Clearing the Air
Hannah Ritchie, a data scientist known for her work at Our World in Data, brings an evidence-based perspective to one of the most fraught subjects of the day. The book, published in 2024 and also released under the title Not the End of the World, sets out to correct what she sees as widespread misunderstanding of environmental trends. Working through topics like air pollution, carbon emissions, deforestation, food, and biodiversity, Ritchie shows where humanity has already made real gains and where the data suggests genuine solutions are within reach. Her central claim is that we are the first generation with the tools to build a sustainable future, and that paralyzing doom is as unhelpful as flat denial. Written in plain language with charts and clear comparisons, the book aims to replace anxiety with informed, grounded optimism.
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What you might want to know about Clearing the Air
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A data scientist uses the numbers to argue that progress on climate and the environment is real and achievable, pushing back against both denial and despair.
Yes. Hannah Ritchie's book was published as Not the End of the World in some markets and Clearing the Air in others; the content is the same.
No. Ritchie takes climate change seriously but argues, using data, that progress is real and solutions exist, rejecting both denial and hopeless despair.
Clearing the Air was written by Hannah Ritchie, published in 2025 by Penguin Random House.
Clearing the Air is 224 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Clearing the Air takes most readers 3 to 5 hours to finish.
Clearing the Air is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.