As a professor of political science, Leah Stokes probes the intersection of climate change and energy politics. In her new book, she reveals how interest groups have derailed clean-energy progress, abetted by utilities promoting climate denialism. On Twitter, Stokes also analyzes every Democratic candidate’s climate platform, breaking them down for her more than 24,000 followers. “I talk a lot about how to talk about climate change,” she says. “It’s really important to be hopeful.”

Stokes’ message is brass tacks. The best way to reduce atmospheric carbon is the simplest: Stop burning fossil fuels. Other “unpopular” topics include the upside of nuclear power and the hard truth that individual behaviors don’t amount to much. People think if they recycle they are doing their part, she says — or worse, they feel guilty for driving their kids around in a minivan and so take themselves out of the fight. “The goal is not self-purification,” she says. “The goal is institutional and political change.”