The Weather Makers : How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth

by Tim Flannery | Science |
ISBN: 0871139359 Global Overview for this book
Registered by Antheras of Kitchener, Ontario Canada on 1/5/2006
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by Antheras from Kitchener, Ontario Canada on Thursday, January 5, 2006
From Publishers Weekly:
Starred Review. Mammologist and paleontologist Flannery (The Eternal Frontier), who in recent years has become well known for his controversial ideas on conservation, the environment and population control, presents a straightforward and powerfully written look at the connection between climate change and global warming. It's destined to become required reading following Hurricane Katrina as the focus shifts to the natural forces that may have produced such a devastating event. Much of the book's success is rooted in Flannery's succinct and fascinating insights into related topics, such as the differences between the terms greenhouse effect, global warming and climate change, and how the El Niño cycle of extreme climatic events "had a profound re-organising effect on nature." But the heart of the book is Flannery's impassioned look at the earth's "colossal" carbon dioxide pollution problem and his argument for how we can shift from our current global reliance on fossil fuels to a hydrogen-based economy. Flannery consistently produces the hard goods related to his main message that our environmental behavior makes us all "weather makers" who "already possess all the tools required to avoid catastrophic climate change."
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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.

Journal Entry 2 by Antheras from Kitchener, Ontario Canada on Wednesday, February 1, 2006
“Earth’s thermostat is a complex and delicate mechanism, at the heart of which lies carbon dioxide…”

Tim Flannery poses the question “Is climate change a terrible threat or a beat-up?” A compelling premise for his new work The Weather Makers: How we are changing the climate and what it means for life on earth. Climate change has become a “hot button” issue in most western countries and the challenges to clear-headed debate are addressed near the beginning of this work: “…climate change is difficult to evaluate dispassionately because it entails deep political and industrial implications, and because it arises from the core processes of our civilization’s success.”

The central character of climate change is CO2 – carbon dioxide. Everything we do on earth results in the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Humans now are weather makers by their very existence and growth as a species. Flannery authoritatively explains the interconnectedness of everything on the earth, likening it to the interconnectedness of the organs in a body. In such a system, pollutants cannot be forgotten for they continually work on the whole, degrading its health.

Flannery has combined his years of research and observation with the work of leading scientists. The result is an eloquent work that is readable yet not “dumbed down.” The message is clear and compelling: what our species has done to the earth cannot be easily shunted to the side and forgotten. As he states, “the most important thing to realize is that we can all make a difference and help combat climate change at almost no cost to our lifestyle. And in this, climate change is very different from other environmental issues such as biodiversity loss or the ozone hole.”

The Weather Makers is an important work for anyone interested in the future of our planet and should be required reading for today’s political leaders.

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