Our Time

An inspiring call to action that links today’s climate crisis to Earth’s evolution throughout history.

Our Time is a true story. Alasdair Skelton takes readers through time, from the formation of the Earth to the present day, reflecting on the finely tuned climate system and its elegant workings that have made it possible for living things to thrive on Earth for three-and-a-half billion years. Skelton explores what happened when Earth’s climate spiraled out of control and how it repaired itself time and time again, and as we plunge into our own chapter of time, he highlights our separation from nature as a root cause of the crisis in which we now find ourselves.

Skelton tells this story as a geologist who was awoken to climate activism by the voices of his own students. He shares a perspective on the climate crisis as a blink of an eye amidst the enormity of time. Concluding with what will happen if we fail to act, and what will happen if we do act, Skelton compares alternative futures and explains how we can still choose a good one. Throughout, and without ever betraying scientific truth, Our Time navigates the narrow path from the inaction of denial and despair to the action of hope. This is a beautiful history of planet Earth and the role humans can play in its evolving climate story.

Author Biography

Alasdair Skelton is professor of geochemistry and petrology at Stockholm University. His academic works are on geology, earthquakes, tsunamis, climate of the past and the ongoing climate crisis. He was Director of the Bolin Centre for Climate Research for 9 years. He is also a climate activist. He lives in Sweden.