planet maine vol. 30: what does a future full of climate-friendly solutions look like?

MAINE PUBLIC • June 3, 2026

Don’t ask Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, author of “What If We Get it Right: Visions of Climate Futures,” about hope. As a scientist, she says she’s too well-acquainted with the facts on climate change to feel hopeful about the future. “If I waited to feel hopeful I’d be waiting a very long time without acting,” she says. Her 2024 book, recently updated and published in a new paperback edition this year on Earth Day, is an attempt to paint a picture of the possibilities of what the best climate future looks like — and introduces readers to a whole host of people working to help create it. I sat down with Johnson to discuss the book.