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Book reviews
In this section you will find reviews of books about climate change that we and our friends have read.
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Generation Us by Andrew Weaver
Title: Generation Us: The Challenge of Global Warming
Author: Andrew Weaver
Publication: Orca Book Publishers 2011
Page count: 128
Reviewed by: Anika Terton
Date reviewed: Jan 4, 2012
“If we want to solve global warming, the Me Generation must evolve into the Us Generation.”
Generation Us is a perfect introduction for someone coming to this topic without any background in climate science.
We all must try to understand the topic of climate change because it is the most important issue facing all of us today and tomorrow. Global warming has been branded as an environmental problem, but it is really an economic and social problem. We have to leave the time of global warming fear and denial behind us and start recognizing what it really is: the most self-empowering issue we will ever face.
Climate science is complex and even scientist can find it a difficult task to understand. But let’s face it: If it wouldn’t be complex it wouldn’t be science. So what do the rest of us do in order to keep up with the science?
Thanks to Dr. Andrew Weaver who has written this little book of only a bit over a 100 pages long. It delivers an easy-to-understand introduction to climate change – every reader will leave this book educated.
Weaver divides the book into three parts:
- He explains the problem and essential basics in order to understand climate change covering the greenhouse effect, weather vs. climate, why it takes time for the planet to warm, rising sea levels, and the impacts on our planet.
- Part number two and three deal with why you should care about it and what we can do as a society to respond to the problem. Weaver explains the dilemma of the climate crisis by using an analogy of cows. Imagine all farmers would graze their cows on public land shared by all farmers. Each extra cow added that feeds off the land will wholly benefit its owner upon sale. But the costs of overgrazing would be borne by all farmers. It’s one farmer’s advantage to add an extra cow but what if every farmer thinks like him. Cows can’t be added forever, the grass will finally run out. This was termed The Tragedy of the Commons by Garrett Hardin in 1968. Global warming is very much a tragedy of the commons. Countries keep pointing fingers at each other saying “you go first” and nothing ever gets done. It tells us that a solution to the problem will require people to think about the broader consequences of their individual actions and decisions.
- The last part of the book appeals to our conscience: do we have any responsibility for the well-being of future generations? Weaver uses easy understanding language of important choices we have to make as a society and why we must put a price on carbon. He points out the apathy at elections, especially among young voters and the financial burden we will leave for our children.
If we as individuals and our elected leaders don’t change in behaviour this debt will come with a very high interest rate for future generations.
Don’t avoid the topic of climate change because it’s large and frightening. If you want a clear understanding but short read – this book is an excellent choice. I also recommend it for high school students.
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Climate, Culture, Change By Timothy B. Leduc
Title: Climate, Culture, Change: Inuit and Western Dialogues with a Warming North
Author: Timothy B. Leduc
Publication: University of Ottawa Press, 2010
Page count: 267
Reviewed by: Lydia Carpenter
Date reviewed: Dec 6, 2011
Dr. Timothy Leduc is an Assistant Professor at York University whose research focuses on different intellectual views on regional changes to climate research. In his book Climate, Culture and Change Leduc engages in several different understandings of Inuit ecological and cultural views of today’s northern warming. Dr. Leduc outlines how we might begin to think about the multiple dimension of Inuit Qaujimatuqangit (IQ) (Inuit way of knowing) and brings IQ into dialogue with Western interdisciplinary climate research and culture and Canadian politics
Leduc explores current government policy around climate change and Western culture, politics, economics and religious beliefs. The author suggests that by delaying hard CO2 emission reductions targets Prime Minister Harper’s historic apology to the Inuit regarding the colonial past of the Canadian Government is limited. Without looking and questioning Western culture and economic drivers, including an increasing dependence on fossil fuels, can colonialism be addressed:
“Prime Minister Harper’s colonial apology to Inuit is historically limited by an approach to Climate Change that projects the economic benefits of the tar sands and melting Northwest Passage will outstrip the externalized costs of Northern Warming.”
Climate, Culture and Change is an extremely important book that measures the “cultural scope” of climate change as it relates to political, economic and scientific uncertainties. Drawing on examples from current Conservative Government environmental policies, Leduc keeps us attuned to our colonial past, present and future.
This is a necessary book that I would recommend to those interested in the cultural dimension of climate change, Inuit Quajimatuqangit (IQ), and the continued impact of colonialism and colonial practice on the dynamics of IQ and Northern Warming.
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Keeping our cool by Andrew Weaver
Title: Keeping Our Cool: Canada in a warming world
Author: Andrew Weaver
Publication: Viking, 2008
Page count: 323
Reviewed by: Lydia Carpenter
Date reviewed: Aug 17, 2011
Dr Andrew Weaver, a professor and researcher at the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Victoria, is often referred to as Canada’s top climate scientist. In his book “Keeping Our Cool: Canada in a warming world” Dr. Weaver begins by providing insight into the climate change ‘debate’ fallacy. He eloquently rejects that there is a debate about climate change and is critical of the media’s need to create an artificial sense of balance between scientists on the one side and policy makers, lobbyists, journalists and commentators on the other.
He is clear, unwavering and pragmatic in his defense of climate change science against the claims of non-scientists. He defends the need for a book that takes a comprehensive look at global warming and climate change by a climate scientist and in so doing he acknowledges that: “… for the average person, the scientific jargon emanating from [the] mouths [of scientists] translates into gobbledygook.” However this book is not gobbledygook, but rather very clear.
Dr Weaver does a fantastic job of presenting climate science in an inclusive and clear way. Using cues from news media, naysayers and general misunderstandings around climate change science he presents each issue individually to explain the complex science of global warming. Using a myriad of scientific references, Weaver explains historic carbon levels and the importance of ice core records, the complexity of climate feedbacks, what triggers an ice age, and the great ocean conveyor belt among other phenomena.
Furthermore, he presents a compelling case for why we must act now and reduce our green house gas emissions. He outlines the ecological and socio-economic impacts of climate change and addresses issues of mitigation and adaptation. He presents a compelling case for why we must act and is respectful and tactful in doing so.
I recommend this book to those individuals who need clarification and are seeking a better understanding of climate science as it relates to climate change. Weaver’s pragmatic approach makes this a good book for anyone that might have questions about climate science and the misrepresentation of this science by the media.
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Now or Never by Tim Flannery
Title: Now or Never: Why We Need to Act Now to Create a Sustainable Future
Author: Tim Flannery
Publication: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010
Page count: 192
Reviewed by: Steve Rauh
Date: Jan 7, 2011
Now or Never: Why We Need to Act Now to Create a Sustainable Future is the title of Tim Flannery’s book length call to action essay on Climate Change. In his book, Tim Flannery is calling for a worldwide shift in values and actions. The climate change polls swing back and forth and the climate change movement is global but disperse. However, the science of climate change leads to the certain conclusion that we need to act now or never.
Flannery turns to climatologist Jim Hansen to state the case: “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that in which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, palaeoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.” In other words, not only stop polluting, but capture almost 1/10th of the pollution that is already in the atmosphere.
Flannery devotes most of his essay to describing ways he believes we can accomplish the task of reducing atmospheric pollution. He addresses the question of stopping the pollution by looking at the “coal conundrum”, and America’s new leadership. He addresses the need to capture pollution by looking at agriculture and forestry.
He does not, however, address the question of political will. I assume that is because he knows the answer to that question lies in the actions that you and I take. Somehow we need to convert anxiety, worry and confusion into action.
I believe that the cliché that where there is a will, there is a way, and the miraculous thing about the human will is that sometimes it appears out of nowhere, when you least expect it. Flannery believes that now is the time for a voice to arise to protect the earth.
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Climate Cover-up by James Hoggan
Title: Climate Cover-up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming
Author: James Hoggan with Richard Littlemore
Publication: Greystone, 2009
Page count: 235
Reviewed by: Curt Hull
Date reviewed: Dec 29, 2010
Why are there two realities on climate change? Why do scientists and international policy makers work on solutions while editorials, op-ed pages, blogs, Internet commentators, and the US Congress continue to scream “debate” and cry “climate-hoax”.
It is not an accident. There is a denial industry out there. They are wealthy. They are powerful. They are determined. They are clever. They want you to continue to think that greenhouse gas reduction is ruinous and unnecessary and to support politicians who think the same. They have been ruthlessly successful.
Hoggan and Littlemore are founders of DeSmogBlog.com and they come at this subject almost as insiders. James Hoggan owns a successful public relations firm. Richard Littlemore is a newspaperman. They understand marketing and journalism. They are aghast at how their professions are being used by this denial industry to promote a greedy and self-serving agenda that puts coming generations at risk.
In Climate Cover-up, Hoggan and Littlemore reveal the mechanics behind this industry: how they use the language to shape a message that keeps us debating instead of acting, where the money comes from, (big oil, big coal and the Koch brothers), and what their key tools are (manipulated media, “astroturf” organizations, SLAPP law suits, junk scientists, and biased “think tanks”).
This book may make you angry. Undoubtedly, it will make you aware of the messages you are receiving, who is sending them, and the meaning behind the message.
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The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery
Title: The Weather Makers: How we are changing the climate and what it means for life on Earth
Author: Tim Flannery
Publication: Harper Collins, 2005
Page count: 315
Reviewed by: Curt Hull
Date reviewed: Dec 29, 2010
Reading Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers is a very approachable way to learn about the science of climate change.
The book is in 5 sections. The first three sections describe natural and historical climate change, the mechanisms of greenhouse gas induced climate change and what some of the possible futures may be. The last two sections deal with current and possible future solutions.
For me, the most powerful message was in the first three sections. Flannery describes how Earth acts as a control system with mechanisms that maintain a stable balance - a steady-state. If the balance is pushed too far, the system will find a new steady-state that may be stable but may be considerably different than the last steady-state. Such historical shifts are “time gateways” that result in the boundaries between epochs. There are three agents powerful enough to precipitate such precipitous change: shifting of continents, cosmic collisions, and “climate driving forces such as greenhouse gases”. There are positive feedback mechanisms that if we push them too far, could result in large shifts in global temperatures rather than just incremental increases. With this perspective, Flannery shows how huge the consequences of our continued buildup of greenhouse gases may be.
I recommend this book as an excellent compliment to Heat in your climate change library. Whereas Heat concentrates on solution, The Weather Makers gives a thorough understanding of causes and potential impacts.
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Heat by George Monbiot
Title: Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning
Author: George Monbiot
Publication: Doubleday Canada, 2006
Page count: 215
Reviewed by: Curt Hull
Date reviewed: Dec 17, 2010
Okay, so you have accepted that the climate is changing rapidly and that human influenced greenhouse gas emissions are a main cause. You have decided that something needs to be done. But how much will it take? Can we make the changes and still cook our food, light & heat our homes, and move about? Has anyone analyzed the solution to determine if it is possible and what is involved? George Monbiot has done just that and he has put it in this book.
In Heat, Monbiot quantifies what we need to do– reduce our carbon emissions by 90% by 2030. He also explains why – where those numbers come from and why the date is important. He then looks at each of the most important areas that need to be changed to reach that objective. (home construction, energy use, energy production, transportation, air travel, comsumerism) He quantifies the gains that can be achieved by each solution as he builds a case to say that a solution is plausible and possible if we tackle it earnestly and soon.
I really like the way Monbiot thinks and writes. He has been writing about climate change for many years in The Guardian newspaper from Manchester, England. His knowledge of the subject and his clear writing style has attracted legions of devoted readers from around the world to his on-line column.
In this book, Monbiot is clear and methodical in both his thinking and his writing, but he is never boring. He puts enough of himself into what he says to make you feel like he is sitting in the room with you and you are having a good chat.
However, this book is written from an English perspective. The analyses don’t always relate to a Manitoban’s reality. But he outlines a methodology that should be repeated for Canadian circumstances.
I recommend this book as an essential piece of your climate change library. Some books are good for explaining the causes and impacts of climate change. Other books give lots of good ideas for solutions. This book takes a hard look at those solution ideas, crunches the numbers, and determines if they could work or not.
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Storms of My Grandchildren by James Hansen
Title: Storms Of My Grandchildren: The Truth About The Coming Climate Catastrophe And Our Last Chance To Save Humanity
Author: James Hansen
Publication: Bloomsbury, 2009
Page count: 304
Reviewed by: Shawna Plischke Culleton
Review date: Sep 7, 2010
Reading Storms of My Grandchildren by James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is rather a lot like learning about climate change from your own wise, and humorous, grandfather. Hansen’s conversational tone animates the history, science and politics of climate change in the United States.
In addition to a wealth of informative climate science (including a few gloomy predictions for our future if we continue to burn fossil fuels at current rates), Hansen provides concrete recommendations for change in this personal plea inspired by his worries for the future of his grandchildren and decades of being ignored by U.S. policy makers. While the original spark for the book was personal, most of Hansen’s recommendations are aimed at national policy makers, not individuals.
I found his assessment of climate change politics and the media to be his most compelling argument. Hansen complains that scientists who argue like lawyers defending a position (the climate change deniers, skeptics, or Contrarians) and not those searching for scientific truths have greater sway with media, culture, and government officials because they are winning rhetoricians - “balance” in the media, when it comes to climate change, does more harm than good. Hansen’s discussion of this pressing topic clarifies why climate change continues to be perceived as such a cloudy issue.
I would recommend this book to any reader with a strong appetite for climate science and U.S. political history. If you like your climate change a little less “science-y”, simply follow the author’s instructions and skip pages 36 – 51! Hansen’s tongue and cheek tone make this book an enjoyable read for those who are already committed to learning about climate change.
