Earth Day reading picks

Yale Climate Connections marked Earth Day with a 13-book reading list that ties environmental history to present-day activism. (yaleclimateconnections.org) The guide, published April 21, 2026, was written by Yale Climate Connections books editor Michael Svoboda. It groups the books into four themes: pollution, protest, protection, and preservation. (yaleclimateconnections.org) Svoboda frames the list around the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, when pollution and wildlife protection were central public issues. The new roundup argues those earlier concerns now sit alongside climate change in the modern environmental movement. (yaleclimateconnections.org) One of the featured titles is *Protest: Respect It, Defend It, Use It* by Annie Leonard and André Carothers. Patagonia lists the hardcover for release on April 28, 2026. (yaleclimateconnections.org) (patagoniaworks.com) Booksellers and the publisher describe *Protest* as a history of peaceful public action, with examples ranging from labor rights to clean air and water campaigns. Yale Climate Connections includes it in the “protest” section of the Earth Day list. (penguinrandomhouse.com) (yaleclimateconnections.org) The reading list also continues an annual Earth Month feature at Yale Climate Connections. The outlet published similar Earth Day book guides in April 2024 and April 2025. (yaleclimateconnections.org 1) (yaleclimateconnections.org 2) This year’s list arrived as Earth Day 2026 events were being organized under the theme “Our Power, Our Planet,” according to EARTHDAY.ORG. The group says its 2026 campaign includes community cleanups, teach-ins, demonstrations, tree planting, and town halls. (earthday.org) The Yale guide does not treat Earth Day as a single-day reading prompt. It presents books as background for readers who want more context on how environmental politics moved from burning rivers and roadside trash to climate, protest, and preservation. (yaleclimateconnections.org)