"The Octopus in the Parking Garage" by Rob Verchick

Climate change needs no introduction for most of us. Or does it? How do we confront it without being overwhelmed by the prospects of a planet in disarray?In his book, The Octopus in the Parking Garage, Rob Verchick seeks to tamp down the fear and loathing that goes with the subject and build up a plan of action, a call for climate resilience."The world we inhabit is getting hotter, drier, wetter, and weirder," notes Verchick. "Our coastlands are sinking. Forests are bursting into flame. Droughts and heat waves are getting worse," he adds."On top of this comes another dose of hard reality: As a matter of physics, global warming cannot be reversed very quickly," Verchick stated.So what's to be done? "Today climate action takes two distinct priorities: curbing greenhouse gases to fend off worst-case consequences and boosting community resilience to cope with the impacts already mounting," he said.Getting real is what's being called for. "I believe that climate resilience is the gateway discussion toward broader climate action, including eliminating fossil fuels," noted Verchick, who hosts his own podcast, Connect the Dots, talked to Steve Tarter about a woman he interviewed in Octopus who seeks to improve worker safety in Nevada where presently there are few protections for those working outside, often in 100-degree heat.While that may not seem like working on climate change, it's a start, he said.In his Read Beat interview, Verchick discusses an approach for the average citizen in this overheated world while exploring the problems of Joshua Trees, coral reefs and those discarded refrigerators that were left behind after Hurricane Katrina.