Global Weirdness

April 9, 2012
Climate Central Inc., a nonprofit, nonpartisan science and journalism organization, wrote this guide in response to Thomas Friedman’s request in a 2010 New York Times column for the climate-science community to “convene its top experts” to provide a simple, unimpeachably peer-reviewed 50-page report “summarizing everything we already know about climate change in language that a sixth-grader could understand.” Except for exceeding the requested length, the book admirably fulfills Friedman’s request, and even at over 200 pages, it’s an easily digestible read, with most chapters less than three pages long. Divided into four sections (“What the Science Says,” “What’s Actually Happening,” “What’s Likely to Happen in the Future,” and “Can We Avoid the Risks of Climate Change?”), the book covers all the basics, including descriptions of Earth’s previous climates and how hard it is for different cultures to adjust to changes; the difference between weather and climate; the greenhouse effect; and how climate scientists’ predictions are coming true. Despite their inevitable inaccuracies, the book argues, climate models become increasingly reliable as they are refined. The book’s simple language and strong documentation make it just right for younger readers or complete novices, but considering the current contentious political climate and the book’s scary predictions, its calm tone feels odd. Agent: Markson Thoma Literary Agency.

June 1, 2012
An intelligent primer on what experts know about global climate change, what they don't know, and what the future could bring. Written by scientists and journalists at Climate Central, a nonpartisan advocacy group, the book begins with what everyone, climate-change skeptic included, accepts: Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps the sun's heat. While natural phenomena (volcanoes, fires, decay) produce carbon dioxide, the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) has added so much extra that levels have reached record highs and continue to rise. The consequences include rising temperatures, rising sea levels, increasing ocean acidity and shifting, unstable weather and rain patterns. Alarmist scenarios abound, but these scientists admit that it's not clear what the future holds or how fast changes will occur because the Earth does not respond passively to increasing temperature. All agree, however, that burning fossil fuels is a bad idea. They explain that easy solutions (high-tech advances) are nowhere in sight, tolerable solutions (conservation, renewable energy) are only modestly effective, and powerful solutions (regulation and taxes) are painful. Not a call to action, the book is lucidly written and thoughtful, but skeptics likely won't read it. Since fighting climate change requires government action, conservatives tend to dismiss it. President Obama, no skeptic, treats the topic as electoral poison and limits himself to uncontroversial actions such as urging international cooperation. For students and the genuinely curious, this is an ideal introduction to the facts about global warming.

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2012

We hear so much about climate change, but do we really know all the facts? Climate Central, Inc., a nonprofit, nonpartisan science and journalism organization founded in 2008, is here to help. Instead of long, discursive explanations, the book offers 50 entries that aim to be accessible. Is climate ever normal? What has caused climate change in the past? Find out here; looks to be a great resource for high school papers, too.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2012
Although environmental scientists are nearly unanimous in their judgment that human-generated CO2 pollution is dangerously contributing to the earth's current climate-change crisis, media outlets such as Fox News and other conservative voices have worked hard to raise doubts about this consensus. To set the record straight about the indisputable scientific evidence behind global warming and to separate the myths from the facts, Climate Central, a nonpartisan collective of ecological experts, has composed this slender but comprehensive overview of the issue in easily digestible language. In referring to the planetwide predicament as global weirdness, the authors emphasize that more than just warmer temperatures are afoot. Fifty bite-size chapters address such concerns as melting ice caps, polar-bear habitat destruction, and the exact sources of all that CO2. After laying out exactly what the science says, and what's actually happening now, a peek into the future circa AD 2100 acknowledges several unknowns, including how many feet sea levels will rise and how many people will be forced to relocate (possibly as many as a hundred million). Without talking down to readers, the authors do a masterful job of clarifying all aspects of a complicated and alarming topic, making it that much more difficult for global-warming denialists to keep their heads in the sand.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2012

Blizzards in October? Heat waves in March? The nonprofit journalism and research group Climate Central breaks down information about weird weather and climate change in this collection of vignettes that distinguish global warming fact from rumor. Written by staffers and peer-reviewed by staff and outside scientists, this book briefly and frankly discusses the science behind each fact or rumor about climate change to better inform the public. With quippy titles, helpful summaries, and a jargon-free writing style, Climate Central integrates scientific, historical, and sociological facts in an appealing and informative manner. The text is repetitive on purpose, and highlights the interdisciplinary nature of understanding the human-environment interaction. VERDICT The result is a digestible, almost enjoyable (it's hard to enjoy anything that tells you the world is in rough shape) book that highlights our planet's incredible natural processes. A great starter text on climate-change issues--fans of Bill McKibben will enjoy this work and then pass it along to skeptical friends. [See Prepub Alert, 1/16/12.]--Jaime Hammond, Naugatuck Valley Community Coll., Waterbury, CT

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.