Book Description
This latest installment in the P.I.G. series provides a provocative, entertaining, and well-documented expose of some of the most shamelessly politicized pseudo-science we are likely to see in our relatively cool lifetimes.
Customer Reviews:
Trolls.......2007-10-12
This book is not only false, but completely irresponsible. The people who wrote this book are probably just a bunch of trolls who are in a tizzy because they don't want to give up their SUV's or their money they are earning from oil.
Good Book.......2007-10-01
It's about time someone brought to light the other side of the story. A must read for liberals.
Exceedingly one-sided attempt to suggest warming is beneficial and/or not man-made.......2007-09-23
The issue of global warming has long been in the news. From the perspective of Australia the issue is critical, as rainfall in my home city of Melbourne has declined by forty percent in the past eleven years. Such a decline is totally unparalleled in the 150 years of instrumental record.
At the same time, the northwest of Australia has seen dramatic increases in rainfall ever since the late 1960s, so much so that seven of its eight wettest years (since 1885) have occurred since 1995.
In this context, even though able usually to listen to anybody (actually, I generally dislike moderate views because they tend to be wishy-washy) it is not possible for me to take most of the claims made by Horner seriously.
Horner's contention, basically, is that global warming is either not man-made or will in the long-term benefit human society. As to the first point, he greatly exaggerates the proportion of greenhouse gases that is naturally occurring. For instance, my prior knowledge of science tell me that it impossible that more than minute quantities (like, say, a few grams per year) of sulfur hexafluoride or other exceedingly potent fluorine-containing greenhouse gases could be naturally produced each year. Because there is no natural sink for them, natural production of fluorine-containing greenhouse gases in the quantities asserted by Horner would inevitably turn the Earth into an inferno with temperatures hot enough, say, to melt copper. He also understates the proportion of other greenhouse gases that are man-made, notably carbon dioxide where emissions from combustion are far greater than those from biological decay, fires, volcanoes and oceanic release.
Horner's viewpoints about the extent and effects of global warming are also very poorly done. For instance, he suggests that increases in global temperatures have been due to closures of stations in the Russian Arctic. As a person with knowledge of how mean temperatures for an area are calculated, I know well that is unlikely unless every single station in Arctic Russia was closed (which is not what he says): the few that remain would be always given greater weight owing to the large areas they represent and the closures would not affect the average. Although he rightly asserts that the Southern Hemisphere is warming much less than the Northern, my knowledge of Australian climatology suggests this is almost certainly due to the large increases in rainfall that have occurred not only over pastoral areas of Western Australia but also in similar latitudes of South America. Large increases in rainfall naturally lead to reduced temperatures because it has become much cloudier. For example, 2000, whilst the fifth warmest year on record globally, was one of the coolest on record in pastoral areas of Western Australia owing to general record-breaking annual rainfall. In areas of Australia that have dried out, there has been as much warming as in the Northern Hemisphere.
Horners' idea about the question of "global cooling" is similarly weak. The issue rose form the fact that it was thought upon studying previous glacial-interglacial cycles where 10,000 years of interglacial were followed by 90,000 years of glacial that we were near the end of the Holocene and that the next ice age was due to begin soon. Recent data show that we are moving towards an era of longer - but cooler - interglacials (and relatively shorter, less cold glacial periods).
Horner's other chief thesis is that warming always benefits civilisations. He cites the effects of the Medieval Warm Period upon European civilisation as an example - for instance the settlement of Greenland by the Norse and its ending with cooling and the Little Ice Age. However, there is little evidence that this rule holds in hotter and more fragile environments. For instance, the Hohokam of Arizona declined after reaching a peak in the eighth century just before the Medieval Warm Period, and some Mesoamerican societies also declined from the ninth century, apparently due to climate change. In any case, because many areas that are major agricultural regions today were not farmed in the Middle Ages, comparisons are not possible.
Horner's viewpoint that reducing greenhouse emissions would be immensely costly is also impossible to accept. Government welfare to polluting corporations is extremely large, as are budgets for building utterly unnecessary freeways. These could easily be completely redirected to supporting renewable energy and public transit at great benefit to everybody except some exceedingly powerful vested interests in car and fossil fuel corporations. Although Horner is actually right in saying the US' per capita emissions show greater decline than Europe's, the difference is not significant and if it reflects anything at all, it is probably the greater willingness of Americans to accept less comfortable lifestyles.
The way in which Horner accepts only the evidence that suits his viewpoints is really the worst kind of science you will ever see. It recurs time and time against throughout this book and for this reason alone I would not recommend "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming".
What the media won't tell you about this farce called globla warming.......2007-09-22
This book covers all the stuff you need to know to become informed about so called global warming. Yes the climate does change but it is cyclic not due to man made causes!!!! The powers that be that worship this religion are only in it to pick your pockets and gain power!!!
It is a fallacy that man is causing this to the degree that the greens and the great Goreacle want you to believe.
Read this and become informed to put to rest the misinformation that they want you to believe.
Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming is Well Written.......2007-09-22
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming answers the unscientific and alarmist notions by Al Gore and the environmentalists. The book proposes reasoned thought instead of arm-waving and rhetoric. It proposes that no science is "settled" and everything is still open to question and should be studied in order to improve the human condition. The human condition can be improved by studying the previous history of the planet,finding out how the environment changed and adapted through time and various challenges. Tne human condition cannot be improved by adopting some apocalyptic measures thought out at 2 A.M. and not reexamined in the light of day.
Book Description
Singer and Avery present in popular language supported by in-depth scientific evidence the compelling concept that global temperatures have been rising mostly or entirely because of a natural cycle. Unstoppable Global Warming explains why we're warming, why it's not very dangerous, and why we can't stop it anyway.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-10-17
Fred Singer tells it like it is. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for the facts of global warming rather than the hype.
Singer is truly a gem.
Enjoyable Read.......2007-10-16
Back in the late 70's when I was in college, I started out majoring in Environmental Earth Science. Before coming to my senses and switching to something more practical, one of the things I remember (besides those endless field trips measuring pollution levels in streams) was all of the talk about the impending next ice age.
Several pleasant decades of ignorance followed. In the last few years, I started comparing my recollections of those convincing lecturers with the human-powered global warming alarmists, now in fashion.
Funny how similar and tenuous their arguments seem to me.
Now about the book... As a non-scientist with a good grasp of the scientific method as well as physical processes, I found this an enjoyable, disciplined and methodic counterpoint to the Oscar-winning slideshow-think in the popular news outlets.
Unstoppable Global Warming - Singer and Avery .......2007-10-03
This is an excellent book that answers real questions and concerns about global warming. It counters the "sky is falling" syndrome propagated by those who do not know the real facts or insights related to the warming trends. The book focuses on adapting to a common cyclical environmental event versus approaches that are a waste of time trying to stop the warming. Overall the book is well written but is somewhat academic. There is a detailed effort to outline the warming trend with factual information and details. Is well worth the read.
A Must Read.......2007-10-02
Singer and Avery offered a well documented, heavily researched, and easily read analysis of the global warming issue.
Their conclusion: Yes, the earth is currently warming, however so slightly. No, man is not the cause of this warming. Rather, it is dependent upon 1,500 year climate cycles embedded within larger ice-age and non-ice-age shifts (which take millions of years, according to the authors). All of which is dependent upon the amount of the sun's radiance hitting the earth, which in turn varies upon the amount of solar winds intercepting said radiation. (Note: this is the summary of a layman, and is dramatically over simplistic.) This is supported by the analysis of literally hundreds of studies.
Accompanying the scientific support of the 1,500 year cycle and refutation of the greenhouse gas theory, Singer and Avery include a poignant and absolutely necessary look at the implications of acting upon the greenhouse gas theory. Truth in this issue is not a matter of simply proving one's point, of social/political standing, or of a voting platform, but one of life and death importance.
This being a heavily scientific book, perhaps "easily read" was an exaggeration. Rather, "well written" would suitably describe this readable, yet challenging book.
The authors, while being experts in the field of global climate studies, are not devoid of a sense of humor, one at which greenhouse gas theorists would certainly take issue.
The Amazon reviewer Crosslands sums up my personal opinion of this work well:
Pseudoscientists and others with a vested interest in controlling the global economy by use of the global warming hoax will not like this work. However informed readers concerned with human welfare and human progress will find this book invaluable. This book should be read by all Amercians and really by everone else in the world.
Global Warming Evaluation with Documentation.......2007-09-22
I have read this book thoroughly and enjoyed it very much. I was very impressed with the breadth, depth and documentation included with the book and range of topics presented by the authors. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in assessing the true status of the "Global Warming" Hypothesis.
Dr. James F. Howard, Ph.D.
Geo and Environmental Sciences
Product Description
An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It
Customer Reviews:
Incedibly Riveting, Powerful Warning!.......2007-10-15
I came here to write a review and was surprised to see some of the negative comments, especially those written in the style of an elementary school student. Al Gore has written an incredibly revealing look into what lies before us if we leave things the the way they are and ignore the majority of reputable scientists who have the same predictions that Gore espouses. Any idiot can see that the pace of damage that we are experiencing now in the environment cannot be equated to any other time in history. The pictures in Gore's book are not fake. He is not the only one who discusses the issue of future loss of land due to the rising waters. The biggest problem for him is that being involved in politics unfortunately invites those who are on the other side of the aisle to criticize him, even when they know he's right. It's an infantile attitude - one that may very well be responsible for the ultimate destruction of our world as we know it. Next, they will be attacking the Nobel Prize Committee for giving their award to Gore. He well deserves it for his hard work and worthy work. Shame on those who find the need to put their childishly damning comments on here. It reveals so much more about them than it does about Gore.
All fluff, no content.......2007-10-14
There is a great deal of fluff and hysteria, accompanied by lots of heatstring-jerking pictures, in this book. Unfortunately, there is no useful/factual content: the only relevant graph amounts to a prime example for the book "How To Lie With Statistics".
Essential facts which Gore ignores and which destroys his case: (1) the long-term change feared is just one degree per _century_, (2) carbon dioxide is plant food, and (3) climate changes - cope.
SO..... what caused the Mini-ice-age of 1250-1850?.......2007-10-14
Between the years 1250-1850, the earth experienced a Mini Ice Age that froze-over rivers, destroyed England's wine industry, and nearly starved Europe (until they discovered how to use potatoes for nourishment). Al Gore admits in this book, "I don't know."
And that's the fundamental problem.
How can scientists claim, "We can predict future weather", when they don't even know how to explain the past weather events? They know there was a Mini Ice Age, they know the effects it had on humanity, but they don't know WHY it happened. The scientists don't know.
Until scientists learn to explain past Climate Changes,
they shouldn't be making guesses about the future.
One more example of religious fundamentalism and its not Christian or Muslim.......2007-10-14
Wind farms covering the great plains, how many birds do you want to kill, oh come on already! More corn farming driving up food prices. Solar cells that produce more toxic waste in manufacture than the petroleum products they deplore. And the only solution, nuclear power, buried in the fine print. Truly these people are loony , there are conspiracies everywhere, and I have to buy a rowboat now so I can get to Wall Street in few years. Please, 500 years ago the Thames was frozen over. Get a grip, give Al a pill, and remainder this nonsense.
An Incoherent Crock.......2007-10-13
What is important to remember above all else is that Al Gore is a politician and a journalist. He is decidedly NOT a scientist. In short, he is not even remotely qualified to be discussing the science behind global warming. Well, I suppose he's qualified to give a lecture to the average 3rd grade class, but that's about it.
So how do we explain the fact that so many gushing, starry-eyed brethren embrace Gore as some kind of prophet of global warming? More than anything, I suspect it is a reflection of just how incredibly ignorant and naive the American people are. Remember, a British court has ruled that his book is riddled with factual errors (and it is likely worse than the court's ruling). It is a real life manifestation of P.T. Barnum's famous dictum that "A sucker is born every minute."
Our society needs to stop equating fame with expertise. Gore is a famous politician, and his true expertise is as a con man. The scientific arena is the last place he either understands or belongs.
I suspect that in 25 years time the expression "the sky is falling" will pass out of vogue, to be replaced by "that's an inconvenient truth."
I wish I could have rated this piece of scat zero stars.
Book Description
Worldchanging is poised to be the Whole Earth Catalog for this millennium. Written by leading new thinkers who believe that the means for building a better future lie all around us, Worldchanging is packed with the information, resources, reviews, and ideas that give readers the tools they need to make a difference. Brought together by Alex Steffen, co-founder of the popular and award-winning web site Worldchanging.com, this team of top-notch writers includes Cameron Sinclair, founder of Architecture for Humanity, Geekcorps founder Ethan Zuckerman, sustainable food expert Anna Lappé, and many others. Renowned designer Stefan Sagmeister brings his extraordinary talents to Worldchanging, resulting in a book that will challenge readers to personally redefine the conversation about the future.
Each chapter offers readers new answers to key questions, such as:
Why does buying locally produced food make sense?
What steps can I take to influence my workplace toward sustainability?
How do I volunteer, advocate, and give more effectively?
From eco-building to responsible shopping, political action to humanitarian relief, Worldchanging
puts the power to solve problems into the readerÂ's hands.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting but not what I expected.......2007-09-14
This is more like an encyclopedia than "a users guide for the 21st century". The hefty volume includes hundreds of short topical articles on lots of different things but doesn't go into a lot of detail on any. I was hoping for more practical examples of things I could do to survive in a changing world but was disappointed. For example, there is a section on Green Rooftops. You would think that a "users guide" might give you practical advice on creating one. Instead it talks about how they are great for saving energy and creating gardens. Okay... I get that and I agree but maybe a little more info please?
All and all the writing is good and it does cover a lot of topics I just think that the description when buying it leads one to believe there is a bit more depth than there actually is.
This book could change your world.......2007-08-29
This publication is worth it's weight in something quite valuable. It provides a mass of information on all sorts of subjects relating to changing your outlook and how to live within the planets available resources. It has some surprisingly useful tips on things like how to make a small apartment look and feel big by using great space saving ideas; how to use less of the planets scarce resources in many ways.
My only beef is that it looks like a self published volume and so lacks gravitas somehow. For example it does not have any information on the inner fly page about the book, such as year of publication, publisher, ISBN Number, and other essential info. Another problem I found was actually finding some of the reference works in the text. Not enough info to enable the reader to trace sources adequately.
I found it very difficult for example to find the publisher of one work I was interested in. Google hadn't even heard of the publisher. I did find them and the book eventually but had to try very hard and boy, was it obscure.
Even though the jacket and outer are quite attractive, they reek of self-publishing. This is not good for the image of a book on such an important subject.
Sorry chaps, only 6 out of 10 from me.
Good reference.......2007-07-15
Some info is out of date and biased, ie article on Vancouver (my home town). Lots is covered, not in much depth but there are lots of references for further reading. Would be a great addition to everyone's reference section.
brilliant!.......2007-07-12
For a "users guide" I actually expected something more "portable"... its brilliant in its content and design!!
A smart and inclusive book, really recommendable! .......2007-07-03
The book contains small articles about everything between heaven and earth all within the envionmental scope of interest. You find your self reading it, flipping through the pages wanting more info...A fun concept between an excellent encyclopedia, interesting facts book and a nice coffee table book. Only con might be the size, making it a bit bulky to read for more than a short while...
Book Description
Sometime this century the day will arrive when the human influence on the climate will overwhelm all other natural factors. Over the past decade, the world has seen the most powerful El Niño ever recorded, the most devastating hurricane in two hundred years, the hottest European summer on record, and one of the worst storm seasons ever experienced in Florida. With one out of every five living things on this planet committed to extinction by the levels of greenhouse gases that will accumulate in the next few decades, we are reaching a global climatic tipping point. The Weather Makers is both an urgent warning and a call to arms, outlining the history of climate change, how it will unfold over the next century, and what we can do to prevent a cataclysmic future. Along with a riveting history of climate change, Tim Flannery offers specific suggestions for action for both lawmakers and individuals, from investing in renewable power sources like wind, solar, and geothermal energy, to offering an action plan with steps each and every one of us can take right now to reduce deadly CO2 emissions by as much as 70 percent.
Customer Reviews:
A tale of global warming that gave me chills.......2007-09-20
Tim Flannery's "The Weathermakers" is not only an eloquent plea for the industrialized world to deal with the problem of climate change, but provides the science needed to understand this huge and vital topic. The book is spooky great fun too, with frights and chills enough to get the attention of any thrill seeker. Except that the thrills here come from contemplating near-irreversible global cataclysms that would wipe out humanity or make life darned near intolerable for us.
Flannery is terrific at making difficult science easy to understand, without dumbing it down or condescending to his audience. This was greatly aided by the narrator of the audio book, Drew De Carvalho, whose wide-eyed Aussie delivery was akin to the joy and wonder of that other fine Down-under naturalist, Steve Irwin. Flannery discussed the Earth's tumultuous climactic past, using data obtained from tree rings and ice cores, to paint a picture of a dynamic planet whose climate and biota have varied wildly over its existence. Glaciers advance and retreat. Gargantuan upwellings of methane overwhelm the biosphere. Oceans rise and fall hundreds of feet. Changes in atmospheric gases permit or debar shellfish from secreteing the carboniferous husks that pull CO2 out of the atmosphere. The message: what Earth has done, it can do again.
Flannery does a wonderful job of explaining the large weather phenomena known to most laymen -- carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, changes to the Gulf Stream, warming trends, etc. But he is equally good at describing the lesser-known but important elements that factor into climatic equations. I was not aware that transpiration -- the release of moisture from Amazonian trees -- was a main cause of precipitation in the region. I had never heard of clathrates, huge fields of methane-infused ice that underlie the oceans. And I had never thought of climate change literally chasing certain heat-sensitive species up into alpine regions, until they run out of room and become extinct. Flannery is also wonderful at explaining the feedback loops that, once triggered, can accelerate certain climatic trends. Air conditioning powered by burning coal can increase levels sulfur dioxide in rain, acidifying the oceans, making it harder for shellfish to secrete shells, thus leaving more CO2 in the atmosphere, causing further warming and leading to the need for more AC, and so on.
Climate change to Flannery is not a theoretical possibility, but a certainty whose effects are visible today. He tells of the now-extinct South America Golden Toad, whose habitat was fed by moisture in low-lying clouds, being wiped out when a Pacific ocean hot spot caused mist-giving clouds to form just slightly higher up the mountainside than usual. His tale of the bleaching of the reefs like Great Barrier Reef -- in which huge swaths of coral reefs ejected their symbiotic algae, then bleached and die in a single season -- was frightening and sad. His discussion of the measurable changes in salinity in the Gulf Stream -- changes that could imperil its flow with deleterious effect on climate -- was terrifyingly plausible. Most chilling of all, Flannery's telling of the planet's near-miss with significant ozone depletion (due to industry's fortuitous use of chlorine rather than hyper-reactive bromine in aerosol cans and refrigeration systems) underscored how easy it is for humanity to fatally foul our nest without even realizing we are doing it.
The book is alarming, but not alarmist. It does not seek the cheap thrill of scaring us to sell copies, but to educate and forewarn. Flannery is not afraid to call out the human practices that are warming our planet. Transportation needs (which account for 30% of CO2 emissions), accelerating burning of carbon-rich fossil fuels, and shortsighted self-interest are high on the list of culprits. Flannery points the finger at the big coal-gorging countries in the world -- the US and Australia among them -- for significant criticism. Neither does he spare the industrial giants who use deceit, misinformation and political contributions to steer politicians (and the public) away from limiting profitable, planet-damaging enterprises.
I came away from the book with a new appreciation for the complexity and the fragility of the Gaia -- the living organism that is the Earth. "The Weathermakers" increased my appreciation of the path on which we have put our world. If Flannery's descriptions and predictions are true, our fossil-fuel-burning habits have already committed us to significant extinctions of species and significant discomfort for ourselves. As Flannery states, future generations will curse ours if we see the looming problem and fail to take action to correct it. Flannery is hopeful (else, why write such a book?) about our ability to turn things around. He evaluates technological and political solutions to the problems he poses, which not all will like, for carbon-low solutions include wind, geothermal, solar and (gasp!) nuclear power generation. And Flannery dismisses certain hopeful technologies like hydrogen and biomass. Flannery is also hopeful that past global cooperation -- of the type that limited the production of ozone-killing CFCs -- will be repeated, as human beings band together to save their world.
"The Weather Makers" is a wonderful book that can open your eyes to the complexity of our world, of the difficulties of addressing climate change without wrecking economies, and of our responsibility to pass our planet, reasonably intact, to our children. Its stacks of facts can sometimes numb the mind, but they are the data needed to combat ignorance and deceit one often encounters when trying to persuade our friends and neighbors about the possibility of anthropogenic climate change.
Disappointed.......2007-08-07
I bought the book on the basis it would be an objective and well structured argument explaining how scientists had negated natural influences on climate change - Milankovich cycles, solar activity and plate tectonics - and isolated the anthropogenic influences.
However, I discovered the book is written in a mildly hysterical tone common to environmental activists. If you want to read a scientific account of climate change and how human activity is affecting the climate, read the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report.
Boo Hoo.......2007-07-27
"Well done China for improving the lives of your citizens" This is one of the many quotes that you will NOT find it Tim Flannerys book. Others include "Before the industrial revolution, average life expectancy was about 36 years of age" and finally "You can't make an omlette without breaking a few eggs". However if you want to know how every living thing on the planet would be better off if we disapeared, you are on the right track.
Thought provoking!.......2007-07-25
This book is great reading in conjunction with Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. The author convincingly demonstrates that global warming is real, and that terrible consequences loom ahead if nothing is done about it.
I was very surprised to read how the Australian government bullies its neighboring islands in the Pacific Ocean. Many of the Pacific Islands nations are doomed to sink under water as the ocean level rise, yet they are bullied by the Australian government into inaction. Like individuals, nations are selfish and have no regard for other nations if it does not suit their purposes. This notion angered me. Unless the citizens of the world take action to fight global warming and CO2 emissions, governments, motivated by self-interest, will be very slow to act, if at all.
Many of the themes in the book were already familiar to me, especially after reading An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. One new concept was about hydrogen power. According to the author, hydrogen power is not the solution to global warming since to produce hydrogen power fossil fuels must be burnt. He proposes the use of electric, solar, nuclear and wind power which are all available and affordable.
The author also laments all the animals that became extinct due to global warming. For example, a frog, newly discovered by science, carries its newborn in its stomach. When ready to give birth, it regurgitates its babies. This is the only known species to do so, yet soon after its discovery, it became extinct due to our environmental carelessness. Many other species of animals, insects, and plants are becoming extinct.
Maybe when we learn to stop killing each other we can finally take care of our environment. Does that mean that our root is evil and that nothing can be done to save our planet?
The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth.......2007-07-24
Concise, easy to read, and right to the point. Everything anyone would want to know about how man is changing the climate and what one could do to alleviate their impact in this process. Each individual is responsible for their own actions and we MUST slow the global warming process or the 21st century will see catastrophic environmental changes. A must read book for information that could save the future of the planet and its inhabitants.
Book Description
Now in Paperback!
Customer Reviews:
Great Book for Retarded People.......2007-10-11
Great book for reading on the special little bus whilst trying not to drool on ones self. Another gem from the Fundamentalist Capitalist Fanatics crowd at the Cato Institute. The era of the of the mindless "think tanks" shall be remembered with glee by the those of us waiting to sue the pants off them as soon as we get ourselves together. Great book for retards.
An important book about the "science" of global warming.......2007-07-08
This book deals with many of the common myths regarding global warming using facts instead of personal attacks in order to deal with the many issues and constituencies who have a stake in the global warming debate. Michaels shows that far from there being a "consensus" about global warming, there is a vast group of special interests who distort facts, ignore real scientific research, and create "facts" out of fiction.
Michaels gives many examples of supposedly scientific conclusions about global warming are really a closed loop of closed minds who exclude any evidence that questions the reasons behind global climate changes.
Are there holes in the Arctic sea ice in the summer.? Yes, but they have always shrunk and expanded over millions of years. Is the Antarctic getting warmer or colder? Yes and no, depending on which part of this vast area you are measuring. Are CO2 levels increasing? Yes, but they are no where close to historical levels reached many times in the past. Polar bears on the verge of extinction? Not when the truth is that there are more of them now than at any other time in history (and eating those cute little fur seals in record numbers, no less.)
The list of currently held myths are dealt with in a very objective fashion, backed up by real research, and showing the earth to be a very complicated system, which is not very well understood. Michaels does a great job of showing that many of the things we think we understand about climate change are really not what you read in the newspapers.
If you are looking for a book that deals with the many arguments used in the global climate change debate in a fair and objective way, this is the best of the lot. But of course Michaels is attacked because he does not rely on tax money for a living, unlike the hundreds of thousands of politicians, bureaucrats, media people and their ilk who flood the world with hysterical stories about the end of the world due to global warming when the evidence is quite to the contrary.
The irony of course is that many who see a great conspiracy in those who question the reasons behind climate change somehow blame "big oil" for asking questions about a supposedly finished debate. They obviously have failed to notice, as Michaels has, that most advertising by "big oil" today is to embrace the agenda of the Gores of the world so that they can make even more money trading "carbon credits" which do nothing to reduce air pollution, and not have to spend a dime for oil exploration.
The reality distortion machine.......2007-06-26
Global warming alarmists follow the rules set down by Leon Trotsky when he established the Soviet Union's Agitprop program. Lie, lie, lie. Spread false stories over and over again. Helped by sympathizers and left-wing media, the lies will soon become accepted as truth. Over and over again in the 20th Century, we saw the basic concepts of Soviet Agitprop employed.
Patrick Michaels demonstrates how these concepts are being once again deployed by the global warming alarmists. The global warming lobby is not monolithic. Some members are motivated by nothing more than simple greed: academics who must have grant money in order to keep their jobs. They often have no political purposes, just a need for public money to pay their salaries and fringe benefits. Some non-academics are simply cause hustlers: saving the planet is a potent headline for fund-raising solicitations. Others, the real movers and shakers, want to change the world, they want a single world governmenr to rule the lives of everyone. (It is neither accident nor coincidence that Earth Day is also Lenin's birthday.)
Here Michaels dissects the process of distortion engaged in by the various pressure groups and the media. For example, one interesting graph depicts the way UN IPPC projections of temperature change are consistently amplified in the media, regardless of what the IPPC report actually predicts. The pernicious influence of monopolistic government funding producing an echo chamber of politically correct peer-reviewed "studies" is especially interesting. In short, you don't get financed and certainly not published if you don't agree in advance that your findings will support the "consensus" position.
One by one, with ample supporting documentation, Michaels blows apart what amount to media myths about global warming.
This is a must-read book for anyone attempting to get at the truth of global warming.
Jerry
Meltdown: The Predictable Distortion of Global Warming by Scientists, Politicians, and the Media.......2007-06-08
This is a brilliant and witty review of the issues concerning global warming.
Independent Thinkers Beware!.......2007-06-04
Mr. Michaels is a member of no less that 20 institutes, think tanks, and other national groups that receive significant funding from Exxon--places like the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the George C. Marshall Institute, and the Heartland Institute. He also admits that he has accepted funding from various fossil fuel industry groups. One would have to suspend a lot of disbelief to think that such a well-funded person is not serving as a spokesperson for these industries, or, at least, is badly, badly compromised.
Book Description
Shattered Consensus: The True State of Global Warming convincingly demonstrates the remarkable differences between what we commonly read about global warming and what is really happening. Nine chapters describe major problems with computer simulations of future climate that are the basis for wrenching policies being proposed by world leaders. Anyone who reads this book will come away with a new appreciation of the complexity of the climate issue and will question the need for expensive policies that are likely to have little or no detectable effect on the planet's temperature. Published in cooperation with the George C. Marshall Institute.
Customer Reviews:
The inconvenient truth about An Inconvenient Truth .......2007-08-06
I highly recommend this book. But I suspect that this book will not appeal to most readers. There's none of the intense hyperbole that infects both global warming fanatics and many of their deniers. There are no grand apocalyptic scenarios that garner such strong public appeal. No terrifying future, no living on the brink of disaster. Only quiet nuanced science from those who spend their life in research. One suspects that the politics of global warming has now superseded the science and sad to say, when politics enters the room, truth shuffles its way into the background. This is unfortunate since there are many things about the environment with which we should be concerned - not the least being our consumption of non renewable resources. My fervent hope is that we can move past the exaggerated apocalypse of global warming while addressing the necessary issues of the environment - i.e., the rest of the environment aside from climate change.
In this case of Shattered Consensus, all ten contributors are scientists and experts in their field. Each chapter, and scientific report, covers a separate and distinct aspect of climate. This is really a collection of reports, not a coherent "story". Each contributor has their own style, some being more accessible than others. They present the science as they understand it and in that regard the average reader may find the information dry, or indeed undecipherable. Most of the ten authors include a short conclusion which may be helpful for those unwilling to plow through the science. Nonetheless the reader is left in the end overwhelmed not by the certainty of any position, but by the staggering uncertainty in all aspects related to this Earth's climate. Our ability to measure past trends in climate are dependent on woefully scant data. Our ability to project future trends have no unambiguous models yet. In fact, the variability of the results of the different models are so big as to render them basically useless for anything other than further research. They certainly shouldn't be used to make definitive statements as to future trends. The effects of CO2 are still highly uncertain with some models suggesting no impact and some observations linking CO2 to an indicator of climate change not a driver - i.e., CO2 changes as a result of climate change, not the other way around. Much more research is needed to understand why these discrepancies are observed. Even if global warming is happening, and even if CO2 is at least partly to blame, the impact of global warming in some scenarios is actually beneficial to not only humans, but to some species. Indeed, in all of Earth's history through warming and cooling periods, some species benefit and other lose.
The reader is left with the question, since scientists tell us that the unknowns vastly outweigh the things that are known about climate, what should our policy decisions making framework be based on. Is seems to me that we need to base it on what is known. Air quality, water quality, land use, availability of non renewable resources, are all things we can measure and for which policies can be made. Having a single enemy (CO2, in this case) is certainly more appealing and simple for the average consumer to understand. But simple is not always best.
It should be noted that none of these scientists is involved in the petroleum industry (a favorite disclaimer by those wanting to discredit the validity of anyone critical of global warming science). Some have even been involved in the IPCC directly (the UN Intergovernmental protocol on climate change). Scientists are by nature a conservative lot. A hypothesis lasts as long as the next set of experiments that disprove it, or tenuously as long as further experiments continue to confirm it. Most scientists don't seek a public profile and most are uncomfortable playing the role of a nay-sayer, especially in the face of such publicly popular resources as Al Gore's an Inconvenient Truth. I will rely on the scientific truth to work its way to the surface. I just hope we don't waste too much in the way of public funds on chasing windmills when there are so many important issues in this world that need attention.
Consensus? Right........2007-04-18
This book perfectly illustrates how there is dissent in the thinking of many climate scientists, showing information that proves there is no consensus, or at least none as to the overall causes, specific effects and actions to take on "anthropogenic global warming".
It's like the AAAS's 'Science' magazine publishing an op/ed in their "Essays on Science and Society" section by Naomi Oreskes (Associate professor of history and director of the Program in Science Studies at the University of California at the time). In that piece, it was reported an analysis was made of abstracts in the ISI database under science and with the phrase "global climate change" in them. The keywords specified in the op/ed 3 times were "climate change" (In another issue of 'Science' that was corrected to "global climate change". I would include that, but you have to join AAAS to get to it.) Her closing paragraph in the essay uses the words "anthropogenic climate change".
Although she takes quite a while to say it, in two or more convoluted paragraphs, she claims consensus because of the actions of some organizations; that we can prove statements and reports by the AMS, AGU, AAAS and others don't downplay legitimate disenting opinions, thus proving a consensus. I'm not sure I follow that train of logic, but there you go.
So, how does she "prove" it? By grabbing those publications that are in the ISI database that are in the science section and have abstracts that have the words "global climate change" in the abstract. Do those contradict what the organizations say? No? Consensus!
Not in ISI database? Not in science section? No abstract? Doesn't have "global climate change" in the abstract? Not looked at.
She does make two interesting points in her closing paragraph, although the two have nothing to do with each other. I've broken the paragraph into the two points; while the first is true, the second is not anything she's proven in the op/ed (although it seems she's hoping we will think so):
1. Many details about climate interactions are not well understood, and there are ample grounds for continued research to provide a better basis for understanding climate dynamics. The question of what to do about climate change is also still open.
2. But there is a scientific consensus on the reality of anthropogenic climate change. Climate scientists have repeatedly tried to make this clear. It is time for the rest of us to listen.
That op/ed, Richard Lindzen's op/ed in the WSJ and her rebuttal op/ed in the Washington Post, as well as letters between Roger Pielke Jr and her printed in 'Science' give even more light on the entire issue of the lack of a consensus and the lengths the cult of global warming will go to to keep everyone thinking there is. This book goes a long way towards fighting the misconceptions, and is an excellent strike in the battle against global warming propaganda.
[...]
Down with Globaloney.......2007-04-03
Point-by-point rebuttal of the fallacy of ''global warming''/''climate change'' brought about by human endeavors. Puts paid to AlGores' Oscar-winning docufantasy. Yes, all of us anti-global warming folks are in the pay of Giant Oil and the moral equivalent of Holocaust deniers. NOT!!! Your belief in half-baked computer models (as opposed to real-life atmospheric happenings) and over-blown do-gooder falsehoods doesn't make ''global warming'' a catastrophic happening.
Sample of Scientific Discussions.......2007-03-14
Interesting series of papers on topics of ongoing discussion regarding global warming. The title is a bit overblown, but I guess it matches the assumption, so often printed over and over in the media, that there is a consensus on global warming (or more correctly, human-caused global warming). There's lots of citations given and places to dig into this as deep as you want. I particularly like the part about trying to develop some sort of heat balance between the earth's surface, the various layers in the atmosphere, and the universe to which the earth radiates heat, and all the unexplained measurement error and missing information associated with that.
There was allusion to the plans to try to "Command and Control" the world's economy, based on averting global warming, basically concluding that nothing we can do will change the outcome much anyway, at least in any predictable way. It makes one wonder if the global warming phenomena is being used as a pretext to try "Command and Control" again. This book does not really get into that, but does give a taste of endless unresolved topics associated with global warming.
religion of enviromentalism challenged.......2007-03-01
any book that challenges to apriori assumptions of the enviromentalist religious dogma of man made global warming is needed. Al Gore and his celebrity loving, psuedo scientific friends need to be mocked for their hypocrisy and stupidity
Amazon.com
The first question many people ask when hearing of a new book from Al Gore is, "Is it about the environment?" The answer is yes, but it's not (or, rather, not only) the kind of environment he wrote about in Earth in the Balance and of course painted such a vivid picture of in his Oscar-winning documentary (and companion book), An Inconvenient Truth. It's the political environment he's concerned about in The Assault on Reason: the way we debate and decide on the critical issues of the day. In an account that balances theoretical discussion of the foundations of democracy with a lacerating critique of the Bush administration, Gore argues that the marketplace of reasoned debate our country was founded on is being endangered by a variety of allied forces: the use of fear and the misuse of faith, the distractions of our entertainment culture, and the concentrations of power in the national media and the executive branch. In his essay and answers to our questions below, he introduces the crisis he sees, as well as the opportunity for its solution he envisions in the open forums of the Internet.
A Message from Al Gore to Amazon.com Readers
I've dedicated my book, The Assault on Reason, to my father, Senator Albert Gore Sr., the bravest politician I've ever known. In the 1970 mid-term elections, President Richard Nixon relied on a campaign of fear to consolidate his power. I was in the military at the time, on my way to Vietnam as an army journalist, and I watched as my father was accused of being unpatriotic because he was steadfast in his opposition to the War--and as he was labeled an atheist because he dared to oppose a constitutional amendment to foster government-sponsored prayer in the public schools. The 1970 campaign is now regarded by political historians as a watershed, marking a sharp decline in the tone of our national discourse--a decline that has only worsened in recent years as fear has become a more powerful political tool than trust, public consumption of entertainment has dramatically surpassed that of serious news, and blind faith has proven more potent than truth.
We are at a pivotal moment in American democracy. The persistent and sustained reliance on falsehoods as the basis of policy, even in the face of evidence to the contrary, has reached levels that were previously unimaginable. It's too easy and too partisan to simply place the blame on the policies of President George W. Bush. We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes.
Reasoned, focused discourse is vital to our democracy to ensure a well-informed citizenry. But this is difficult in an environment in which we are experiencing a new pattern of serial obsessions that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time--from the O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson trials to Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith.
Never has it been more vital for us to face the reality of our long-term challenges, from the climate crisis to the war in Iraq to the deficits and health and social welfare. Today, reason is under assault by forces using sophisticated techniques such as propaganda, psychology, and electronic mass media. Yet, democracy's advocates are beginning to use their own sophisticated techniques: the Internet, online organizing, blogs, and wikis. Although the challenges we face are great, I am more confident than ever before that democracy will prevail and that the American people are rising to the challenge of reinvigorating self-government. It is my great hope that those who read my book will choose to become part of a new movement to rekindle the true spirit of America.
Questions for Al Gore
Amazon.com:Of all I've read and seen on climate change, I don't think anything has had quite the impact on me that those vivid maps of shrinking coastlines did in An Inconvenient Truth. You've spent years trying to communicate the threat of climate change and you've learned how to use compelling images to tell that story, but in this book you're very wary of the power of visual images to overwhelm reason with fear. How do you spur people to action in a crisis like this without using fear?
Gore: I often open the slideshow by talking about the "climate crisis." The English meaning of the word "crisis" conveys alarm, but the Chinese and Japanese expressions use two characters together: the first means danger, but the second means opportunity. The animations do help to convey some of that sense of danger--but the opportunities are enormous. We are beginning to see companies taking advantage of the new markets that are emerging as they innovate and put to market the technologies that we need to solve this crisis. Some have become ubiquitous, like the hybrid electric engine and compact fluorescent light bulb. There are thousands of opportunities like this all around us if governments will show the type of bold leadership that we need--and work with industry to exploit these opportunities.
Amazon.com: You describe two problems with television culture: it's a top-down system in which, as you say, "Individuals receive, but they cannot send," and its physiological vividness allows it to bypass our reason. The user-created communities that seem so promising on the Internet would seem to solve the first problem, but what about the second?
Gore: There are a number of barriers for individuals who want to communicate over TV. The major networks won't give average Americans a voice, and it is virtually impossible to start a channel. One solution, that I have worked on with my partner, Joel Hyatt, is the creation of Current TV, where viewers can submit content over the Internet to air on the channel.
With regards to the Internet, anyone with access to a computer and broadband can create a website or blog and post content. They can send information into the public forum. Of course, we need to continue to work to bridge the digital divide, to ensure that we expand the access of people to the Internet, but the threshold for entry is much lower than that of television.
Amazon.com: You're the chairman of Current TV, the interactive cable channel aimed at young people. Can you talk about the challenges of constructing a platform where the kind of substantive dialogue you are looking for can take place?
Gore: One of the things I talk about in the book is infotainment--the "well-amused" audience that is bombarded with the latest programming about O.J. Simpson, or JonBenet Ramsey, or Anna Nicole Smith. What we are trying to do, in part, is to provide a public forum for viewers to submit content about issues of concern to them. And they have, by the thousands, on issues from the war in Iraq to the environment to education and others. I am continually amazed by both the quality of the submissions and the breadth and depth of the subject matter.
Amazon.com: You have a chapter on the importance of checks and balances in government (in a sense, that's what the whole book is about), and we're seeing the effect that active oversight from Congress is having right now. For most of your eight years in office, you and Bill Clinton had to work with a Republican Congress. I'm sure that at times (say, 1998) that had its frustrations, but do you think it was valuable to have that balance, or did it prevent you from doing what you came into office to do?
Gore: Checks and balances are vital to the functioning of our system of government. Of course it can have its frustrations, but the Founders intended that we have a system whereby no one branch has too much control over the others. Ultimately, it is up to voters to decide the control of Congress and the White House and then for elected officials to work to serve the public interest and to try to implement policies that serve the country. These are core values that are at the heart of who we are as a nation.
Amazon.com: I wanted to ask about the Office of the Vice President. I think it's safe to say that the last two vice presidents, you and Dick Cheney, have been the most powerful and influential in our history. Why do you think that is?
Gore: I think the answer is very different in the two administrations, but in a world that is truly globalized, with a broader information ecology, with challenges ranging from a more complex system of international issues ranging from the climate crisis to asymmetric attacks, it is not a surprise that a President might choose to draw upon more advice from the office of the vice president than in the past. This is a trend that I would expect to continue under future presidents, as the range of the demands on the presidency will not diminish over time.
Book Description
A visionary analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism, and blind faith has combined with the degration of the public sphere to create an environment dangerously hostile to reason
At the time George W. Bush ordered American forces to invade Iraq, 70 percent of Americans believed Saddam Hussein was linked to 9/11. Voters in Ohio, when asked by pollsters to list what stuck in their minds about the campaign, most frequently named two Bush television ads that played to fears of terrorism.
We live in an age when the thirty-second television spot is the most powerful force shaping the electorate's thinking, and America is in the hands of an administration less interested than any previous administration in sharing the truth with the citizenry. Related to this and of even greater concern is this administration's disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained, the tenets of fact-based reasoning-first among them an embrace of open inquiry in which unexpected and even inconvenient facts can lead to unexpected conclusions.
How did we get here? How much damage has been done to the functioning of our democracy and its role as steward of our security? Never has there been a worse time for us to lose the capacity to face the reality of our long-term challenges, from national security to the economy, from issues of health and social welfare to the environment. As The Assault on Reason shows us, we have precious little time to waste.
Gore's larger goal in this book is to explain how the public sphere itself has evolved into a place hospitable to reason's enemies, to make us more aware of the forces at work on our own minds, and to lead us to an understanding of what we can do, individually and collectively, to restore the rule of reason and safeguard our future. Drawing on a life's work in politics as well as on the work of experts across a broad range of disciplines, Al Gore has written a farsighted and powerful manifesto for clear thinking.
Customer Reviews:
A stunning indictment of our Politics.......2007-10-16
I must admit, I am an admirer of Al Gore's intellect, for a politician that is. I read Earth in the Balance and watched an Inconvenient Trust with interest because of the enormous amount of research that obviously went into those works. This book is well researched as well, but very different, in that it reveals Gore's inner being in a way the other works do not. One can feel his longing for a time when politics were civil and when positions were argued from verifiable rather than made up facts and gingoistic slogans. On one hand it is an indictment of the Bush administration, but less of Bush himself, and more of his administration and its take no prisoners, achieve power at any cost, style. But, still more, it is a warning of the darkest days yet to come if we do not divest the media of control by a few media giants, and move determinately toward public finance of elections so as to eliminate the iron grip of big business upon our political system. The book is really food for thought, and should be read by anyone with real concerns about the direction of our democracy.
Although Mr. Gore touched on the unprecedented divide between the 'have's' and the 'have little's' in our society, and upon the inherent unfairness in tax trends since Eisenhower, I was disappointed to see that he never ventured outside the box in his thinking on that subject, at least as one can judge from the book.
My book, soon to be published and available at Amazon, "Tax Back America, the 2% Solution. How to Lower Your Taxes and Pay Off the National Debt" will address what I mean in detail.
V-P SCORES.......2007-10-11
vICE-pRESIDENT gORE HAS SCORED A HOME RUN IN THIS BOOK, CALLING ALL OF US TO WAKE UP TO THE DANGER UNBRIDLED POWER IN WASHINGTON TO LEAD TO AND IN PARTICULAR TO THE TROUBLE WE ARE NOW EXPERIENCING AND WILL CERAINLY EXPERIENCE IN THE FUTURE ABOUT OUR NATRURAL RESOURCES. POWER IS NOT SELF-REGENERATING.
Wrong title.......2007-10-09
The title should have been "The Assault on the Bush Administration." I like Al Gore and most of his beliefs. I also agree that the Bush administration is poor to say the least. But this book goes way too far for the title. I got to the point that I could not even finish reading it because it was no longer about "reason" but about proving that Bush should not be in office. Even though I agree with that, the title does not tell the audience that that is what the book is about. In less you want to just spend time reading about how Bush and his people are so bad for America, and not about reason, then don't waste your time.
Good ideas but a socialist agenda .......2007-10-08
The tome starts well with excellent commentary on current politics. Unfortunately, it clearly illustrates what social circles Mr. Gore thrives. The strident complaining about the unfair treatment of the left is amazing. At times, I thought I was reading a Richard Nixon book after he was forced to resign. One of the problems Gore has is Bush is so close to him in thinking despite the philosophical differences. He blunders on and on about how bad Republicans are yet his own party does exactly the same thing when in power. Despite the early pious quotes, his socialist agenda comes clearly through. Many problems are cited but no real solutions except government ones. I recommend the book to see how elite leftist views the "unfair" world.
OH MY GOD!......You Gotta Read This!.......2007-10-08
Loved It.......This book makes you question authority, especially what has been going on for the past 6 1/2 years.....Tis book will make you mad, and you will want to write a letter to your public officials....some of the information will make you sick to your stomach: why does this current President let these things happen....WOW...
Book Description
By the time Phil Chase is elected president, the world’s climate is far on its way to irreversible change. Food scarcity, housing shortages, diminishing medical care, and vanishing species are just some of the consequences. The erratic winter the Washington, D.C., area is experiencing is another grim reminder of a global weather pattern gone haywire: bone-chilling cold one day, balmy weather the next.
But the president-elect remains optimistic and doesn’t intend to give up without a fight. A maverick in every sense of the word, Chase starts organizing the most ambitious plan to save the world from disaster since FDR–and assembling a team of top scientists and advisers to implement it.
For Charlie Quibler, this means reentering the political fray full-time and giving up full-time care of his young son, Joe. For Frank Vanderwal, hampered by a brain injury, it means trying to protect the woman he loves from a vengeful ex and a rogue “black ops” agency not even the president can control–a task for which neither Frank’s work at the National Science Foundation nor his study of Tibetan Buddhism can prepare him.
In a world where time is running out as quickly as its natural resources, where surveillance is almost total and freedom nearly nonexistent, the forecast for the Chase administration looks darker each passing day. For as the last–and most terrible–of natural disasters looms on the horizon, it will take a miracle to stop the clock . . . the kind of miracle that only dedicated men and women can bring about.
Customer Reviews:
Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley Robinson.......2007-09-19
Kim Stanley Robinson has released the conclusion to his trilogy, Sixty Days and Counting, just in time! The hardcover is out and the paperback will be out at Christmas, if not, early next year: just in time for everyone to buy it, read the trilogy, and decide who to vote for in the Presidential elections of November 2008. Again, Robinson is not look to wow and amaze readers with shocking sci-fi events, but keeping true to the close reality of his world.
The Gulf Stream is working well again, President Chase is just taking office, knowing that the absolute worse may have been averted for a little while, but that there is still very much to do. Selecting a cabinet composed of the many characters we have come to know over Forty Signs of Rain and Fifty Degrees Below, we know this administration is on our side and looking out for the world and its people. It is here Robinson really shines using his amazing knowledge of science and physics in coming up with ways to deal with the immense carbon dioxide volume being both pumped into the atmosphere and already there causing world temperatures to rise. The United States bands together with countries around the world, such as Russia and China, in the development of a fast growing lichen that will spread through a forest fast under the right conditions, and has an astonishing carbon absorption rate. Working in conjunction, the world slowly begins to heal itself. On a subplot level, Frank Vanderwal, who is now an assistant to a cabinet member, is looking for his quasi-girlfriend whose former husband was instrumental in a plot to rig the election that failed. It becomes a game of cat and mouse, as Frank and his girlfriend try to stay ahead of the chasing husband.
By the end of the book, some simple matters are resolved, while the world is a little calmer in their nonstop fight to "cool down" global warming. The one final consolation is the Tibet being declared independent once more from the Chinese and the close friends of the main characters who moved to DC at the beginning of the series because their island, Khembalung, was drowning due to rising ocean levels.
Robinson's message is clear at the end: global warming cannot be completely stopped, and to slow it down will be a long and arduous struggle that will last through our lives and into our children's and grandchildren's lives, but there is hope for this planet, so long as we act now and soon. The series will make the next presidential election a very interesting time.
For more book reviews, and other writings, go to www.alexctelander.com
"Not with A Bang, But a Whisper".......2007-09-01
Kim, another disappoint. A great series and challenge of ideas with a wimpy ending. Politics - -lots of - no real expansion of scientific ideas other then some continuastion from earlier volumes. The ending of the Caroline/Husband situtation is not realistic. What happens to the Quiblers and some of the other figures, e.g., the ferals? Joe is a minor figure, but he is left hanging... There are too many loose ends and too much still to do. I can understand environmental "saving" is not easy or cheap, and Plil Chase and Quibler make some decent basic Libertarian tenants as principles, but buried in the verbiage. Methane and carbon dioxide? Sure the attempted cures might work if technologically feasiblre, but they are only part of the story. Climate change and solar cycles don't really seem to be a part of the thinking or the solution, thought they seem indirectly recognized in the series. IAC, little action, lots of decent verbiage, ...but the finale lrft me ..... empty and unfofilled. So, I ask KIM to try again - and hit the greatness of the Mars series or even "Spacedance."
Sixty Days to Nowhere.......2007-08-07
Robinson's books have always had strong ecological themes, and this, the final volume of his look at the global warming crisis, is no exception. Unlike so many other books that try and delve in this area, Robinson provides not only a look at what we might expect to happen to our world if our current production and consumption habits don't change, but what we can reasonably do about it.
This is, in fact, the strong point of this work, as Robinson envisions both a group of dedicated scientists who actively try to handle a myriad of different types of technological fixes and a newly elected President who gives far more than lip service to their plans. Many of the things Robinson describes here are both good science and show a good grasp of what is possible in the world of politics when the voting population can actually see and feel the detrimental effects (most of this was detailed in the prior two books). The economic costs of massive programs of this nature (such as pumping huge quantities of seawater into basins and back to the top of the eastern Antarctic) are not ignored, either, though I did feel that expecting a massive shift of dollars from military defense to ecological programs was expecting a little too much.
Unfortunately, the novel that above is wrapped in isn't much of a novel. We are presented with the continuing story of Frank in search of his briefly met mysterious love while still trying to live a feral life inside the city confines, and Charlie and his concerns about his youngest son. The whole incident of the potential election-rigging that formed a prime part of the last book is still here, but muted and almost buried under a somewhat far-fetched attempt to find and root out the super-black intelligence agency responsible for the plan. Now there may be little doubt that there may be intelligence-gathering agencies that have too much unsupervised power, and that current laws do not do enough to safeguard individual's liberties and rights, but Robinson's depiction crosses the line into James Bondian fantasy. Robinson also lets his own political biases show far too much, at one point making an unqualified statement that the people in the current administration are criminals.
The trouble with all of this is there is very little action, and almost no suspense. Frank and Charlie's stories just don't have much emotional grabbing power, so that in the end I felt I was reading more of a treatise (even if a good, well reasoned, and scientifically sound one) than a novel. The other plot threads that were started in the first two books are given conclusions, but almost in a back-handed manner, and with far too much of `everything ends well'. What would have helped this book considerably would have been a look at the world and the political maneuvering from the eyes of Phil Chase, the new President, but we are only given short glimpses of this. By the end of the book, everything just kind of sputters out, leaving me quite disappointed. I expect much better from this author.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Climate Change Saga.......2007-05-12
This is the first great work of what will surely be a new sub-genre. Its not alternate history, its predictive future. Robinson is a master of this set. His best-selling (brilliant) Mars trilogy followed much the same path before anyone was ready to accept that "terra-forming" may be something that we very much needed on earth. This trilogy, of which Sixty Days is the third, brings it all down to earth.
Robinson is a master story teller that is able to take macro-techinical ideas and put them to paper in a systematic way that makes them not only understnadable but altogether probable. On the downside, he tends to fall in love with his characters a bit too much. I am one that really enjoys the science of science-fiction. While Robinson delivers this, I sometimes find myself "fast-forwarding" through a page or two of excessive character building.
Which is not to suggest caution. This trilogy is very important reading.
A Good Read.......2007-05-12
I have enjoyed reading several of Mr. Robison's book. "Sixty Days and Counting" was another pleasure to read. I tend to diasagree with his conclusions that capitalism is the cause of all climate problems and socialism is the fix. That said, I still enjoyed getting to know the characters and Mr. Robinson's way of telling a tale.
Book Description
The key insight of Gaia Theory is that the entire Earth functions as a single living superorganism, regulating its internal environment much as an animal regulates its body temperature. But according to James Lovelock, the theory's originator, that organism is now sick. It is running a fever born of increased atmospheric greenhouse gases. Earth will adjust to these stresses, but the human race faces a severe test. It is already too late, Lovelock says, to prevent the global climate from "flipping" into an entirely new equilibrium that will threaten civilization as we know it. But we can do much to save humanity. In the tradition of Silent Spring, this is a call to action.
Customer Reviews:
Lovelock the champion of nuclear energy.......2007-10-14
Lovelock is 100% committed to nuclear energy. In Revenge of the Gaia he makes his case for the move to nuclear fission and eventually fusion to power our growing world. His views are interesting indeed; nuclear is the answer and other renewable sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal are impractical and not economical. Further, from his point of view, countries like Germany have done much to harm their own landscape and the balance of Gaia by deploying massive wind farms. They have also done a disservice to their economy by disguising market forces and moving to renewable energy because the monetary cost is higher. He doesn't take into account the non-monetary costs mainly the externalities associated with the burning of fossil fuels and nuclear energy. This was my first Lovelock book and it will be my last. I respect his work and views but found them to be short sighted and some seem outright bizarre at best. We should replace our fossil power plants with nuclear plants and dispose of the waste in tropical forests? This is how we can guard the forests from destruction? The fact that animals will be affected by the radiation is only a minor problem. It will only shorten their lives a little. Aside from the fact that we shouldn't be dumping our nuclear waste on other counties, his proposal means moving this nuclear material to unstable countries, which creates additional security concerns. He completely discounts the use of hydrogen as a fuel for transport. Believes that we never should have banned the use of DDT. He makes light of the Chernobyl disaster stating that there were only 75 fatalities. This seems to be a vast understatement, in fact, the WHO estimated there may have been 4000 extra thyroid cancer deaths in children from this disaster. Regardless of your views on the extent of the disaster it still was just that, a total disaster that exposed hundreds of thousands to radiation. Further, if nuclear is the only answer for the United States and the UK it naturally must be the answer for the rest of the world. If this is the case we are destined to have the further proliferation of nuclear technology that will lead to more nuclear weapons. We do need action to slow climate change. We do need clean energy technologies but not necessarily nuclear. The book only provides one side of the story. It does not go into detail on the externalities of nuclear power. It also has many half-truths, outdated theories, and clear omissions to benefit his position. He dismisses the benefits of organic gardening and would also like to deal with population growth with a transition from farming to synthesized food.
Urgent action is needed to reduce greenhouse gases but I do not believe nuclear is the only option. Lovelock clearly believes nuclear is this only option and he discounts all other options. Reading this book will give you one side of the story. It includes many half-baked ideas that are somewhat ridiculous and trivial. It also does not address the important issues. What is cheap energy? He attacked Germany for taking a leadership position and going green, against market forces. Germany's move to renewable energy should be a shinning example to the world. Yes, renewable energy may cost more from a monetary perspective but if you figure in the externalities of fossil and nuclear energy there is a clear reason to invest in these technologies. Also if energy cost more it wouldn't necessarily be negative in the short run. It could be a method of demand side management. Individuals and firms might conserve more and build smart. The rapid growth in demand for technology to harness renewable energy would create new jobs; prices would go down as more firms entered the business of producing the technology. The more we invest in this technology the lower our prices will be. Eventually we will find a silver bullet. We must invest further in renewable energy. Lovelock's arguments are weak and would bring us down a path of self- destruction just like fossil fuels are currently doing. Nuclear is not the only option and we should be weary of those who preach that it is. The move from fossil fuels to nuclear would allow the same small handful of energy players to maintain their control of the energy industry rather than encouraging small producers and entrepreneurs from getting into the business.
Wrong even in basic.......2007-10-07
I'll be sincere.I tried to read this trash-book , here in Brazil.I'm an agronomist and I like to read books.
This book is a trash.Why?Because it has too many frauds, half-trues,etc.
Someone perhaps will claim that this book defends nuclear power.Even in this topic, this trash-book is a failure.This book claims that nuclear fusion reactors are near and will be very good.None is correct.After sixty years and tens of billions of US dollars wasted, no fusion reactor is working today.Fusion reactors will also produce nuclear trash.
As world's enemies, this book puts(as ever among ecology books) among poor and colored people as the menace.
Under green disguise, eugenics is back.Its new name is ecology.
Science education.......2007-08-22
In every life time we come across a few books that are really important. I class this as one of them.
This book provides the man in the street with the information he needs to make balanced decisions about what is really going on with the climate and how well meaning green efforts are counter-productive.
The arguments in the book are counter-intuitive and as a result exposes the folly of most of the political and media commentary espoused on this very important issue.
Complex ideas are simply presented in a very accessible manner, this is not a stuffy science book full of incomprehensible statistics, rather its science education at its best.
Teach it in schools, Teach it to journalists, teach it to the man in the street.
No Simple Answers.......2007-08-19
Lovelock sees himself as a member of a new profession of planetary physicians. Continuing the analogy, the earth is running a fever, and in danger of acquiring a morbidity lasting as long as 100,000 years.
This fear is based on evidence from the Earth's history 55 million years ago when a geological accident released more than a terraton (a million times a million) of gaseous carbon compounds into the air, raising the temperature in tropical regions about 5 degrees C and 8 degrees elsewhere, and taking over 100,000 years to return to normality. Lovelock further claims we have already put more than half this quantity of carbon gases into the air and the sun is hotter than it was in the earlier instance.
Positive feedback in the Earth's environment makes our situation particularly sensitive. Warming from existing CO2 melts glaciers, which in turn reduces existing reflectivity of the sun - warming the Earth more; at the same time warmer seas reduce the oceans' ability to hold existing dissolved CO2, etc. (Melted ice caps would increase ocean levels 120 meters.)
Alternatives are few, and difficult. Powering all transportation through biofuels would require acreage 4-6X that now used for food, and would still generate considerable CO2. Burning natural gas produces half the CO2 now created otherwise; however, 2% leaks (natural gas is mostly methane - much more climate-affecting than CO2, though fortunately shorter lived) throughout the process would negate this benefit. Peat bog fires create 40% of the world's total carbon emissions, per Lovelock (it seems something could/should be done in this area). Wind energy is only available about 25% of the time, and tidal energy would only supply about 6% of England's requirements. Sunlight is not even totally reliable in the SW, and storage and transmission costs would seriously hurt its viability outside that immediate area.
Recommendations: 1)Nuclear energy. 2)Population reduction, assisted by productive uses of women's' talents.
One topic was not addressed - Lovelock states that the U.S. has been reluctant to pursue global warming improvements. I suspect he is correct; however, no explanation for this was offered.
An invaluable guide to the future.......2007-07-01
In this dour assessment, Lovelock has taken his original brilliant insight of Earth as a living organism and extrapolated it into the pessimism of an environmental disaster in the making.
Until Lovelock, no one thought of all life on this planet as creating a unique living being in its own right. In retrospect, it's obvious; this is the nature of true genius. In a very scientific manner, backed by the finest research and impeccable data, Lovelock reached an understanding of the Earth that matches the basics of Native American philosophy.
This book is a timely prediction that life on earth will collapse within the next century due to human activity. His reasoning is accurate, brilliant and based on a fundamental flaw; he fails to recognize that humans continue to change. The agricultural revolution that began 10,000 years ago made profound changes; the evolution of teosinte into corn is one of a myriad of amazing progress.
Now the Industrial Revolution is changing human habitation from 95 percent rural to 95 percent urban; worldwide, 50 percent of people now live in cities, and this will be 70 percent within 50 years. It's the most profound population shift since hunter/gatherers became farmers; and, it's likely to have an ever greater impact on the natural world.
Humans have evolved from gathering food to producing food to producing things to producing intangible ideas. An intengible idea has economic value, but it is not something you can drop on your foot. It's a product of brainpower, not natural resources. Two centuries ago, the wealth of nations was their natural resources; today, the natural resources of the US are 3 percent of its wealth while the intengible ideas are 82 percent.
Lovelock ignores this ability of humans and wildlife to change. In Phoenix, the rich live in walled, guarded and video-camera'd enclaves such as Biltmore Estates; coyotes are also learning to live there and are making Shih Tzus, Sharpeis and other toys into their own fast food snacks. Coyotes once were limited to the Rocky Mountains; now, they're found in Central Park in New York and everywhere else they choose to adapt.
Life changes. People are flocking into cities which became "the dark satanic mills" of Dickens' times. Now possible to build zero-carbon cities, as planned in Abu Dhabi. Humans change. Granted, change is often costly. Without forethought, millions may die. Without change, the toll will be even greater. But, change will occur. It always has, it is now, it always will be so.
This book sets out the scenario of a potential disaster, based on the knowledge of a brilliant and innovative scientist. Neither Lovelock or any other individual will come up with all the answers; but, in reading it, every thoughtful person will be prompted to come up with their own solutions large, small and meaningful.
Lovelock presents a beautiful concept of the world, a philosophy that reaches the levels of Native American wisdom. The difference is not becoming stuck in the status quo, as with Native American religions; but, in adapting to a radically different future. This book recognizes the danger of the status quo; change (evolution) means everyone must adapt to the future. Those who don't will become extinct.
Those who do will be thankful there were books such as this to serve as guides and inspirations along the way.
Books:
- The Practical Geologist: The Introductory Guide to the Basics of Geology and to Collecting and Identifying Rocks
- The Quest: One Man's Search for Peace, Insight, and Healing in an Endangered World
- The Seduction of Unreason: The Intellectual Romance with Fascism from Nietzsche to Postmodernism
- The Tao of Network Security Monitoring: Beyond Intrusion Detection
- The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
- The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
- The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
- The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
- Time-Saver Standards for Landscape Architecture
- Ubiquity: Why Catastrophes Happen
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
- The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
- Prairie Nocturne: A Novel
- Reading David: A Mother and Son's Journey Through the Labyrinth of Dyslexia
- Rio for Partiers: The visual travel guide to Rio de Janeiro
- Multivariate Calculus and Mathematica: With Applications to Geometry and Physics
- Social and Political Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction
- David Bowie: Una Extrana Fascinacion
- Life of a Rolling Stone
- A Soldier's Story : The Double Life of a Confederate Spy
General
| Popular Economics
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Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design
America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to Capitalism (Politically Incorrect Guides)
The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion
