Like many classmates getting our PhDs, I considered my field, physics, the most fundamental of all the sciences, joking that we could derive the rest. That was

Like many classmates getting our PhDs, I considered my field, physics, the most fundamental of all the sciences, joking that we could derive the rest. That was the 90s. In today's world, I consider the most important role of anyone who understands nature to help spread understanding of our environmental situation, though I consider the most important task now to lead. As far as science books, I'm going to share three titles I read this year I highly recommend, though they're about ten years old - Countdown, by Alan Weisman, for covering (over)population, especially for sharing examples of nations that lowered birthrates without coercion or legislation, yielding greater happiness and prosperity. - The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman, for illustrating our effect on the world colorfully and inspirationally. - The Once and Future World, by J.B. MacKinnon, for illustrating how much more nature there used to be, how much we've lost, and how much more we stand to lose. - Limits to Growth, the 30-year Update, almost 20 years old, but the most thorough treatment of us and our environment. Critics criticize it, but all the criticism I've seen actually criticizes straw men and other misunderstandings (if you know of meaningful criticism please let me know). Meanwhile, this paper https://sustainable.unimelb.edu.au/publications/research-papers/is-global-collapse-imminent https://sustainable.unimelb.edu.au/publications/research-pap... from five years ago shows their "business as usual" model continues to be unreasonably accurate nearly 50 years later, suggesting to me LtG's relevance and poignancy. You can't go wrong reading any of these books, though I'd start with Limits to Growth.