“Your Guide to Climate Action” by Ryan Hagen

Your Guide to Climate Action

Ryan Hagen
Climate Action Press, 2025
ISBN: 979-8991825610
Reviewed by Dawn Colclasure for Reader Views (12/2025)

We need to talk about climate. But where do we start? How do we approach the conversation of climate? What can we do about our poor climate conditions, and how can we get started in lessening our carbon footprint? Your Guide to Climate Action: How to Move Beyond Your Footprint and Make a BIG Impact by Ryan Hagen will show you how. From breaking down where we are with our climate right now and how to make things better, this book is a powerful resource to motivate and inspire people to care about the climate chaos we are living with and how to do something about it.

I appreciated that the author touches on the issue of climate change denial, which, unfortunately, has hindered any progress in resolving our many environmental issues and problems faced today. While there are many people who experience climate change denial out of a reason for filling their pockets, there are some who experience it mostly because facing the truth about just how bad climate change is would be too painful. The author writes on page 33,

Denial is one of the stages of grief. And when it comes to climate, most of us are on a spectrum of denial. Just as our emotions evolved to help protect us, our brain’s reaction to these challenging emotions is also an attempt to be protective.

Unfortunately, it would seem that greed is also a cause for the continued deterioration of our climate. Eliminating plastic from commercial use, a thing that is littering our oceans, means people would lose money. Not relying on fossil fuels would mean people losing money. And those people don’t want to see that happen. They want to continue using up our fossil fuels and drilling for natural resources because there is money in it. With this reasoning, it seems that climate collapse is inevitable. And so, in addition to discussing what actions people can take to help our environment, the author warns that we MUST be prepared for a catastrophic climate in the future, as can very likely happen. He writes on page 49, “Planetary breakdown is going to throw a lot at us. If we aren’t at least somewhat prepared, we may not have the resources or social cohesion to solve the root of the problem.”

In light of all of these terrible things happening to our planet, it may make people think that it’s too late to fix the damage. That it’s too late to do anything good to repair what was lost. But the author reminds readers: “We know what we need to do. And if we get our act together in time, we can build a better world. A world where all life thrives.”

It would seem, however, that the people vs. the government would be a big fight to take on indeed. Even so, the author encourages people to fight back for our planet:

The fossil fuel industry has arguably been the most powerful and influential industry in human history. They have invested billions to capture politicians, shape policy, kill pro-climate legislation, influence the reporting of our biggest media institutions, and lie to the public with onslaughts of paid propaganda – all to delay action on climate. The only way regular people can match the big power and money of the fossil fuel industry is with people power – large numbers of people stepping up, together, to fight for our future.

One last thing on this: it’s important to understand that most people running our governments and corporations are not going to do the right thing on their own. And we don’t have time to wait for them anymore. We have to step up to make them do the right thing. Or replace them with people who will.

Nobody is coming to save us. We need more people to step up so we can save ourselves.          (Page 65)

And part of “saving ourselves” means taking action by using a climate action plan. This includes getting involved in local government and participating in meetings about topics relevant to the environment. It means electing climate-positive officials, supporting environmentally-conscious businesses, and signing petitions relevant to environmental protection. The author lays out this strategy in several chapters, offering actions people can take and changes they can make in order to actively work towards positive climate solutions for all.

Most people really don’t know what they can do to make a difference. Reading these chapters clears all of that up. There are easy, actionable strategies people can enforce to help make a difference for a better climate. There’s also the option of working in a climate-focused career, with a chapter on how to get started on that path. I found the links included to be very helpful, and I know they will be good resources for other people who are interested in working for a climate-focused company.

The author makes some very strong arguments for getting involved in climate action at the beginning of the book, but it is at the beginning of Part Four where he makes his strongest appeal for more people to get involved in changing our current trajectory so that we can reverse the damage to our climate and create a better future:

Until we stop polluting the climate, the world will keep getting hotter – the weather more extreme. And until we switch from harming ecosystems to healing them, ecological breakdown will continue. This means the world will become less habitable– harder to live in. It means all the important issues we care about – food security, housing, affordability, public health, racial equity, and so many others – will be made worse. And it means more people will suffer. More people will be displaced. And more people will die. (Pg. 177)

It is possible to create change and spark action to stop the destruction of our climate. Your Guide to Climate Action: How to Move Beyond Your Footprint and Make a BIG Impact provides all of the information and steps to get started. You can make a difference in improving our climate and this book will show you how.