As yearly rhythms bring us back to colder, shorter, darker days, I’m more inclined to curl up with a good book than ever. I do love fall, but I’m definitely feeling tired and yearning for some (literally and figuratively) warmer, brighter days.

If that sentiment resonates with you, may I recommend Bill McKibben’s Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization?

This latest book from a stalwart in the climate community is packed with high-quality reporting and research, presented for a very wide general audience. Best of all, the main message is good climate news: we don’t need long-shot, unproven, potentially dangerous technologies to get back on track to a stable climate.

What we need is political will and capital investments in the proven, scalable, clean solar (and wind) technologies that have already started transforming people’s lives for the better all around the globe. Solar power is the cheapest way to generate power, it’s a boon to human physical health, and it’s here to stay. The question is whether we’ll deploy enough of it fast enough to reduce emissions, stabilize the climate, and ensure a livable future for everyone.

For the first time in a long time, the experience of reading a climate-themed book was actually enjoyable for me – I powered my way through this one in two afternoons!

If you do read it, and want to talk about it, Climate Reality Chicago will be having a book club meeting where we discuss it on Tuesday, December 9, at 6:30 PM Central time. If you email me, I’ll be happy to share the link to the Zoom meeting with anyone who would like to join us!