Osseily Hanna invites readers to join him on his 6-year journey across 32 countries to hear from the people fighting climate change locally, and what they are doing to beat it.
In Touring the Climate Crisis: Saving the Earth Around the World, Osseily Hanna documents his journey to explore how the climate is changing and affecting people in both the Global North and Global South. That journey took him across five continents over the course of six years and felt similar to walking along a tightrope: on one side he witnessed death, destruction, and destitution, while on the other he saw the capacity of the human spirit to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. From gold miners in South Africa and a nuclear bomb survivor in Hiroshima to the diversity and beauty of bees in Germany and Uganda, and part of the Atlantic forest that was brought back to life in Brazil, Hanna's journey is one that seeks to unravel the beauty and capacity of both the natural world and the human spirit.
As Hanna discovers, the duality of life coexisting with death, and hope sprouting from fear in a world whose climate and future are changing more rapidly than ever before, become the drivers of his inspiration and motivation to push further still, and relay the urgency of the situation our world today faces. A travelogue of the courageous work done by people who are fighting climate change as well as the factors that are causing it, Touring the Climate Crisis breaks down issues such as deforestation, mining, and industrial agricultural processes and includes the author's own photography from his journey around the world.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part 1 - Latin America
1. From the Jungles of Mexico to the Skyscrapers of Panama
Departure | Where are all the animals? | Espresso in Guatemala | Nicaraguan Rum | Canals and Papers
2. Colombian Energy
Solar Shower | Coughs, Colds, and Coal
3. Two Great Forests
Cocaine, Trees, and a Boat | Salt of the Earth
4. Ingenious Shanty Towns
Return to the Slum of Peace (Favela da Paz) | Recycled Orchestra
5. The Open Veins of Latin America
Land Grab | Galeano’s Open Veins
Part 2 - United States and Europe
6. American Power
Electric vs Gasoline Cars | Solar Powered Rooftops | Bikes, Buses, and Planes
7. Food in the City
My First Thanksgiving | NYC Herbs and Greens | A Toast to Reducing Food Waste | A Michelin Star in Copenhagen
8. Cities of the Future
Copenhagen Wind | Amsterdam Bikes and Lights
9. Crossing Europe
Calais Camp and Refugees | Liquid Fear | Today’s America and Europe
10. Reflecting and Reviving
Berlin Bees| The Show Must Go On
Part 3 - Africa
11. Flight of the Honey Bee
Honey Farm | Outreach | Back in the City
12. Thank You for the Rain
A Long-awaited Greeting | Eco Farm | A Greenhouse Within a Greenhouse | A Brand New Dam | Climate Hypocrisy
13. Journey South
The Subtle Art of Planning | Break for the Border
14. Generations of Miners
Deep Underground | Extraction and Inequality | Population Fallacy
Part 4 - Asia
15. In the Shadow of the Towers
Illusions | A World Away | Ski Slope
16. Hong Kong Isolation
Change of Plans
17. From Hiroshima with Love
Bullet Train | Black Rain | Six Trees
Part 5 - Journey's End
18. Lessons Learned
A Blessing in Disguise?| Climate Engineering and Temperature| New Alliances and Paradigms
Afterword
Bibliography
Notes
Index
About the Author
Osseily Hanna is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker with experience in more than 40 countries. He combines his science and banking background with empathy, dedication and passion for humanity and nature to write books and direct documentary films about the most pressing issues of our times. He gave up a successful career in global financial markets in 2011 to write his first book, Music and Coexistence, which was first published in English by Rowman & Littlefield.