A REFRESHING CONVERSATION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

The realities of global warming are becoming increasingly dismal. But in her latest book What If We Get It Right?, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson explains that we already have the answers we need.

- LEAH THOMAS

At her popular TED Talk, Dr. Johnson speaks on finding joy in climate action.

Imagine this: No wildfires. Or 100-year-hurricanes or droughts or floods every year. Our coral reefs are vibrant; the microplastics are gone. There is sustainable public transportation, clean energy, and lush landscapes. With the facts of climate change—an ever-warming world, climate-destroyed communities, rapidly dwindling natural resources—it can be hard to imagine. Or it feels just that, imaginary. And it’s enough to make taking any meaningful action to “save the planet” so lofty and vast, it can feel pointless.

Talk to Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Ph.D., a marine biologist and climate activist, and a different story emerges. She is the founder of the Urban Ocean Lab, an organization that works to help plan for the future of coastal cities, and has worked with everyone from Patagonia to the U.S. government to develop clean ocean policies. While Dr. Johnson doesn’t belittle the big problems climate change presents, she also believes them to be solvable.

It’s a topic Dr. Johnson explores in her recently published book, What If We Get It Right? Here, she shares that while a utopian world may not be the future, the apocalyptic visions we're all prophesying aren’t either.

What drew you to the world of marine biology and environmentalism?

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson: From a very young age, what drew me to it is love. I fell in love with nature—sea urchins, worms, butterflies, reef fish, stars, sunshowers, forests, moss. Once I learned that the species and ecosystems I loved were threatened, I became determined to do what I could to protect and restore nature.