One of the global problems being addressed at this week's UN General Assembly is the climate crisis.

Multiple wars and other geopolitical tensions have cast a particularly sobering shadow over whether nations can meet meaningful pledges they've made.

But tonight a more optimistic conversation about what individuals can do.

Ama Navas recently spoke with marine biologist Iiana Elizabeth Johnson about her new book.

What if we get it right?

Aiana Elizabeth Johnson, welcome to the news hour.

Thanks for joining us.

Thanks for having me.

So the title itself of your book kind of reframes

the entire conversation around climate change.

It forces us to imagine success instead of failure. Why frame it that way? I don't know if it's

success so much as possibility, right? What if we get it right has a

question mark at the end of it and I feel like at the very least we should not

assume failure and acknowledge that getting it as right as possible absolutely matters.

This is not apocalypse or paradise. It's really like how close can we get to Paradise you start the book with this question you say that you're most often asked at parties when people find out what you do I'm going to use the safe for TV version here. The question is basically how screwed are we?

So what do you tend to say when people ask you that?

Well, we're pretty screwed unless we all roll up our sleeves and do something, right?

I mean, the place where I learned to swim,

the waters off of Southern Florida,

reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit last year.

Those are literally hot tub temperatures.

Coral reefs cannot survive that.

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