The Carbon Almanac: It's Not Too Late

I'm part of the leadership group of hundreds of volunteers from 90 countries that have come together with ringleader Seth Godin to produce?The Carbon Almanac. ?It is a powerful tool to help us create change, right here and right now.

The Carbon Almanac?is a breakthrough, collaborative book that offers climate science facts without the noise, confusion, or agendas – to help each of us become well-informed about climate change.

For example, I was fascinated to learn that the term “carbon footprint” was invented by advertising agency Ogilvy and Mather for British Petroleum. The goal is to shift the spotlight from energy companies to consumers making us feel like hypocrites and not take coordinated action.

This project has been super rewarding form me. Climate change is an essential issue of our time. For so many people the problem is utterly overwhelming, and we don’t know where we can help other than to do the things we know are right like recycle. As I dug into the research and wrote sections of the book, I came to realize that the way we can help is to learn as much as possible and to spread the word to people we know. That’s where?The Carbon Almanac?comes in.

It’s not too late

Today,?The Carbon Almanac?releases in the USA. Please?buy one? for yourself. And please consider buying copies for your friends, family, and coworkers. I purchased 100 copies to give away.

We created?The Carbon Almanac?as the definitive source of reliable and easily understandable knowledge on climate change. It’s rich with essays, graphs, cartoons, tables, and resources, the Almanac provides credible and authoritative information on carbon and its impact on the climate that is easy to access and share, and that people like us can understand.

Everyone on this project, including Seth Godin, are working on a volunteer basis. The book is published by Penguin Random House and 100 percent of the profits will be used to spread the word about the Almanac and to get copies of the book into the hands of people who need to see it: schools, libraries, nonprofits, politicians, and others.

World record attempt on July 16

Hundreds of contributors to?The Carbon Almanac?will be in bookstores around thew world on Saturday, July 16, 2022, to sign copies of the book. We are attempting to make a world record for "most authors to sign a book in-person on the same day."

Hundreds of people who worked on the book will be signing that day at locations around the world. If you can make it to one of the locations, you will be a part of the world record too.

If you’re in the Boston area on Saturday, I will be together with?Ben Goulet-Scott ?and?Paige NeJame ?at?Brookline Booksmith ?from 2:00pm to 3:30pm and at?The Book Rack in Arlington, MA? from 4:00pm to 6:00pm.

The Carbon Almanac free resources

Listen to me and Seth Godin ?- We're on The Marketing Book Podcast with our friend Douglas Burdett talking about the book and how we made it.

Detailed footnotes ?– Every article in?The Carbon Almanac?includes a web-based collection of extensive data to learn more. Thousands of articles and datasets that we used to create the book.

Free Carbon Almanac For Kids ?- Young people can learn (and teach) about climate change from this free book. Already a hit with families and schools around the world.

LinkedIn Learning Course ?– Our free online course?34 Things to Know about Carbon and Climate. I’m one of the contributors to this video course where you’ll learn about the affordability of solar; the surprising amount of electricity used by Bitcoin; how the growth of convenience changed everything; and much more. Most of all, you’ll discover that this worldwide systemic problem demands a systemic solution. You didn’t cause climate change, and your personal habits aren’t enough to solve it.

Free Educator’s Guide ?- A tool for teachers, parents and groups to create lessons based on The Carbon Almanac.

Free Photo Book ?– A collaboration with artists such as Shepard Fairey and Getty Images, a collection of photos and images about the planet in the early days of the 21st Century.

The Carbon Almanac Collective Podcast ?- A podcast where the volunteers who created?The Carbon Almanac?share the insights and aha moments they had while collaborating on this landmark project to help fight the climate crisis.

The Daily Difference Newsletter ?– A free email newsletter to help everyone around the world in taking action and making a significant positive impact. It’s not too late. The earth needs passionate people like you to spread the word and create meaningful change.

About?The Carbon Almanac

When it comes to the climate, we don’t need more marketing or anxiety. We need established facts and a plan for collective action.

The climate is the fundamental issue of our time, and now we face a critical decision. Whether to be optimistic or fatalistic, whether to profess skepticism or to take action. Yet it seems we can barely agree on what is really going on, let alone what needs to be done. We urgently need facts, not opinions. Insights, not statistics. And a shift from thinking about climate change as a “me” problem to a “we” problem.

The Carbon Almanac?is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between hundreds of writers, researchers, thinkers, and illustrators that focuses on what we know, what has come before, and what might happen next. Drawing on over 1,000 data points, the book uses cartoons, quotes, illustrations, tables, histories, and articles to lay out carbon’s impact on our food system, ocean acidity, agriculture, energy, biodiversity, extreme weather events, the economy, human health, and best and worst-case scenarios. Visually engaging and built to share,?The Carbon Almanac?is the definitive source for facts and the basis for a global movement to fight climate change.

This isn’t what the oil companies, marketers, activists, or politicians want you to believe. This is what’s really happening, right now. Our planet is in trouble, and no one concerned group, corporation, country, or hemisphere can address this on its own. Self-interest only increases the problem. We are in this together. And it’s not too late for concerted, collective action for change.

This article first appeared on my blog.