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Book Synopsis Hot Talk, Cold Science by : S. Fred Singer
Download or read book Hot Talk, Cold Science written by S. Fred Singer and published by . This book was released on 2021-01-18 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are the often alarming claims about global warming based on science and justified by the facts? Is the human race really facing a major crisis due to emissions from fossil fuels? Would the proposed Climate Treaty solve a real environmental threat or would it create worldwide economic and social harm? S. Fred Singer is a distinguished astrophysicist who has taken a hard, scientific look at the evidence. In this new book, Dr. Singer explores the inaccuracies in historical climate data, the limitations of attempting to model climate on computers, solar variability and its impact on climate, the effects of clouds, ocean currents, and sea levels on global climate, and factors that could mitigate any human impacts on world climate.Singer's masterful analysis decisively shows that the pessimistic, and often alarming, global warming scenarios depicted in the media have no scientific basis. In fact, he finds that many aspects of any global warming, such as a longer growing season for food and a reduced need to use fossil fuels for heating, would actually have a positive impact on the human race. Further, Singer notes how many proposed "solutions" to the global warming "crisis" (like "carbon" taxes) would have severe consequences for economically disadvantaged groups and nations.According to Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Hot Talk, Cold Science dares to point out that 'the Emperor has no clothes.' Is there evidence to suggest discernible human influence on global climate? Of great interest, this book demonstrates that, at best, the evidence is sketchy and incomplete. Hot Talk, Cold Science is essential reading for anyone who wants to be fully informed about the global warming debate.
Book Synopsis Hot Talk, Cold Science by : Siegfried Fred Singer
Download or read book Hot Talk, Cold Science written by Siegfried Fred Singer and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For lay readers and specialists alike, this concise, scientific analysis refutes the pessimistic global warming scenarios depicted in the media. In addition to covering better-known topics, the book also provides an in-depth examination of less frequently discussed issues including historical climate data inaccuracies, the limitations of computer climate modeling, solar variability, and factors that could mitigate any human impacts on world climate. Potential upsides related to global warming and the financial consequences of many of the proposed solutions are identified.
Book Synopsis Hot Talk, Cold Science by : Siegfried Fred Singer
Download or read book Hot Talk, Cold Science written by Siegfried Fred Singer and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Incorporating recent developments in science, economics, and public policy, Hot Talk, Cold Science, 3rd Edition is a badly needed de-coding device to a sprawling, highly technical literature, giving readers a clear understanding of what scientists and policymakers know about climate change-and what they don't. By separating rhetoric from reality, this well-timed release allows readers to better detect and think beyond the hyperbole and propaganda all-too-common in media coverage of this heated subject. The stakes in this global debate, Dr. Singer reminds us, are monumental. With some calling for restrictions or carbon taxes to reduce the use of fossil fuels and get climate change under control, and others warning that impeding access to affordable energy would consign large segments of the world's population to deeper, more prolonged poverty, the only ground shared by all sides may be a burning sense of urgency for more research and education. By bringing vital but often neglected findings to the forefront of the reading public, Hot Talk, Cold Science: Global Warming's Unfinished Debate, 3rd Edition can play a critical part in stimulating fresh discussion on the most important scientific and policy issue of our times"--
Book Synopsis Unstoppable Global Warming by : Siegfried Fred Singer
Download or read book Unstoppable Global Warming written by Siegfried Fred Singer and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2007 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Argues that global warming is a natural, cyclical phenomenon that has not been caused by human activities and that its negative consequences have been greatly overestimated.
Book Synopsis Hot Talk, Cold Science by : Siegfried Fred Singer
Download or read book Hot Talk, Cold Science written by Siegfried Fred Singer and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to proponents of the Global Climate Treaty, a consensus within the scientific community supports the view that human-caused global warming is occurring and that it threatens human health and well-being. Nothing could be further from the truth. Far from viewing the existence of global warming as 'settled', most atmospheric scientists and climate specialists hold that the global warming issue should be considered 'unfinished business' requiring much further research. Astrophysicist S Fred Singer probes the literature on climate change and lays out the scientific case against the likelihood of an imminent, catastrophic global warming. Theoretical computer models to the contrary, man-made global warming has not been documented. But even if it were to occur, the evidence suggests that it would largely be benign and may even improve human well-being, Singer argues. Rather than embark on economically destructive policies to solve a problem that to the best of our knowledge does not exist, Singer urges policymakers to adopt a 'no regrets' policy of continued research and unimpeded economic growth. We would then have more scientific knowledge, technology, and economic resources with which to confront climate warming, if we ever discover that it is occurring and poses a real threat. But prematurely mandating severe reductions of greenhouse gas emissions would make us -- and developing countries, especially -- poorer and less able to cope with any future problems.
Download or read book Unsettled written by Steven E. Koonin and published by BenBella Books. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Unsettled is a remarkable book—probably the best book on climate change for the intelligent layperson—that achieves the feat of conveying complex information clearly and in depth." —Claremont Review of Books "Surging sea levels are inundating the coasts." "Hurricanes and tornadoes are becoming fiercer and more frequent." "Climate change will be an economic disaster." You've heard all this presented as fact. But according to science, all of these statements are profoundly misleading. When it comes to climate change, the media, politicians, and other prominent voices have declared that "the science is settled." In reality, the long game of telephone from research to reports to the popular media is corrupted by misunderstanding and misinformation. Core questions—about the way the climate is responding to our influence, and what the impacts will be—remain largely unanswered. The climate is changing, but the why and how aren't as clear as you've probably been led to believe. Now, one of America's most distinguished scientists is clearing away the fog to explain what science really says (and doesn't say) about our changing climate. In Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters, Steven Koonin draws upon his decades of experience—including as a top science advisor to the Obama administration—to provide up-to-date insights and expert perspective free from political agendas. Fascinating, clear-headed, and full of surprises, this book gives readers the tools to both understand the climate issue and be savvier consumers of science media in general. Koonin takes readers behind the headlines to the more nuanced science itself, showing us where it comes from and guiding us through the implications of the evidence. He dispels popular myths and unveils little-known truths: despite a dramatic rise in greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures actually decreased from 1940 to 1970. What's more, the models we use to predict the future aren't able to accurately describe the climate of the past, suggesting they are deeply flawed. Koonin also tackles society's response to a changing climate, using data-driven analysis to explain why many proposed "solutions" would be ineffective, and discussing how alternatives like adaptation and, if necessary, geoengineering will ensure humanity continues to prosper. Unsettled is a reality check buoyed by hope, offering the truth about climate science that you aren't getting elsewhere—what we know, what we don't, and what it all means for our future.
Book Synopsis Hot Talk, Cold Science by : S. Fred Singer
Download or read book Hot Talk, Cold Science written by S. Fred Singer and published by Independent Institute. This book was released on 2015-11-23 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are the often alarming claims about global warming based on science and justified by the facts? Is the human race really facing a major crisis due to emissions from fossil fuels? Would the proposed Climate Treaty solve a real environmental threat or would it create worldwide economic and social harm? S. Fred Singer is a distinguished astrophysicist who has taken a hard, scientific look at the evidence. In this new book, Dr. Singer explores the inaccuracies in historical climate data, the limitations of attempting to model climate on computers, solar variability and its impact on climate, the effects of clouds, ocean currents, and sea levels on global climate, and factors that could mitigate any human impacts on world climate. Singer's masterful analysis decisively shows that the pessimistic, and often alarming, global warming scenarios depicted in the media have no scientific basis. In fact, he finds that many aspects of any global warming, such as a longer growing season for food and a reduced need to use fossil fuels for heating, would actually have a positive impact on the human race. Further, Singer notes how many proposed “solutions” to the global warming “crisis” (like “carbon” taxes) would have severe consequences for economically disadvantaged groups and nations. According to Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Hot Talk, Cold Science dares to point out that &‘the Emperor has no clothes.' Is there evidence to suggest discernible human influence on global climate? Of great interest, this book demonstrates that, at best, the evidence is sketchy and incomplete. Hot Talk, Cold Science is essential reading for anyone who wants to be fully informed about the global warming debate.
Book Synopsis Global Warming-Alarmists, Skeptics and Deniers by : G. Dedrick Robinson
Download or read book Global Warming-Alarmists, Skeptics and Deniers written by G. Dedrick Robinson and published by Moonshine Cove Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2012 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global Warming-Alarmists, Skeptics & Deniers: A Geoscientist looks at the Science of Climate Change, brings a unique geological perspective to this politically charged issue, a perspective that has been ignored far too long. Written by a father-son team of geoscientist and attorney, it is the concise guide to the global warming controversy that has been long needed. As a university professor and research geologist for thirty years, Dr. Robinson knows that geological science is essential for placing the global warming controversy in proper prospective. One cannot hope to understand how humans might be causing climate change without an understanding of the magnitude and speed natural processed are capable of when it comes to climate change. Earth history is the only yardstick we have to determine whether recent climate change is unusual or not. Yet, inexplicably, a vast repository of geologic data has been ignored in this contentious issue. Global Warming: Alarmists, Skeptics and Deniers was written to correct this oversight. This book has been years in the making. It follows the outline Dr. Robinson used successfully for many years in a college classes taken by large numbers of students. Using an easy-to-understand question and answer format, the fourteen chapters of the book cover systematically all the major scientific issues of global warming. With more than three hundred references to peer-reviewed science journal articles and numerous illustrations, it shows how the scientific underpinnings of the global warming theory are actually weak and uncertain . Dr. Robinson is the author of numerous scientific articles in national and international journals. His background in teaching a wide variety of geology courses has shown him how to present difficult scientific concepts in a way that is understandable and interesting to non-scientists. He has chaired sessions at scientific conferences, led seminars for science teachers, served as the head at two different college geology departments and was interviewed on a television network. His co-author and son, an attorney experienced in argumentative rhetoric, has helped him hone in on the erroneously based assumptions underlying activists' arguments. He has also served as a sounding board for areas where the writing, intended for a general audience, needed to be less technical. Together, this unique father-son team present a well thought out and fully documented discussion of the global warming theory without impugning anyone's sincerity, motives or personal integrity. Global Warming: Alarmists, Skeptics and Deniers covers the science of global warming, but unlike many other books, not the politics.
Book Synopsis Merchants of Doubt by : Naomi Oreskes
Download or read book Merchants of Doubt written by Naomi Oreskes and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2011-10-03 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. scientific community has long led the world in research on such areas as public health, environmental science, and issues affecting quality of life. These scientists have produced landmark studies on the dangers of DDT, tobacco smoke, acid rain, and global warming. But at the same time, a small yet potent subset of this community leads the world in vehement denial of these dangers. Merchants of Doubt tells the story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politics and industry, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. Remarkably, the same individuals surface repeatedly-some of the same figures who have claimed that the science of global warming is "not settled" denied the truth of studies linking smoking to lung cancer, coal smoke to acid rain, and CFCs to the ozone hole. "Doubt is our product," wrote one tobacco executive. These "experts" supplied it. Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, historians of science, roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how ideology and corporate interests, aided by a too-compliant media, have skewed public understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our era.
Download or read book Climate Change written by Jason Smerdon and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2009-04-25 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate Change is geared toward a variety of students and general readers who seek the real science behind global warming. Exquisitely illustrated, the text introduces the basic science underlying both the natural progress of climate change and the effect of human activity on the deteriorating health of our planet. Noted expert and author Edmond A. Mathez synthesizes the work of leading scholars in climatology and related fields, and he concludes with an extensive chapter on energy production, anchoring this volume in economic and technological realities and suggesting ways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Climate Change opens with the climate system fundamentals: the workings of the atmosphere and ocean, their chemical interactions via the carbon cycle, and the scientific framework for understanding climate change. Mathez then brings the climate of the past to bear on our present predicament, highlighting the importance of paleoclimatology in understanding the current climate system. Subsequent chapters explore the changes already occurring around us and their implications for the future. In a special feature, Jason E. Smerdon, associate research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, provides an innovative appendix for students.
Book Synopsis Red Hot Lies by : Christopher C. Horner
Download or read book Red Hot Lies written by Christopher C. Horner and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-11-11 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Liars--Al Gore, the United Nations, the New York Times. The global warming lobby, relentless in its push for bigger government, more spending, and more regulation, will use any means necessary to scare you out of your wits--as well as your tax dollars and your liberties--with threats of rising oceans, deadly droughts, and unspeakable future consequences of "climate change." In pursuing their anti-energy, anti-capitalist, and pro-government agenda, the global warming alarmists--and unscrupulous scientists who see this scare as their gravy train to federal grants and foundation money--resort to dirty tricks, smear campaigns, and outright lies, abandoning scientific standards, journalistic integrity, and the old-fashioned notions of free speech and open debate. In Red Hot Lies, bestselling author Christopher Horner--himself the target of Greenpeace dirty tricks and alarmist smears--exposes the dark underbelly of the environmental movement. Power-hungry politicians blacklist scientists who reject global warming alarmism. U.S. senators threaten companies that fund climate change dissenters. Mainstream media outlets openly reject the notion of "balance." The occasional unguarded scientist candidly admits the need to twist the facts to paint an uglier picture in order to keep the faucet of government money flowing. In the name of "saving the planet," anything goes. But why the nasty tactics? Why the cover ups, lies, and intimidation? Because Al Gore and his ilk want to use big government at the local, state, federal, and global level to run your life, and they can brook no opposition. But the actual facts, as Red Hot Lies makes clear, aren't nearly as scary as their fiction.
Book Synopsis Climate Change Reconsidered by : Craig Douglas Idso
Download or read book Climate Change Reconsidered written by Craig Douglas Idso and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 856 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate Change Reconsidered: The 2009 Report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) is the most comprehensive objective compilation of science on climate change ever published. It offers a "second opinion" to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in 2007. Unlike that report, Climate Change Reconsidered finds global warming is not a crisis, and never was. Principal findings of the book include the following: Climate models suffer from numerous deficiencies and shortcomings that could alter even the very sign (plus or minus, warming or cooling) of earth's projected temperature response to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations; the model-derived temperature sensitivity of the earth--especially for a doubling of the preindustrial CO2 level--is much too large, and feedbacks in the climate system reduce it to values that are an order of magnitude smaller than what the IPCC employs; real-world observations do not support the IPCC's claim that current trends in climate and weather are "unprecedented" and, therefore, the result of anthropogenic greenhouse gases; the IPCC overlooks or downplays the many benefits to agriculture and forestry that will be accrued from the ongoing rise in the air's CO2 content; there is no evidence that CO2-induced increases in air temperature will cause unprecedented plant and animal extinctions, either on land or in the world's oceans; there is no evidence that CO2-induced global warming is or will be responsible for increases in the incidence of human diseases or the number of lives lost to extreme thermal conditions.--Publisher description.
Book Synopsis Climate of Fear by : Thomas Gale Moore
Download or read book Climate of Fear written by Thomas Gale Moore and published by Cato Institute. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most climate experts agree that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide either already have led or will soon lead to an increase in global temperatures. While many consider that reason enough to undertake dramatic political action, economist Thomas Gale Moore asks, So what? Both historical and economic analysis suggests, he argues, that a warmer climate would be, on balance, beneficial to both mankind and the environment. The book calls into question the entire campaign led by Vice President Al Gore and others to ratify the proposed treaty on global warming scheduled to be debated in the U.S. Senate early in 1998.
Book Synopsis Climate Change by : National Geographic Learning (Firm)
Download or read book Climate Change written by National Geographic Learning (Firm) and published by National Geographic Society. This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to most scientists, Earth's atmosphere has warmed by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 100 years. The result has been melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events. Some people say that current climate change is part of the natural cycle of changes on Earth. Many scientists, however, think that Earth's climate is changing because of increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Climate Change examines how countries around the world are taking steps, such as conservation, to lessen the effects of climate change.
Download or read book Iced In written by Chris Turney and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 2017-09-26 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The Antarctic Factor: if anything can go wrong, it will. It's basically Murphy's Law on steroids.” —Chris Turney On Christmas Eve 2013, off the coast of East Antarctica, an abrupt weather change trapped the Shokalskiy—the ship carrying earth scientist Chris Turney and seventy-one others involved in the Australasian Antarctic Expedition—in densely packed sea ice, 1400 miles from civilization. The forecast offered no relief—a blizzard was headed their way. As Turney chronicles his ordeal, he revisits the harrowing Antarctic expedition of famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton on his ship, Endurance, as well as the legendary explorations of Douglas Mawson. But for Turney, the stakes were even higher: he had his wife and children with him. Turney was connected to the outside world through Twitter, YouTube, and Skype. Within hours, the team became the focus of a media storm, and an international rescue effort was launched to reach the stranded ship. But could help arrive in time to avert a tragedy? A taut 21st-century survival story, Iced In is also an homage to all scientific explorers who embody the human spirit of adventure, joy in discovery, and will to live. “Traveling in the footsteps of the great explorers Ernest Shackleton and Douglas Mawson, Turney draws on records from their journeys, making comparisons versus his own struggle in this enjoyable armchair adventure.” —Booklist “A classic adventure tale of a fight for survival. Turney’s account brings a chill to the spine.” —Herald Sun, Melbourne “Exciting and compelling reading.” —Good Reading With a New Epilogue by the Author
Download or read book Out Cold written by Phil Jaekl and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2021-06-01 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fascinating look into the strange and sometimes unbelievable history of hypothermic medicine. Jaekl weaves together a story that is part history lesson and part science thriller. This is truly a must-read for any fan of science and science fiction!” —Douglas Talk, MD/MPH, chief medical consultant, SpaceWorks Inc., Human Torpor Project The meaning of the word “hypothermia” has Greek origins and roughly translates to “less heat.” Its symptoms can be deadly—shivering, followed by confusion, irrationality, and even the illusion of feeling hot. But hypothermia has another side—it can be therapeutic. In Out Cold, science writer Phil Jaekl chronicles the underappreciated story of human innovation with cold, from Ancient Egypt, where it was used to treat skin irritations, to eighteenth-century London, where scientists used it in their first explorations of suspended animation. Throughout history, physicians have used cold to innovate life extension, enable distant space missions, and explore consciousness. Hypothermia may still conjure macabre images, like the bodies littering Mt. Everest and disembodied heads in cryo-freezers, but the reality is that modern science has invented numerous new life-saving cooling techniques based on what we’ve learned over the centuries. And Out Cold reveals a surprisingly warm future for this chilling state.
Book Synopsis The Discovery of Global Warming by : Spencer R. Weart
Download or read book The Discovery of Global Warming written by Spencer R. Weart and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2001 a panel representing virtually all the world's governments and climate scientists announced that they had reached a consensus: the world was warming at a rate without precedent during at least the last ten millennia, and that warming was caused by the buildup of greenhouse gases from human activity. The consensus itself was at least a century in the making. The story of how scientists reached their conclusion--by way of unexpected twists and turns and in the face of formidable intellectual, financial, and political obstacles--is told for the first time in The Discovery of Global Warming. Spencer R. Weart lucidly explains the emerging science, introduces us to the major players, and shows us how the Earth's irreducibly complicated climate system was mirrored by the global scientific community that studied it. Unlike familiar tales of Science Triumphant, this book portrays scientists working on bits and pieces of a topic so complex that they could never achieve full certainty--yet so important to human survival that provisional answers were essential. Weart unsparingly depicts the conflicts and mistakes, and how they sometimes led to fruitful results. His book reminds us that scientists do not work in isolation, but interact in crucial ways with the political system and with the general public. The book not only reveals the history of global warming, but also analyzes the nature of modern scientific work as it confronts the most difficult questions about the Earth's future. Table of Contents: Preface 1. How Could Climate Change? 2. Discovering a Possibility 3. A Delicate System 4. A Visible Threat 5. Public Warnings 6. The Erratic Beast 7. Breaking into Politics 8. The Discovery Confirmed Reflections Milestones Notes Further Reading Index Reviews of this book: A soberly written synthesis of science and politics. --Gilbert Taylor, Booklist Reviews of this book: Charting the evolution and confirmation of the theory [of global warming], Spencer R. Weart, director of the Center for the History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics, dissects the interwoven threads of research and reveals the political and societal subtexts that colored scientists' views and the public reception their work received. --Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times Book Review Reviews of this book: It took a century for scientists to agree that gases produced by human activity were causing the world to warm up. Now, in an engaging book that reads like a detective story, physicist Weart reports the history of global warming theory, including the internal conflicts plaguing the research community and the role government has had in promoting climate studies. --Publishers Weekly Reviews of this book: It is almost two centuries since the French mathematician Jean Baptiste Fourier discovered that the Earth was far warmer than it had any right to be, given its distance from the Sun...Spencer Weart's book about how Fourier's initially inconsequential discovery finally triggered urgent debate about the future habitability of the Earth is lucid, painstaking and commendably brief, packing everything into 200 pages. --Fred Pearce, The Independent Reviews of this book: [The Discovery of Global Warming] is a well-written, well-researched and well-balanced account of the issues involved...This is not a sermon for the faithful, or verses from Revelation for the evangelicals, but a serious summary for those who like reasoned argument. Read it--and be converted. --John Emsley, Times Literary Supplement Reviews of this book: This is a terrific book...Perhaps the finest compliment I could give this book is to report that I intend to use it instead of my own book...for my climate class. The Discovery of Global Warming is more up-to-date, better balanced historically, beautifully written and, not least important, short and to the point. I think the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] needs to enlist a few good historians like Weart for its next assessment. --Stephen H. Schneider, Nature Reviews of this book: This short, well-written book by a science historian at the American Institute of Physics adds a serious voice to the overheated debate about global warming and would serve as a great starting point for anyone who wants to better understand the issue. --Maureen Christie, American Scientist Reviews of this book: I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Spencer Weart's account provides much valuable and interesting material about how the discipline developed--not just from the perspective of climate science but also within the context of the field's relation to other scientific disciplines, the media, political trends, and even 20th-century history (particularly the Cold War). In addition, Weart has done a valuable service by recording for posterity background information on some of the key discoveries and historical figures who contributed to our present understanding of the global warming problem. --Thomas J. Crowley, Science Reviews of this book: Weart has done us all a service by bringing the discovery of global warming into a short, compendious and persuasive book for a general readership. He is especially strong on the early days and the scientific background. --Crispin Tickell, Times Higher Education Supplement A Capricious Beast Ever since the days when he had trudged around fossil lake basins in Nevada for his doctoral thesis, Wally Broecker had been interested in sudden climate shifts. The reported sudden jumps of CO2 in Greenland ice cores stimulated him to put this interest into conjunction with his oceanographic interests. The result was a surprising and important calculation. The key was what Broecker later described as a "great conveyor belt'"of seawater carrying heat northward. . . . The energy carried to the neighborhood of Iceland was "staggering," Broecker realized, nearly a third as much as the Sun sheds upon the entire North Atlantic. If something were to shut down the conveyor, climate would change across much of the Northern Hemisphere' There was reason to believe a shutdown could happen swiftly. In many regions the consequences for climate would be spectacular. Broecker was foremost in taking this disagreeable news to the public. In 1987 he wrote that we had been treating the greenhouse effect as a 'cocktail hour curiosity,' but now 'we must view it as a threat to human beings and wildlife.' The climate system was a capricious beast, he said, and we were poking it with a sharp stick. I found the book enjoyable, thoughtful, and an excellent introduction to the history of what may be one of the most important subjects of the next one hundred years. --Clark Miller, University of Wisconsin The Discovery of Global Warming raises important scientific issues and topics and includes essential detail. Readers should be able to follow the discussion and emerge at the end with a good understanding of how scientists have developed a consensus on global warming, what it is, and what issues now face human society. --Thomas R. Dunlap, Texas A&M University
