protections are inadequately designed to work in this new world, changing too fast for many species to survive the changes. Slight hope visible in some scientific and protection work yet so much still to be done… Everyone should read it and think how we can can contribute.

[Karen Schnitzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled with solid research. The most terrifying part so far is the chapters on bees. Once they are gone, forget about blueberries, tomatoes, and squash. And fish - they have their own plans - fish can and will move, confounding the plans of men who want to haul them out of the ocean. This is quite an experiment that society has embarked on. Glad I am old.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrifying but very informative. Factual data is given to support the author’s conclusions. And with the awareness that this book brings you cannot return to a lesser informed stance and you will be more aware. I highly recommend it.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook note: The narrator had an annoying habit of using a different accent/voice for every single person quoted throughout the book. It was maddening. I did not take any stars off for it, but I sure was tempted to do so.

[Maren Pekruhl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das wird auf jeden Fall mein einziges Buch zum Thema Klimawandel bleiben. Ich finde das Thema einfach zu deprimierend und es macht nicht wirklich Hoffnung darüber zu lesen, auch wenn im letzten Abschnitt Lösungen und Fortschritte thematisiert wurden.

[Anon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was incredibly interesting and filled with jaw-dropping facts and stories. Nevertheless, is was an extremely hopeless read that left me feeling devastated and with one question, do humans even deserve to exist? This book felt like doom-scrolling.

"I see humans, but no humanity."

[Joey Deptula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Example after example of the effects of climate change on the migration and habitats of plants and animals around the globe. Tough look into a grim future with some solutions, but not outright optimism.

[James Easterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title and subtitle says it all. The book gives the examples and studies behind it.

[Mike Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to deny the effect of climate change on all species when presented with supporting data.

[David Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much interesting data but very depressing. Found it difficult to read. Could only stomach a chapter before putting it aside for a while.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science! Not for the faint of heart.