Author Biography

Bill McKibben is an author and environmentalist. His 1989 book The End of Nature is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change, and has appeared in 24 languages. He is founder of 350.org, the first planet-wide, grassroots climate change movement. The Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he was the 2013 winner of the Gandhi Prize and the Thomas Merton Prize, and holds honorary degrees from 18 colleges and universities; Foreign Policy named him to their inaugural list of the world's 100 most important global thinkers, and the Boston Globe said he was "probably America's most important environmentalist." A former staff writer for the New Yorker, he writes frequently a wide variety of publications around the world, including the New York Review of Books, National Geographic, and Rolling Stone.

Table of Contents

            Guide to Acronyms
            Foreword by Bill McKibben
            Introduction
Part I Water
1          The Kickapoo Valley
2          Glory Days
3          The Dam
4          The Soft Path
5          The Battle of La Farge
6          The Dedication
7          MnÍ wihÓni (Water Is Life)
8          How the Federal Role Began
9         Problems with Structures
10       Sound the Retreat
11       Natural Solutions
12       Early Adopters
13       The Next Mass Migration
14       Revisiting Soldiers Grove
Part II The Biocene
15       Introducing the Biocene
16       The Devalue Chain
17       The Four Alarms
18       Frontierism
19       Avarice
20       Safe Operating Spaces
21       The Restoration Economy
22       The Vision Thing
23       The Biocene
           Epilogue
           Appendix 1: Climate 101
           Appendix 2: Recommendations
           Appendix 3: Tips for Relocation Facilitators
           Appendix 4: Ecosystem Restoration Resources
            Acknowledgments

Review

"The climate crisis continues to accelerate, even as thousands of America's dams, levees, and sea walls pass their expiration dates. It is hubris to think we humans will contain hurricanes, 1,000-year floods, and rising seas with concrete and rebar. Any smart general, facing a more powerful force, will pull her troops back to a defensible position. Bill Becker argues persuasively that we must move our homes and businesses away from floodplains and beachfronts. We must learn to live in harmony with forces beyond our control." Denis Hayes, founding chair of EarthDay.org
"Living near water, as half of us do, has become a dangerous proposition. Rising waters and big rains, driven by climate change, together with fragile dams and ancient infrastructure, have made it so. Something new is in order, and Becker's affecting, informed account deals compellingly with the course we must now take. His vision provides the inspiration and direction we urgently need, especially in light of our national focus on infrastructure. Strongly recommended." Gus Speth, former dean, Yale School of the Environment and author of America the Possible
"After describing one of the most severe consequences of climate change, Bill Becker digs down to the root of this existential threat. It goes much deeper than pollution from fossil fuels. Climate change proves how far our species has pushed Earth's life-support systems out of balance. Becker calls for dedicating the rest of this century to fixing what we've broken, insofar as it can be fixed, including our fundamental relationship with the rest of life in the biosphere. No mission is more important." Hunter Lovins, cofounder of the Rocky Mountain Institute and president of Natural Capitalism Solutions
"For more than a century, global warming has been leading to rising sea levels and increasing downpours. In The Creeks Will Rise , Bill Becker focuses on an emerging solution to flood disasters along rivers and coasts. A clear lesson is that it costs much less in lives and property to listen to science and take action now instead of responding time after time to the deadly and destructive consequences of climate change." Michael C. MacCracken, Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs, Climate Institute
"Bill Becker has pulled off the nearly impossible: a gripping personal story neatly integrated into a comprehensive analysis of the dangers we face with climate change -- driven flooding. He caps this off with a concise handbook for communities ready to be proactive. Altogether a well-documented and clear explanation of why what we do in the future must be different from what we did in the past. Of the many climate change books now appearing, this is one to read." D. James Baker, Undersecretary of Commerce and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1993--2001
"We all know how 'complicated' addressing today's climate emergency has become. It's so revealing to see that done through the lens of the relationship between the American people and their rivers and coastlines, as Bill Becker weaves together historical and contemporary records to shed light on what needs to happen in the future. The Creeks Will Rise provides an extraordinary snapshot of a nation and its people having to rethink what progress means, as accelerating climate change undoes past certainties and present fantasies." Jonathon Porritt, author, campaigner, and founder of Forum for the Future
"Bravo! A compelling piece of work that flows like a powerful river. It tells us why we must work with Nature, not against itan important message not only for the US public but for all the citizens of the world." Grazia Francescato, past president of Italian Greens and former Green member of the Italian Parliament
"The Creeks Will Rise is the provocative story of how our strategy for dealing with our most destructive type of weather disasterfloodsis dangerously outdated. Bill Becker argues our entire approach to dealing with nature is outdated, too, and we are paying for it with lives and treasure. Climate change is one of many consequences. Congress should take note of this book. So should we all." Timothy E. Wirth, US Senate (ret), Vice Chairman, United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund
"The climate crisis continues to accelerate, even as thousands of America's dams, levees, and sea walls pass their expiration dates. It is hubris to think we humans will contain hurricanes, 1,000-year floods, and rising seas with concrete and rebar. Any smart general, facing a more powerful force, will pull her troops back to a defensible position. Bill Becker argues persuasively that we must move our homes and businesses away from floodplains and beachfronts. We must learn to live in harmony with forces beyond our control." Denis Hayes, founding chair of EarthDay.org

Review Quote

"We all know how 'complicated' addressing today's climate emergency has become. It's so revealing to see that done through the lens of the relationship between the American people and their rivers and coastlines, as Bill Becker weaves together historical and contemporary records to shed light on what needs to happen in the future. The Creeks Will Rise provides an extraordinary snapshot of a nation and its people having to rethink what progress means, as accelerating climate change undoes past certainties and present fantasies." --Jonathon Porritt, author, campaigner, and founder of Forum for the Future

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