
A captivating exploration of climate change that uses nine different emotions to better understand the science, history, and future of our evolving planet“The brilliant gift of Human Nature is that not only does it educate, delight, and inspire, but it allows us to finally feel a multitude of responses to climate change—what many books fail to recognize, and yet what humans actually do. This is essential reading from one of the kindest and most whip-smart guides for understanding our planet. Kate Marvel’s writing is very much a marvel—I’m left astonished and so grateful this book finally exists for my family, my students, and our broken and beautiful world.” — Aimee Nezhukumatathil, New York Times bestselling author of World of Wonders and Bite by Bite
“An extraordinary, epoch-hopping meditation on life on our changing world. Marvel writes with the authority and urgency of a world-leading scientist who knows what is coming to our destabilizing planet, and the vulnerability of a human being who has to live on it.” — Peter Brannen, author of The Ends of the World
“This is the best climate book I’ve ever read. It’s magnificent—both planetary and personal, saturated with electric metaphors, incisive vignettes, legitimately funny jokes, and an unflappable, knowing love for Earth, our home.” — Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of What If We Get It Right? and cofounder of Urban Ocean Lab
“Impassioned, deeply moving, fast-paced, and witty, Human Nature connects us to the climate crisis through our mythologies, our histories, and our very human emotions. Marvel implores and inspires us to create a better future.” — Sasha Sagan, author of For Small Creatures Such As We
“Few books I’ve encountered have felt more immediately timely. Over and over again I was, and remain, struck and challenged by the fierce, wise beauty in these pages. Reading and feeling these words now—as scientists are silenced and defunded, and as our climate convulses—gives it the heft of a forbidden samizdat text, making the sharing of it that much more urgent.” — John Vaillant, bestselling author of The Tiger and Pulitzer Prize finalist Fire Weather
"A highly readable argument for tackling climate change that reckons with both cold hard facts and the human heart.” — Kirkus Reviews
“In this impassioned debut report, climatologist Marvel uses the emotions engendered by the climate crisis to explore the science of global warming. . . . The history and climate science enlighten, and the poignant final chapter . . . is a bona fide tearjerker. This unique take on the climate crisis stands out.” — Publishers Weekly.
Kate Marvel
Kate Marvel is a climate scientist and one of the premier science communicators working today. A former cosmologist, Marvel received a PhD in theoretical physics from Cambridge University. She led the “Climate Trends” chapter in the U.S. Fifth National Climate Assessment, has given a TED Talk, appeared on Meet the Press and The Ezra Klein Show, and testified before the U.S. Congress. She has written for Scientific American, Nautilus magazine, and the On Being Project.
OTHER WRITING
Articles for a wider audience
A Handful of Dust
I was thrilled to be included in this stellar group of women climate leaders.
What's Really Warming the World?
Eric Roston and Blacki Migliozzi's splendid visualization of our data
DAY JOBS
Studying my favorite planet
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Physicist
By day, I'm a civil servant scientist at the world's coolest government agency. They do not approve of anything I say. I'm interested in doing climate science for climate solutions: future-proofing renewable energy, understanding what climate change does to nature-based carbon removal, and modeling deliberate climate intervention (no, I don't think it's a good idea).
Project Drawdown
Senior Climate Scientist
I was lucky enough to be a senior scientist at the world's leading resource for science-based climate solutions. I worked on everything from climate attribution to understanding terrestrial climate solutions. If you're looking for a great climate organization to support, I can't recommend them enough.
Columbia University and NASA GISS
Associate Research Scientist
At Columbia, I studied climate forcings (things that affect the planet's energy balance) and feedbacks (processes that speed up or slow down warming). Our work here has shown that observational estimates of the Earth's sensitivity to greenhouse gases are probably biased low: assuming climate changes will be small is not a very good idea. We've also shown that human influences are already apparent in global drought patterns, cloud cover, and in the timing and amount of regional rainfall.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Postdoctoral Researcher
We identified a "fingerprint" of human influence on global precipitation patterns and showed that we are already changing rain and snowfall. This is both reassuring, because it suggests climate model projections are credible, and terrifying, because it suggests climate model projections are credible.
Carnegie Institution
Postdoctoral Scholar
How much wind power could we theoretically extract from the atmosphere before severe climate consequences result? Our work showed that this geophysical limit is large- an order of magnitude greater than worldwide electricity demand. So go ahead and put those turbines in the jet stream!
Stanford
Science Fellow
As a Science Fellow at Stanford, I worked on policy-relevant scientific issues like nuclear power safety, climate model downscaling, and electrical grid resilience. Our work suggested that distributed grids, with electricity generated at local scales, can be inherently more fault-tolerant than centralized grids.
MEDIA
Press coverage
Her Message About Climate Change: It's Not Too Late
One of "15 Women Leading the Fight Against Climate Change"
A fun conversation with Jeff Goddell
The enigma of clouds and climate change
Some answers on climate change
An interview about our major new assessment of climate sensitivity
TALKS AND PODCASTS
Speaking and listening
TED Mainstage 2017
BLOOMBerg Green
Ones to Watch 2024
The Ezra Klein Show
Story Collider
Star Talk Radio
Hang Out With Me
Lindy Williams © 2017