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American Energy Society's
ENERGY WRITER OF THE YEAR 2021
KATHARINE HAYHOE |
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The American Energy Society has selected Katharine Hayhoe as the Energy Writer of the Year 2021.
The Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas Tech University, Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, and author of more than 125 peer-reviewed abstracts and publications, Katharine Hayhoe conducts pioneering research on and application of high-resolution climate projections to evaluate the future impacts of climate change on human society and the natural environment. |
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2021 has been a busy year for Dr. Hayhoe. In addition to her faculty responsibilities, she authored several peer-reviewed articles, provided written and spoken testimonies for Congress and COP26, and taped acclaimed TED talks. At her busiest, she spoke at 55 events ... in one week. And, her new book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World (Atrium/Simon & Schuster), earned this year's premier literary prize for energy.
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Drawing on interdisciplinary research and personal experience, Hayhoe shows that small conversations can have astonishing results. Saving Us is an accessible, multilayered look at the intersections of science, faith, and human psychology. It offers tools to open dialogue with anyone about how we all can play a role in pushing for change.
We are not alone in our admiration of Dr. Hayhoe. The New York Times calls her “one of the nation's most effective communicators on climate change.” She does so by rising above polemics. A Canadian, a Christian, a Texan, an academic, Hayhoe displays a degree of compassion that feels both rare and essential in our times. She acknowledges her gratitude for all that fossil fuels have given us in the last 150 years. But she also makes it clear we need to make some big changes quickly. And, she recognizes that technology and policy aren't going to solve as much as we wish, because humanity itself is simply not yet where it needs to be. Saving Us is our field guide on how to get there faster. |
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Saving Us aims to reach common ground without compromising indisputable facts. "The science is the science," Hayhoe notes, but she is a realist. Facts are only one part of the equation. We need to find shared values in order to harness our individuality to collective action. In other words: We need to talk to each other.
Hayhoe's sense of humor serves her well when she is dealing with the small percentage of deniers (7%) who cling to a bygone world and vilified her in print and in person. Saving Us is written to help the rest of us productively engage with reluctant believers who accept the dire outlook but lack inspiration. Purity tests don't work and neither does blame. Instead, says Hayhoe, start with the one basic truth and put it in lay person's terms--the Earth has a fever--and then talk specifics with each person about what that means for their hopes, fears, and dreams. In other words: "Meet them where they're at." In Saving Us, Hayhoe is challenging us to consider our own ambivalent attachment to, and overriding dependence on, the traditional energy order—and to finally grapple with the bleak future we are otherwise creating. |
About the award
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According to Eric Vettel, president of the American Energy Society, "There were a lot of great books about energy this year, but Dr. Hayhoe's contributions to the field, highlighted with the release of Saving Us, made the choice much easier. We selected her as Energy Writer of the Year for her intellectual rigor, her balanced treatment of competing ideas, her courageous approach to a difficult subject, her engaging storytelling, and for a lifetime of professional achievements.”
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About the author
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