You’re concerned about climate change. So you’ve changed all your light bulbs, you’re driving a bit less and you’re having shorter showers. But you suspect those small steps aren’t enough. You’re right.

This book was born in a moment of shared light-bulb fatigue, after reading — or in Liz’s case writing — one too many articles about the huge threats posed by climate change, running alongside tips for individual action. And the number one tip on the list was always: ‘change your light bulbs!’

As well-intentioned as that tip might be, changing light bulbs clearly doesn’t match up against a problem as big and complex as this. So one day the two of us said: ‘Screw light bulbs! Let’s look at what we really need to do to get serious about climate change.’ READ MORE

ABOUT DONNA

Dr Donna Green was recruited from the CSIRO to be a founding member of the University of New South Wales' Climate Change Research Centre, where she works on energy policy and climate change. She was a contributing author to the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report and has won numerous awards for her writing and research. She has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, consulted for the United Nations Development Programme, and advised the London Climate Change Partnership.

ABOUT LIZ

Liz Minchin is an award-winning journalist with The Age, whose climate change coverage won the national prize for best environmental reporting at the United Nations Association of Australia's 2007 World Environment Day awards. While working in The Age's investigative team, she was a joint winner of a Walkley award for Australia's best newspaper feature, and has also won a Melbourne Press Club Quill award. She is currently working as a news editor.

Donna and Liz are donating their royalties to the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA), an Australian non-profit organisation helping communities across the Asia-Pacific. Liz recently visited a school for refugee girls living on the Thai-Burma border, run with Australian donations. Watch a multimedia slideshow of the trip and find out more here.