Facing Climate Change explains why people refuse to accept evidence of a warming planet and shows how to move past partisanship to reach a consensus for action. A climate scientist and licensed Jungian analyst, Jeffrey T. Kiehl examines the psychological phenomena that twist our relationship to the natural world and their role in shaping the cultural beliefs that distance us further from nature. He also accounts for the emotions triggered by the lived experience of climate change and the feelings of fear and loss they inspire, which lead us to deny the reality of our warming planet. But it is not too late. By evaluating our way of being, Kiehl unleashes a potential human emotional understanding that can reform our behavior and help protect the Earth. Kiehl dives deep into the human brain's psychological structures and human spirituality's imaginative power, mining promising resources for creating a healthier connection to the environment—and one another. Facing Climate Change is as concerned with repairing our social and political fractures as it is with reestablishing our ties to the world, teaching us to push past partisanship and unite around the shared attributes that are key to our survival. Kiehl encourages policy makers and activists to appeal to our interdependence as a global society, extracting politics from the process and making decisions about our climate future that are substantial and sustaining. "There is nothing similar to Facing Climate Change in climate-science literature; it is unique. Jeffrey T. Kiehl calls on scientists to find their voices as humans, as citizens of this planet, to declare their moral and ethical values." — Benjamin Santer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory "Facing Climate Change is a must-read for anyone concerned about human-caused climate change and how we get past the psychological barriers standing between us and a solution to this existential threat." — Michael E. Mann, author of The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines "Kiehl's work is a meditation on the human condition, bringing together science, Jungian psychology, and Buddhist philosophy. I don't know of any other book quite like this one." — Dennis Hartman, University of Washington "Kiehl provides a moving account of the challenges of climate change that will engage a wide spectrum of readers. His ability to navigate the domains of natural and social sciences in a personal manner is rare and invaluable. This book articulates a way forward beyond fear and politics toward shared concern for our planetary future." — Mary Evelyn Tucker, coauthor of Journey of the Universe ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jeffrey T. Kiehl is a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society. He is a recipient of the AGU Climate Communication Prize. He is also a senior Jungian analyst with the C. G. Jung Institute of Colorado, the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, and the International Association for Analytical Psychology.
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