20 Climate and Sustainability Resources for a Brighter 2025

Cedar Walters

January 15, 2025

Reading Time:

8–12 minutes

The start of a new year often inspires us to start fresh, renew commitments, and pursue more meaning in our lives. This year, we invite you to explore how climate impacts are changing how we live both locally and globally, reflect on how we perceive the future and its myriad possibilities, and embrace a spirit of growth and learning. We can learn and acquire new knowledge in many ways––from our own experiences, through reading, by practicing a new skill, or by observing the world around us. By embracing lifelong learning, we remain open to new ideas and experiences, are better equipped to think outside the box, and better understand the world and our place in it.

In that spirit, our staff sampled 20 climate and sustainability-related media sources over the past two months, including books, movies, podcasts, and newsletters, to increase our understanding of our relationship with nature, climate impacts, and future possibilities. We hope you find something on this list that inspires you to dig in and learn something new too!

Books for Adults:

This powerful new read seeks to answer the question posed in the title, featuring conversations with thought leaders from different fields. The spoiler that won’t spoil the book? We have all the solutions we need; we just need to start doing them on a wider scale. At times poignant, sobering, and even humorous, this is a great book club book that also includes elements of art and poetry. The audiobook features interview recordings with the featured experts in their own voices. And it gets better ––the book even comes with an Anti-Apocalypse Mixtape.

American War offers an unflinching look at advanced warfare waged in modern America. After the president of the U.S. signed a bill outlawing the use of all fossil fuels, southern states rebelled, and in October of 2075, they seceded from the union. This book follows the story of one girl and her family as they navigate the war-torn South and cling to what little they had to begin with. As the book continues, the girl discovers her true power and, in doing so, changes the world as she knows it. This book is a haunting depiction of a plausible, not-too-distant future.

This book is a great resource for those looking to turn concern into action. Written by a leading Minnesota climate scientist, this book is easy to flip through to find a solution that resonates with you. Roop takes you through a wide variety of solutions for individuals, such as dietary changes or buying an electric vehicle, but also some that build community and resilience. For example, participating in the sharing economy to reduce purchasing or help make your church, company, or school more sustainable.

“I could feel it in my bones, my homing instinct pulled me so strongly to this land, a new and exciting landscape for my family to explore…” This book reads like poetry connecting wonderous creatures needing our protection to live an everyday life. The story is filled with whimsy, joy, and wonderful illustrations.

The award-winning author of Braiding Sweetgrass has done it again. Kimmerer’s book, The Serviceberry, is flying off the shelves just a few weeks after being published. As one wends one’s way through the life of the serviceberry (a bush/tree that gives back again and again) there are amazing lessons to be learned. Explore the circular economy, a pathway for reducing climate change through a “giving economy,” and great lessons on how to live a simpler life while at the same time appreciating and protecting the land and environment that gives back so much.

Crossings is an introspective look into our road system and who is most impacted by its creation. The large-scale construction of a car-centric world has altered creatures of all shapes and sizes, and even human communities, for better or for worse. This book will take you on a journey around the world with interviews with people who are at the forefront of the conflicts between the natural and human-built world.

This is an incredibly informative read for those of us who care about climate change but are maybe a bit new to the topic and looking for more information. Each chapter is broken down into digestible sections that feel accessible and easy to read. If you want to learn more but don’t know where to start, this is the book for you.

Books for Children:

This book, written by Minnesota meteorologist and entrepreneur Paul Douglas, is a refreshing and optimistic read for middle-grade students. It features engaging illustrations, honest information about problems that don’t come off as alarmist, and examples of hard environmental problems we have solved in the past. The book also features young people who are tackling environmental problems in their own communities, connecting young people to their own potential as part of climate solutions.

This book is a simple retelling of a Jewish folktale. In it, a loving grandpa tailors a tattered blanket into a jacket and beyond. At the same time, there is an additional storyline in the illustrations showing how the mice use the scraps of fabric they find. It’s a wonderful way to get even the smallest children to think about the lifecycle of their own belongings. “When my daughter and I read it together, we talked about the history of toy making too––from corncob dolls and tin soldiers to today’s plastic toys overpackaged in more plastic.”

Appreciation for nature through exploration. This book encourages children to get outside and explore west central Minnesota. Each page offers an opportunity for a new adventure in each of the nine counties of our region and White Earth Nation. Let’s Go! Ten Adventures Through West Central Minnesota can be found at public libraries throughout the region.

Movies & Television:

Down to Earth is a documentary-style series streaming on Netflix that follows Zac Efron and Waseca, MN native Darin Olien around the world as they discover more sustainable ways of living. The show focuses on food, water, and energy and explores more sustainable ways of providing those staples to people around the world. This series provides a fun and relaxed look at how to make our world and our lives more sustainable and features solutions on a global and individual scale. Each episode also features a restaurant that uses farm-to-table and other sustainable agriculture practices in their work.

What is dirt? Kiss the Ground will take you deep into the subsoil with a look at how the world’s agricultural systems can be the key to the climate crisis through carbon sequestration and regenerative farming solutions. This documentary takes you to farms and farmers who are leading the way in smart agricultural practices that not only save farmers money and resources but also have the potential to protect the land for generations.

Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy looks at the true cost of fast fashion, one-click shopping, and the targeted ads-based economy. Companies are making it easier for consumers to buy goods and have them shipped directly to their homes, but who is truly affected by this system, and what implications does it have for our environment? This film takes you into the thought processes behind large online retailers to encourage consumers to buy fast and often and how consumers can take their power back.

Fresh off the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and featuring Al Gore, who states “I used to be the next President of the United States of America” in his introduction, An Inconvenient Truth (2006) is really the “granddaddy of them all” when it comes to climate change media. This film makes it clear that not enough has changed for the better and the dire and the prescient predictions Gore presented almost 20 years ago have, and are, coming to pass in spite of his warnings and call to action. The positive outlook on our ability to change, as well as the hope and inspiration Gore imparts, is still as relevant today as it was then.

Podcasts:

Everybody in the Pool is a weekly climate solutions podcast created by journalist and podcaster Molly Wood. It covers new tech, climate finance, and startups, and more familiar climate solutions like recycling. This podcast is focused on innovation and highlights the people and businesses that are on the cutting edge of solving the climate crisis.

The Climate Question podcast from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) helps make sense of current events in the context of the climate crisis, weaving together political implications, behavior change, and how climate change is impacting food, hobbies, athletes, and more.

The Climate Pod podcast includes a wide variety of conversations with prominent figures in the climate movement. If you enjoy wide-ranging conversations that touch on justice, culture, economics, sustainability, and politics, tune into this podcast hosted by Ty Benefiel.

Newsletters:

Project Drawdown is a nonprofit that promotes science-based analysis of climate solutions and uses compelling storytelling to accelerate progress on climate solutions across the globe. You can sign up for the Project Drawdown bi-weekly newsletter, explore the Drawdown Library of Climate Solutions, or browse the Global Solutions Diary to learn about how people across the globe are implementing solutions in their communities.

Inside Climate News is the oldest and largest climate-focused news source in the U.S. Its bi-weekly newsletters include a deep dive into a particular climate topic as well as shorter blurbs on climate news from around the globe. The writing is clear, concise, and factual. You can subscribe to the newsletter for free (or a free-will donation) or check out the array of climate stories on the ICN website.

Reasons to be Cheerful was founded by Musician David Byrne and is a nonprofit online magazine that focuses on finding modern solutions from around the world that give inspiration to create the future we want. The weekly newsletter includes stories on science, health, food systems, climate and sustainability, and more.

We know this list doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of books and other media about climate and sustainability, so we want to hear from you! Do you have a favorite source for climate information and inspiration? Let us know so we can check it out too! Email your favorite sources to cedar@wcif.org.

About Cedar Walters

Cedar serves as West Central Initiative’s Director of Climate and Sustainability Programs. She leads regional efforts to advance clean energy, strengthen climate resilience, and support community-driven sustainability initiatives across west central Minnesota.

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