The Weight of Nature: How a Changing Climate Changes Our Brains
“By seeing the magic that is around us, we can be motivated to respond to the climate crisis.”
The Weight of Nature: How a Changing Climate Changes Our Brains is science-based journalism at its zenith. Neuroscientist and environmental journalist Clayton Page Aldern has authored a powerful and portentous book about the impact climate change is having on our brains and behavior. This book is a must-read for those concerned about the implications of climate change on our personal and public health.
We often think of climate change as a potential problem that is external to us. Fires or rising sea levels or more intense storms are down-the-road concerns for many. Aldern suggests that the first effects of climate change are already occurring in the here-and-now, in our brains.
Our brains provide modeling of the world for us, and are changed by that world. The internal impacts the external and vis-versa. “Cognition is literally embodied.” Thus, when the environment changes, our brains change, too. We see these changes in ways we probably ignore—being short with a partner or finding we’re unable to concentrate when it’s hot outside. We ignore these changes at our peril, as small changes lead to larger ones with far reaching impacts.
This is not a book about the “what-ifs” related to climate anxiety that can stymie progress or constructive action. Alden digs into the scientific research to show how the brain is impacted by rising temperatures. While climate fear is real, it’s not irrational. Our brains and behaviors are changing in ways that do not serve. The good news is that by noticing, we can find solutions.
The book is divided into three parts: how climate change influences behavior; the role of climate change in diminished neurological health; and the “subtler” impacts of climate change on sensory systems, perception, and communication. These impacts are wide-ranging, but connected through our internal experience.
Aldern writes with clarity and purpose. He seeks to educate rather than alarm, so that our communities can find resolve in creating solutions to address these concerns.
For those who might doubt the veracity of Aldern’s claims, spend time in the “Notes and Further Reading” section. It showcases Aldern’s academic and journalistic training with the quality and range of sources. He brings receipts for the claims he makes.
In the end, the book is optimistic. Aldern underscores that by understanding the breadth of the internal impacts climate change causes, we can address them. He recognizes the needed actions as connected, community solutions. “. . . we have to keep each other afloat. There is room on the lifeboat.”
The Weight of Nature: How a Changing Climate Changes Our Brains is a compelling look at what are novel ways that climate change is negatively affecting humanity. And it is filled with hope. While climate change has an adverse impact on us, we are beings with the capacity for empathy, feeling, embodiment, and awe. By seeing the magic that is around us, we can be motivated to respond to the climate crisis.