My debut as a science writer. Thanks to the Climate.gov team for making this possible. The story of climate change in Alaska pulled me in and challenged me at every turn. There are so many aspects to climate up there, so many complex natural processes. It’s a lifetime’s worth of effort tracking it all.

As part of my investigation, I read John McPhee’s book, Coming into the Country (1976). Some of the best nonfiction I’ve ever read. Each sentence is like a shining gemstone. McPhee traveled Alaska in the 1970s and filled the book with his observations and interviews. I’m sure, at the time, it seemed the works of man could never change Alaska. They have.