Product Description
Few aristocratic English families of the twentieth century enjoyed the glamorous notoriety of the infamous Mitford sisters. Nancy Mitford's most famous novels, The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, satirize British aristocracy in the twenties and thirties through the amorous adventures of the Radletts, an exuberantly unconventional family closely modelled on Mitford's own.

The Radletts of Alconleigh occupy the heights of genteel eccentricity, from terrifying Lord Alconleigh (who, like Mitford's father, used to hunt his children with bloodhounds when foxes were not available), to his gentle wife, Sadie, their wayward daughter Linda, and the other six lively Radlett children. Mitford's wickedly funny prose follows these characters through misguided marriages and dramatic love affairs, as the shadow of World War II begins to close in on their rapidly vanishing world.Amazon.com Review
Few aristocratic English families of the 20th century have enjoyed quitethe delicious notoriety that the Mitford sisters courted in the yearsbracketed by two world wars. For a start, two of the girls, Unity andDiana, were Fascists (the former was a friend of Hitler and Goebbels, andthe latter married Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union ofFascists). Two others took the writing route: Jessica ranaway from home and became a famous muckraking journalist, and Nancycomposed maliciously witty--and transparently autobiographical--novels aswell as several biographies. The Pursuit of Love (1945), hergreatest fictional success, and its companion, Love in a ColdClimate (1949), keep closely to the spirit (and details) of theiryouthful amusements and more grown-up adventures.

Seen through the adoring eyes of Fanny Logan, the self-effacing cousinwho records their shenanigans with a wicked sincerity, the Radletts ofAlconleigh shine with Gloucestershire glamour: apoplectic Uncle Matthew;Lord Alconleigh (modeled to a fine nuance after Mitford's father, LordRedesdale, who like Uncle Matthew used to hunt his children withbloodhounds); his kind, rather vague wife, Aunt Sadie; as well as Fanny'sfavoritecousin Linda and the other six Radlett children. The Radlett daughtersand Fanny wait impatiently for life tobecome interesting. Because of their station, however, nothing butmarriage is expected of them, so they hurl themselves at love likecrusaders, with varied and always fascinating results. At one point Fannyrecounts:

A few minutes only after Linda had left me to go back to London,Christian and the comrades, I had another caller. This time it was LordMerlin...."This is a bad business," he said, abruptly, and withoutpreamble, though I had not seen him for several years. "I'm just backfrom Rome, and what do I find--Linda and Christian Talbot. It's anextraordinary thing that I can't ever leave England without Lindagetting herself mixed up with some thoroughly undesirable character.This is a disaster--how far has it gone? Can nothing be done?"

Customer Reviews (36)

Really fun!!
There were parts in Pursuit of Love that I was laughing so hard I was crying! There are two stories in this anthology, and I really liked Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate a bit less.Both stories are told through the eyes of Fanny who having been abandoned by her trampy mother is raised by the mother's sisters and grows up with her cousins.THere are assorted relatives, who provide the majority of the humour, who live or frequent Fanny's home.Pursuit of Love focuses on cousin Linda and her loves, mis loves and...well I won't tell you all.
Love in a Cold Climate, also narrated by Fanny, tells the story of Polly the friend and neighbor.This story I found less entertaining, maybe I was expecting a continuation of Pursuit of Love, or maybe because the story focuses on an ultimately much sadder story involving estrangement between a daughter and her clueless mother.Its a bit colder story..as the title would suggest.
The stories will educate you on all sorts of entertaining English frases, and great nick names, like Fanny's mom who is called Bolter...because she bolted on her daughter. The stories are both very interesting looks at the English aristocracy at the cusp of the second world war, well told with much insight and, in one case, a great deal of humour.

Delightful Reading
Based on lives (focusing on one Linda) of privilege in England before and briefly during WWII, The Pursuit of Love is full of character, insight, wit and fantastic characters. The view this book offers of an existence few of us will ever know is never off-putting. I felt what she did for the people her characters are drawn from and I smiled and laughed a lot. Mitford's writing is full of warmth, heart and bright humor. The delivery is honest and natural. Her style is, of course, wonderfully English. A story I did not want to end. Great, great fun.

Update: Just read Love in a Cold Climate. Not as cohesive and enthralling as The Pursuit of Love but very, very good. Loved this book.

Satisfied Me After Done with Jeeves, Bertie, Mapp and Lucia
In my dotage, I have felt the need to abandon in part contemporary fiction and return to earlier classics which I never got around to reading before.I first tackled every single Jeeves & Wooster by P. G. Wodehouse.I was very sad after finishing as they had become my best friends.Then I had the exact same reaction to reading all of Mapp and Lucia by E. F. Benson. In desperation I turned to a long time friend who has never read anything but this earlier fiction and she sent me on to Nancy Mitford's books.These are my first two Mitfords.Alas, I find myself sinking under the very same spell.My friend has me preparing ahead this time so I have Patrick Dennis's Auntie Mame waiting in the wings as soon as I suffer pangs of loss over Mitford.

What is best about Mitford, just like Wodehouse and Benson, is her understanding of people within a certain niche of society and then rendering them in perfect prose portraits with great style, wit, grace and a light, sure hand.Thus, we meet the fictional alter egos of the Mitford clan as they grow up between the two world wars in England.They are titled and the father is in the house of Lords so there is a certain style of life that they follow down to the ground.These are not privileged wastrels or decadent leeches.In fact, the Mitford women, all six of them, went on to great success in anything which they attempted.

They are brought up in the country in the manor house of their father's estate.If you are picturing great luxury, forget it.The manor house is freezing as all of these huge houses were impossible to heat.The kids meet in the linen cupboard as it is the warmest room in the house.Their father, who is referred to by the narrator as Uncle Matthew, is the best character in the books.He is eccentric, strong willed, works hard on the land in his care and is a fanatic about the all the manly English pursuits of hunting and the like.When he runsout of animals to hunt, he makes his children stand in as prey.The people Uncle Matthew dislikes are generally well worth disliking. His mind can be changed though as in finding out someone he thought of as a leech is an excellent chef who will cook for him through the war years.

I could go on and on about the plots here but the really important thing is the portrayal of these English characters at this time in society.Their love lives, which rarely turn out for the best if they are beautiful and fascinating, are the supposed center of the books but I think the characters are far more universal in their appeal than just by how their love lives are going.

Also, it may take age to appreciate this aspect but I find myself resonating with the comic older characters more than the romantic younger ones.In addition to Uncle Matthew there is the illness obsessed Davey and a direct rival for Lady Catherine from PRIDE & PREJUDICE, to wit, Lady Montdore.

The books obviously love the eccentric people and hate the boring ones, no matter how virtuous, which again is about as universal in characterization as one can get. Also, one doesn't need to be English to be equally smitten by eccentric and fascinating people.

Mitford - Love in a Cold Climate/The Pursuit of Love
Haven't read the book yet, but it arrived quickly and in excellent condition.Have heard good things about the book, so look forward to reading it with great anticipation.Now...to find the time.

Witty, entertaining chronicle of a lost age
I'd read Mitford's books on Louis XIV and La Pompadour prior to these largely autobiographical novels. Mitford writes in an easy, flowing, engaging style.

These two novels are highly entertaining and yet insightful, ironic -- "I don't know quite why, but I felt somehow that Linda had been once more deceived in her emotions, that this explorer in the sandy waste had only seen another mirage. The lake was there, the trees were there, the thirsty camels had gone down to have their evening drink; alas, a few steps forward would reveal nothing but dust and desert as before." - The Pursuit of Love

Highly worthwhile reading. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Semi-insider view of Climate Wars
Although I read a lot about our Climate Wars, there is much in this book that I did not know.The author (Fred Pearce) is a UK reporter who talks directly with all sides of the debate and for that I will call him a semi-insider.He provides the time-sensitive context of many of the more celebrated emails extracted from Climate Research Unit (CRU) at University at East Anglia (UEA). For instance the "hide the decline" and "Mann's Nature trick" private email from Phil Jones (given in mid 1999 but released to the public in Nov 2009) was said by Sen Jim Inhofe in Dec 2009 to demonstrate that "the science [behind global warming] has been pretty much debunked" and "the science has been rigged".Let's explore that statement.For years the CRU has put out plots of the measured "instrumental" (aka thermometers) temperature data showing an approx 0.8C temperature increase since pre-industrial times mostly in two upturn periods 1910-1940, 1977-1998, other periods being essentially flat. It is the most fundamental evidence for global warming and the same data has been analyzed with similar results by NASA's GISS.Now according to Inhofe this data had really declined, the CRU knew that, and the "hide the decline" amounts to proof that they knew that but were fabricating data to say otherwise. But the context makes it clear that the "hide the deline" phrase was related to the Paleoclimatic data of over 1000+ years based on proxies, and not the instrumental temperature measurement starting globally in ~1850.The paleoclimatic researchers acknowledge "divergence" later than 1961 or 1981 (depending on the data set) in tree ring reconstructions which does not show consistent trends - temperatures from some trees went high, while others went down. Yet for the years 1850-1960, the tree ring data matches the temperature anomalies of the "instrumental record" quite well.So following Michael Mann's "hockey stick" article published by Nature magazine in 1998, the inconsistent paleoclimatic data (post 1961 or 1981) was replaced by an overlay of the "instrumental record" to display all the available (and reliable) data on one plot - this was "Mann's Nature's trick" which is not an attempt to deceive but an attempt to display all the relevant data on one plot.Jones was not "hiding the decline" in the instrumental data; instead he was hiding some of the latter unreliable Paleoclimatic data that they did not understand.This procedure was clearly pointed in Jones's text accompanying the plots as it was in Mann's papers earlier. No intent to "hide" anything and no "trick" was played. The "trick" referred to a data display choice and was shorthand in the context of private email between Jones and other climate researchers.Jones would have explained it more if he knew it was going to be a public text approx 10 years afterwards.And if by chance the Paleoclimatic data were totally debunked, global warming itself would remain as established fact by other data sources (instrumental record showing highest rates of heating since 1977 than ever recorded in the ice core data, satellite temperature records, sea level rise records, ocean heat records, etc).Boy that was detailed for a book review, but necessary to give the true context.

But one would be totally wrong, if one thought Pearce was merely a defender of the Climate Mainstream Scientists and a detractor of the Climate Skeptics. He starts out in chapter 1 by saying there are "no heroes" here - fault can be found in virtually all the players. Wrt the Mainstream, he comes down hard on Michael Mann (too sure of himself and verbose), Phil Jones (too eager to refuse release of data to the skeptics' FOI request), Rajendra Pachauri (too defensive about IPCC reports that actually had several mistakes in it among it's thousands of assertions), Kevin Trenberth (too quick to claim hurricane frequency was due to global warming); and not so hard on Tom Wigley (ex- CRU boss), Keith Briffa (tree ring researcher at CRU), and Stephen Schneider (Stanford U).Wrt the skeptics side, he comes down hard on Pat Michaels, Fred Seitz, Anthony Watts, Ross McKitrict, Bennie Peiser, Jim Inhofe, Myron Ebell (for being ideologically motivated and too adamant in scientific fields they did not understand fully);and not so hard on Steven McIntyre (data sleuth), Dick Lindzen (hurricane researcher from MIT), John Christy (climatologist from UAH). He discusses all the pointed technical discussions concerning the Hockey Stick, CRU email wording/context, GlacierGate, Yamal tree ring data, number of stations in the temperature data, and the accounting for Urban Heat Island effects.You will find plenty of "red meat" about CRU and Manistream Scientist "tribalism", lack of williingness to release data, and sloppiness in the caretake of data. You will also find plenty of details of who funds the many skeptics orgainzation (and a few who hide their funding),and the outlandish PR coming from that side (e.g calling GW a "hoax", with data maliciously "manipulated", the earth is actually cooling).As such both sides could use this book selectively to badmouth the other side.

But in the end, Pearce believes that the Mainstream Scientist position is the correct one as he stated in the first paragraph of the final chapter (I'd like to quote it but not sure that I should copyright-wise).Pearce just believes the details have to be cleaned up in a very public/transparent/thorough way. I agree.

After reading this, I feel a thorough reconstruction of all the available "original" data needs to be done by truly independent people doing the heavy analysis with all "sides" as watchdogs/guides all working together (may be too much to ask for). None of the three CRU email investigative teams have had the time or charter to do so. This will in all likelihood prove out the mainstream position of man-caused global warming and the need to control greenhouse gases. But nontheless the interested public needs and deserves convincing (if such is possible).I also would demand a opening up of the global warming skeptic organizations' email files/data(if they have any) to similiar scrutiny as the CRU has received, all in the interest of truth.

The book is well written (a few Britainisms) and reads like a detective story. I recommend it highly to interested parties. ... Read more

Product Description
"A landmark study in the struggle to contain climate change, the greatest challenge of our era. I urge everyone to read it."
Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States of America

Climate change differs from any other problem that, as collective humanity, we face today. If it goes unchecked, the consequences are likely to be catastrophic for human life on earth. Yet for most people, and for many policy-makers too, it tends to be a 'back of the mind' issue. We recognise its importance and even its urgency, but for the most part it is swamped by more immediate concerns. Politicians have woken up to the dangers, but at the moment their responses are mainly on the level of gesture rather than being, as they have to be, both concrete and radical.

Political action and intervention, on local, national and international levels, is going to have a decisive effect on whether or not we can limit global warming, as well as how we adapt to that already occurring. At the moment, however, Anthony Giddens argues controversially, we do not have a systematic politics of climate change. Politics-as-usual won't allow us to deal with the problems we face, while the recipes of the main challenger to orthodox politics, the green movement, are flawed at source. Giddens introduces a range of new concepts and proposals to fill in the gap, and examines in depth the connections between climate change and energy security.

This book is likely to become a classic in the field. It will be of appeal to everyone concerned about how we can cope with what amounts to a crisis for our civilisation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Carbon taxes better than carbon trading
This book offers to the climate change solution discussion the considerable informed experience of a renowned social scientist, political adviser and modern thinker. The short summary of this book is that national carbon taxes are the way to go, not carbon trading based on big international agreements like Kyoto. Climate action and agreement at the international level, like Kyoto, is unlikely to succeed or to produce significant results. Most fruitful is work at the national level, followed by the regional and bilateral level, where action can be based on self interest and targeted to specific needs and local conditions. New forms of collaboration may well be needed. International universal agreement, as the World Trade Organization has shown, is too hard to reach and too watered down to be meaningful. Going deeper, practical politics needs to be based on the key driving forces on the world scene: economics, energy and security. Projects that can combine two or more of these forces have greater potential, for example, the energy saving work in Germany and Sweden give both energy security and economic advantage. Finally, population control (reduction) and conflict resolution/stability can only be achieved in a convergent world, where poverty is eliminated and nations feel an equal responsibility. Until that time, the rich nations (and the rich segments of poorer nations?) must take the lead and solve their self-created problem. Corollary to this is that Kyoto CDM activities, in which rich nations get credit for carbon reduction projects that they finance in poor nations, are insignificant. What is needed is a complete restructuring of the existing developed nations' own economies to low carbon societies.

The author speaks from the practical experience of top political circles. Politicians and business leaders, who are probably the main intended audience, are well advised to listen. For an environmentally concerned person like myself, the main message is probably: vote for well-thought-out carbon taxes and other measures in your own country and stop hoping for a miracle from Kyoto.

Note: the author could have presented his main ideas in a more focused manner (there is a lot of extraneous material, particularly criticism of others, which detracts from his worthwhile contributions). Archie Duncanson, author of Ecology Begins at Home, [...].

Good on climate change, pretty feeble on the politics
This review first appeared on Oxfam's 'From Poverty to Power' blog on http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p

This is definitely the right subject - enough of `if I ruled the world' policy solutions by environmental snake-oil salesmen, what are the politics of getting a breakthrough on climate change in time to stop the earth frying? Giddens' new book even gets in a dig at his fellow LSE peer Nicholas Stern, saying `"Extraordinarily, there is no mention of politics in Stern's discussion, no analysis of power. It is as if the `global deal' will be reached as soon as the nations of the world see reason." Although there is a lot of good stuff in here, sadly, Giddens fails to deliver on the title's promise - lots of policy wonkery and techno-whizzery, but the politics is actually rather thin. Very frustrating.

Here are some of the main arguments:
- he starts off with a sideswipe at the Greens, claiming that their origin as a reaction to industrialization and modernity and insistence on participatory approaches to everything `is now more of a problem rather than any help'. He is particularly critical of the `precautionary principle', aka `better safe than sorry', arguing that when it comes to climate change, its opposite `he who hesitates is lost' is more relevant - hare argues that we must be prepared to take at least some technological risks in battling climate change.
- Similarly, he is critical of the hairshirtists: `most prescriptions are about saving, cutting back, retreating. Many are important, but no approach based mainly upon deprivation is going to work. We must create a positive model of a low carbon future. There is no such model at the moment.'
- He reckons the shock tactics and `politics of fear' practiced by some climate change activists undermines the chance of building a broad coalition, pointing out that Martin Luther King didn't stir people to action by declaring `I have a nightmare.'
- He's big on the state, bigger in fact than when he was when promoting the `Third Way' that so captivated Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. He believes `it will be national policy-making which will in the end determine how much progress really is made.' Climate change, he argues, requires an `ensuring state' not just an enabling one - there are now absolute carbon reduction targets that the state has to meet. However, he defaults to Blairite market-friendly approaches when he criticises the thinking behind the Green New Deal as being too much about governments picking winners.
- He's been listening to yet another LSE peer, Richard Layard: `We can no longer equate progress with economic growth. Above a certain level of affluence, growth no longer correlates highly with wider criteria of welfare. Placing the notion of welfare at the forefront might mesh very closely with climate change goals. Economic growth elevates emissions: what is the point of making a fetish of growth if in some large part it diminishes rather than promotes welfare?' He calls it `over-development' - nice.
- He insists on the need to reunite the debates on climate change and energy security. This is where he sees the real politics at work, (for good or ill) and this is where the solutions to climate change must lie.

Overall, he's much clearer on what he thinks won't work, than what will: he's critical of carbon markets (he prefers carbon taxes, provided their impact on inequality is taken into account). He thinks the Kyoto negotiators are largely wasting their breath, arguing that the process is like the WTO - a few systemically significant `major emitters' being held back from reaching agreement by the need for cat-herding universalism. Instead he thinks progress on reducing emissions (mitigation) will come through the climate equivalent of regional trade agreements between the big emitters, while the UN system channels finance to the poor countries to help them cope with the impacts (adaptation).

So what's missing? There are tantalising glimpses of history, but nowhere near enough substance - what have been the domestic and international conditions that allowed Sweden, Germany and others to get their emissions down in recent decades? Are they replicable or were they driven by specific events, national institutions, traditions etc? What magnitude of shock might shift governments sufficiently (The Great Depression? World War Two?), and where might it come from? What analogous international or national processes can be identified, like arms control, nuclear weapons reductions, bans on chemical warfare etc?

At its heart this shares the same weaknesses as Stern's work - a technocrat's view of climate change, with little emphasis on power or how change actually happens. It's much more about policies, planning and wise governments busily seeking win wins, along with the `peacetime politics' of diplomacy, agenda setting and shaping public opinion. He calls for consensus and urges politicians not to make climate change a party political issue, but has few ideas (beyond standing committees) about how to achieve this. This is exhortation not politics. None of it approaches the kind of radical political and institutional step change that is required to keep emissions within the planet's atmospheric limits.

`We have no politics of climate change' laments the introduction. After Lord Giddens' efforts, we still don't. And it's not as if the NGOs or anyone else really has a convincing answer, so the disappointment really matters. Anyone else want to give it a go?

... Read more

Product Description
The failure of the Copenhagen climate conference in December 2009 revealed major flaws in the way the world's policy makers have attempted to prevent dangerous levels of increases in global temperatures. The expert authors in this specially commissioned collection focus on the likely costs and benefits of a very wide range of policy options, including geo-engineering, mitigation of CO2, methane and 'black carbon', expanding forest, research and development of low-carbon energy and encouraging green technology transfer. For each policy, authors outline all of the costs, benefits and likely outcomes, in fully referenced, clearly presented chapters accompanied by shorter, critical alternative perspectives. To further stimulate debate, a panel of economists, including three Nobel laureates, evaluate and rank the attractiveness of the policies. This authoritative and thought-provoking book will challenge readers to form their own conclusions about the best ways to respond to global warming. ... Read more

Product Description
How did humankind deal with the extreme challenges of the last Ice Age? How have the relatively benign post-Ice Age conditions affected the evolution and spread of humanity across the globe? By setting our genetic history in the context of climate change during prehistory, the origin of many features of our modern world are identified and presented in this illuminating book. It reviews the aspects of our physiology and intellectual development that have been influenced by climatic factors, and how features of our lives - diet, language and the domestication of animals - are also the product of the climate in which we evolved. In short: climate change in prehistory has in many ways made us what we are today. Climate Change in Prehistory weaves together studies of the climate with anthropological, archaeological and historical studies, and will fascinate all those interested in the effects of climate on human development and history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A great read
This book is carefully written with all of the proper citations typical of an academic text. I found the author to be straightforward about what he knows and how he knows it. Also, Burroughs is not afraid to let you know when he is speculating as opposed to interpretations based on scientific facts. In the end the book is a great read. I recommend it to anyone interested in the climate that early homo sapiens evolved in.

Prehistory is still relevant
The primary theme of this book is that during prehistory (prior to about 10,000 years ago) wild swings and unpredictability in weather patterns prevented more complex adaptations such as agriculture. It was not until there was some stability after the melting of the ice sheets that agriculture, herding, cities, and higher population densities were possible.He postulates that as our own actions destabilize the current weather patterns, we may face the possibility that we cannot maintain our adaptations.He does not address this in any detail, but his perspective should cause us to start looking at the way we live in the hopes that we can adapt our stability-dependent systems to unstable weather patterns.

A Great Introduction to climate change(s)
Read this book if you are at all interested in climate change, evolution and the forces that gave rise to modern civilized life.

A balanced account of the latest thinking
At first I thought that "Climate Change in Prehistory" was too academic and stuffed with dry facts for the non-specialist reader.I changed my mind by the end.

There are certainly lots of facts and technical jargon, but these are enlivened by occasional gems of dry humour.The author has also struck a good balance with technical jargon.

The book is easy to read, although it is not a "popular" account by any means.

The author handles controversial topics well: such as the date of human occupation of the Amercas and the extinction of megafauna in Australia and the Americas. He presents the relevant research (including the occasional crackpot theory) and indicates where consensus or controversy exist.

Readers who want to dig deeper into specific issues have plenty of references and an excellent bibliography to get them started.

The book covers a surprisingly wide range of topics.For example, the effects of changing diets (meat vs carbohydrates) as humans changed from being hunter-gatherers to farmers is

described.The author seems to come to an implicit conclusion in relation to modern diets, but I won't give the game away by revealing it here.

Ancient history is generally taught as starting with the Egyptians and Mesopotamian civilisations, so most students have never been exposed to descriptions of what came before the

evolution of large, settled societies - probably because little beyond conjecture was known until quite recently.

Books such as "Climate Change in Prehistory" show how much we have learned about climate in pre-history in recent decades - and how much a study of the remote past can illuminate current
climate debates.

I was struck by how well Burroughs integrates information from a remarkably wide range of data into his book - ice cores, linguistics, pollen studies, oceanic sediments, tree rings to name just a few.

Readers new to the subject, or who are looking for a less-technical account, might be better off reading "The Long Summer" (Fagan) and "The Little Ice Age" (Grove).These are both excellent introductions to climate and its effects on humans since the last ice age.

"Climate Change in Prehistory" is an excellent book for readers who want to know the latest thinking about how climate has varied and affected humans since the last ice age.

Climate and Sociologic Developments 20 K Years Ago
Pre-history in this case is really defined in terms of the last ice age. In the first part of the book the author talks about relatively recent research into the weather changes in the last hundred thousand or so years. This is based on things like drilling cores into the ice in Greenland and Antarctica. Trapped air in bubbles in the ice provide clues to the climate at the time.

After that the author begins to look into the effects of these changes on life at the time. This includes both plant and animal life as well as human. The author contends, and with some very good reasoning, that the climatic conditions at the time did a lot to define an awful lot of things that we take for granted today, things like the differing gender roles, color blindness (men are about 20 times more likely to be color blind than women), migration patterns (a lot of the old thinking has been revised in view of DNA studies).

One striking point is the possibility or even likelyhood that there was a migration from Europe to America in the 20,000 year ago time period. This is was suggested by the similarity of arrowheads (the Clovis points) in America and parts of Europe. Then DNA evidence of Indians living around the Great Lakes seem to have a different lineage than the rest of the American Indians.

This is a new book that reflects the new theories that result from recent scientific discoveries. ... Read more

Product Description
Although global in scale, the impact of climate change will be felt at the local level. Refocusing our attention away from the ice shelves disintegrating in the Antarctic, the flooding of Pacific islands, and carbon inventories measured in billions of tons, Jerry Jenkins turns to changes that are already occurring much closer to home, changes that threaten to transform one of America's great wildernesses, the Adirondack region, into a damaged and unfamiliar landscape.

With the aid of comprehensive color illustrations, graphs, charts, and maps, Jenkins demonstrates the fundamental reality of climate change on a local level and presents his analysis and discussion of the available data for the Adirondacks. The region's culture, biology, and economy are already shifting rapidly: boreal species such as the spruce grouse are in decline, pests such as the mountain pine beetle and black-legged tick are moving in, and ski areas are suffering from lack of snow. Jenkins goes on to deliver a critical message: changes in personal energy consumption can fundamentally alter the present trajectory of global warming. Climate Change in the Adirondacks provides a road map for how individuals and communities whether inside the Blue Line or beyond can reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and lead the way toward a more responsible future. ... Read more

Product Description
Global warming: it's one of the hottest scientific and political issues of today. And yet we've all found ourselves asking . . .

- It's freezing outside--where's global warming now?
- Climate is always changing--how do we know this isn't just a cycle?
- Why should Christians care about global warming when we know the world won't end that way?

For all the talk about climate change, there's still a great deal of debate about what it all means, especially among Christians. A CLIMATE FOR CHANGE offers straightforward answers to these questions, without the spin. This book untangles the complex science and tackles many long-held misconceptions about global warming. Authored by a climate scientist and a pastor, A CLIMATE FOR CHANGE boldly explores the role our Christian faith can play in guiding our opinions on this important global issue. (2009) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

An Informative Book about Climate Change
Climate change is happening at the earth's core. It's warming lakes and there are changes in the weather. The thing that stuck out to me is that weather is different than what is happening. Yes there are record colds but it's how much the seasons are changing that is being effected. They use charts, graphs, and other facts. They even debunk the myths that people like Al Gore are trying to prove. They take real life examples and show how things have changed around the world.

It's not about politics. It's about the science of things. Looking back at temperature changes for hundreds of years. I was blown away by the detailed record keeping over the centuries. They wanted the straight facts not all the hot air that is blowing around about this topic. They laid it all out, what causes were happening both by nature and by man. We're causing the most problems.

The main problem with most of it is that it is expensive to change how we live. Yes, recycling does help but that is only one thing that can be done. Yet we are creatures of comfort. I loved the honesty of the authors that laid it all out for you. They even admitted that they didn't agree on everything. Statements throughout the book just made my eyes open even more. I may not understand it all. I am still learning but definitely want to read more on the subject.

The final thing that it left me with is something that I have always felt. I want to take care of the Earth that we do have. Yes there will be a new heaven and a new earth as it is stated in the Bible. I am concerned about what we have now.I also liked the fact that they gave you other sources to understand more of what is happening to our Earth. This is one book that will stick with me for a long time.

If you like Elmer Gantry, you'll luv this "book."
I applaud the energy of the authors and I really hate to rain on the parade but I have to do my best Paul Revere impression on this toxic book.If the system allowed, I would give it a zero rating.

I found this little "gem" in our church library this morning bearing the label "new" and have spent the last two hours reading it.That was about 90 minutes more than this work deserves.I would like to think that the authors mean well, but I also wonder whether or not they have simply sought out and found their niche for making money off a trusting Christian community just as the Elmer Gantry types learned to do 70 years ago.It may not be all their fault because the Christian community in the past 25 years has embraced the commercialization of the faith, and maybe that's standard operating procedure in their environment.But if so, this is a perfect example of why it is a very bad idea and cheapens the faith.

I will be blunt.This volume, in my opinion, is an intellectual, scientific and theological travesty--even if they are correct on the science, and in that I remain a sceptic due to the total lack of credibility of the science community. I am distressed that it found its way into our church library and that anyone would hold him or herself out as a Christian and publish such a lacking epistle intentionally to the Christian community.The authors would do well to read and study Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism, you know, that one with the line "a little learning is a dangerous thing."

Science has entered a period where it has become two ugly things at once: the grand Inquisitor where Truth is no longer its objective (money and conformity to the thinking of the money source have taken over as the goal) and where it has prostituted itself towards that objective.The search for Truth, Academic integrity and Academic freedom are relics of the past.It is all about money, and you do what it takes.And so, we start with what seems to be a bit of puffery in credentials.A little Google looking leads to the discovery that "Dr." Hayhoe is not a doctor of philosophy at all.Once you know that little fact, you then realize the unusual description of Hayhoe as a "climate scientist" with no mention of earned degrees. The book never states that she has a doctorate but the clear inference is there, and even some prior reviewers (and many news stories) have assumed such. According to Hayhoe's bio, she has a BA in physics and astronomy from University of Toronto and a masters degree in climate science studies from University of Illinois, no doctorate, and her position at Texas Tech is a "research associate professor", not the expert.The book itself has a bibliography of 38 pages, with a high percentage being web articles, and cites to only two of her own works, one a web-site URL on page 185 which appears to be a short report about climate in Chicago but the report is no longer available, the other on page 189, seemingly a similar report about California that looks to be five pages long. Hayhoe does get a lot of publicity but it does not seem she is in the category of a renowned leading expert.

There in fact are many real PhD climatologists around the world who would disagree with most of the "science" she claims to describe, but you would never know from the volume that any such real scientists even exist, except perhaps in her repetitively opaque (but less than scientific) argument that "some would deny....but...."I do not find that to be an acceptable way to dismiss the opposition--at least have the guts to put a name to your Goliath and then take your best shot, but don't put the burden on the reader to say "Well, what about Prof So-And-So who thinks you're nuts."

In that regard, Hayhoe claims over and over that the data is known and settled, yet the fact is that many of her scientific comrades were caught last year with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar of destroying and hiding data upon which their hypotheses rest, over a period of many years, claiming at the time that no back up data was preserved.Is Hayhoe claiming that she has a spare copy of the missing data?I doubt it, but she makes her claims nonetheless.

Overall, as a description of the science and the issues, this book is exceedingly misleading as a supposedly fair presentation of the facts and issues.I found it incredible and sorely deficient that not one footnote is found in the entire book. The reader is at a loss to evaluate the claims other than by faith--they look so nice in their pictures, so it must be true--or at best the reader can go to the bibliography and guess what was relied upon.As for the issue of cause even in a period of warming, exceedingly simplistic discussion is provided considering that well respected real climatologists disagree strongly with the premise.

The sophistication of writing and argument is not of high standard. Example:she starts with the anecdotal tear-jerker of the story of the Eskimo village of Kivalina. Fast forward to pages 19-20 and figure 7 re the Medieval Warming Period and what does she do but dismiss this rather dramatic climate period that first allowed colonization and when ended drove the Vikings out of Greenland and Labrador as a mere anecdotal event "only relevant to one particular region of the globe." I kid you not.

A few more obvious examples of the deficiency of the science arguments:

Hayhoe hides what would be the most easily understood evidence of the actual temperatures at relevant periods--her graphs and charts never use actual temperatures. And, at page 145-146 she actually glosses over the very substantial risk of poisoning little children from the mercury contamination of the pretzel fluorescent bulbs that are to be used to replace the incandescent ones, arguing that the risk is no more than found in a mercury thermometer.Most homes have no mercury thermometer at all any more since technology has made them obsolete, but they have dozens of light bulbs. Perhaps she just doesn't realize that in essence she is saying that the sacrifice of a few kids a year is a price she is willing to pay to get rid of the tradional light bulb.She also cites, at page 84, to hurricane Katrina in her discussion of enhanced storm strengths--this is totally irresponsible, and I don't get it.Katrina was a Cat 3 storm that took aim at a state with an unqualified governor and a more unqualified mayor.QED.

The authors also should have disclosed in the book the degree, if any, to which Hayhoe profits from the "scientific" views she espouses in this volume, both in her Texas Tech position and her private company (perhaps being paid to write papers that support the views of the grant issuers) considering from the description of her position at the university that her main endeavors relate to spreading the world according to Al Gore.The adage to Follow The Money applies.The question is rightfully asked.If the funding for her job comes from those who are content with and expect her to actively advocate her views, then the readers are entitled to know that.

I was particularly offended by Hayhoe's Canadian whack at "stupid" Americans.She is a Canadian transplant, as am I, and I spotted her Canadianism on page 56 where she lectures the reader on the difference between weather and climate. To understand the slight, you need to know that there is a goodly sized segment of Canadians who will belittle Americans at any and every opportunity. She tells the same apocryphal story I heard 30 years ago of the dumb Americans who arrive in Canada in July with snow skis strapped to their cars, but in all my many years in Canada I never saw or spoke to any Canadian who actually saw such happen, and I don't believe it for a nanosecond. Canadians have told this story for so long that they mayactually begin to believe it, and so it is possible that she believes it--but I don't and so, to me, on this alone her credibility grade goes to zero.

As for theological orthodoxy in caring for the down trodden, the book (I assume unintentionally, and out of ignorance) comes up woefully short as well.The authors seem content to relegate much of the world to perpetual poverty and misery for such is the inevitable result of the "solutions" of the environmental movement that they espouse.Likewise, they have no problem with the inherently racist policies of the movement pertaining to oil drilling--it's fine where the brown peoples live, but not good for the USA, page 153.Not very Christian.

I consider myself an avid environmentalist. I start with picking up the trash along our road. I would do many things differently if I held the power but they would be done with eyes open and with demand of integrity in the scientific community, and I would not play upon the goodwill of my Christian brethren.

All in all, I cringe at the thought that many church libraries will perpetuate this work that I think should be relegated to the ash heap.

Intellegent Data for Anyone
I've been interested in the climate change argument I've been digesting both sides of the debate for quite some time, and the authors provide a fresh perspective in this work. While a faith-based perspective is at the forefront of the book, it is really based on solid logic and scientific arguments that transcend much of the mainstream news. I believe it is a must-read for anyone wanting to see evidence of climate change from a balanced perspective.

Very clear, easily read, excellent documentation
A Climate for Change is a clearly written, engaging read, with a straightforward presentation of the facts behind today's concerns about global warming and the "positive feedback loops" that are exacerbating the effects of human actions.Written from the perspective of thoughtful Christians, the book challenges all to reflect on what would be loving Christian responses to the impacts of global warming, which will fall most heavily on those least able to move or adapt to its changes.The science data presented is very clear.There are colorful inserts that clearly depict the changing trends the world is experiencing.While respectful of the different responses that people of conviction may make, the authors suggest that, individually, we each will make choices, and those choices will have consequences.They encourage truly keeping God at our center, and choosing to do that which will honor God and best respect God's handiwork.

Very good book!
Book was very informative. Was surprised at the amount of scientific evidence mixed with spiritual uplifting in clearing the air on global warming! ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
In this new study of energy use and global climate change, Richard Wolfsonoutlines basic scienceconcepts as well as specific, contemporary applications in energyproduction and theirenvironmental consequences.Energy, Environment, and Climate isstructured on thepremisethat climate change is the dominant energy-related environmental issue of thetwenty-first century.Traditional concerns likepollution and conservation of energy resources are covered with clear,scientific explanations.Uniqueto this text, a full five chapters—about one-third of the content—are devoted toclimateand an understanding ofthe energy/climate link.Included are over 250 photographs andillustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantastic
I purchased this product because I have a DVD lecture series by the auther, Richard Wolfson, from the Teaching Company. The auther is a fantastic lecturer and can get his point across via the written word. I love it. ... Read more

Product Description
The vast majority of scientists agree that human activity has significantly increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere—most dramatically since the 1970s. In February 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that global warming is "unequivocal" and that human-produced carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are chiefly to blame, to a certainty of more than 90 percent. Yet global warming skeptics and ill-informed elected officials continue to dismiss this broad scientific consensus. In What We Know About Climate Change, MIT atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel outlines the basic science of global warming and how the current consensus has emerged. Although it is impossible to predict exactly when the most dramatic effects of global warming will be felt, he argues, we can be confident that we face real dangers. Emanuel, whose work was widely cited in media coverage of Hurricane Katrina, warns that global warming will contribute to an increase in the intensity and power of hurricanes and flooding and more rapidly advancing deserts.

But just as our actions have created the looming crisis, so too might they avert it. Emanuel calls for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gases and criticizes the media for playing down the dangers of global warming (and, in search of "balance," quoting extremists who deny its existence).

An afterword by environmental policy experts Judith Layzer and William Moomaw discusses how the United States could lead the way in the policy changes required to deal with global warming. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Good book but needs a 2nd edition...
This very short book explains the science of climate in simple and concise terms so that nearly anyone can understand it.In doing so, the author explains the tremendous uncertainties involved and that certainy is in fact impossible due to chaos theory.This may be embraced by deniers who scoff at gw.But it may also go the other way...gw may in fact turn out to be far more dangerous than currently thought.The author alludes to the possibility of a "tipping point" where the climate could abruptly change at the end of ch5.

Only one thing is certain- it is beyond human capacity to prevent disasters.We are only capable of reacting to them (and fingerpointing) after the fact.So if gw turns out to be a major problem, let's hope there's a quick and dirty tech fix.

Unfortunately, Emanuel discusses very little of the controversy... the book needs another ch to address this, including the "infamous" hockey stick (which is the only figure in the entire book).More specifically, the author should refute some of the silly arguements against gw, and also acknowledge where there is genuine controversy.The afterword also doesn't fit with the rest of the book.

Finally, the book is way too expensive given its length.In fact, as a public service, I think it should be a free e-book.Even so, it's definitely worth reading.

excellent overview of our scientific knowledge in the area of climate change
Kerry Emanuel is one of the world's foremost experts on hurricanes, a professor of atmospheric science in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT. In this *excellent* little book he describes the basics of our scientific knowledge in the area of climate change, without succumbing to the temptation of presenting a heated polemic that so often accompanies this topic.Rather, he straightforwardly describes the science -- noting its complexity and not under- or over-stating its uncertainties.What's left is a truly informative look at the current state of our understanding and the firm belief that continued study will refine our knowledge.

A waste of good paper
I was looking for a book that would explain to me how man made climate change works.This book didn't do that.There is no evidence or explanation offered for how the climate works or how man affects it in this book. This book asks you to have faith in the theory and just believe in it even when the author can offer no good reason to do so.If you are looking for a thin book filled with nothing more than propaganda this is your book but if you are looking for what is known about climate change find another book because this one fails to enlighten.

Recomended
This is better described as a long pamphlet rather than a book.It is a bit overpriced at $10.

Still, it is a very good concise description of the science of climate change.Dr. Emmanuel does a good job outlining what we know and where the uncertainties lie.The subject is so complex that a more concise explanation is probably not possible. I recommend that everyone read this "pamphlet" to better understand the science behind the issue.

The afterword of the book attempts to sketch how the problem could be solved.The authors make the point that we can solve climate change without damaging our economy.I don't understand other reviewers' criticism that the afterword is somehow biased or unrealistic.It is just meant to be thumbnail sketch of ways to solve the problem not a detailed plan.

Must Read
Every person should read this short book to see how complicated and interlaced the earth's weather system is. Then you can decide for yourself if we can change it either way. ... Read more

Product Description
The second edition of Dessler and Parson's acclaimed book provides an integrated treatment of the science, technology, economics, policy, and politics of climate change. Aimed at the educated non-specialist, and at courses in environmental policy or climate change, the book clearly lays out the scientific foundations of climate change, the issues in current policy debates, and the interactions between science and politics that make the climate change debate so contentious and confusing. This new edition is brought completely up to date to reflect the rapid movement of events related to climate change. In addition, all sections have been improved, in particular a more thorough primer on the basic science of climate change is included. The book also now integrates the discussion of contrarian claims with the discussion of current scientific knowledge; extends the discussion of cost and benefit estimates; and provides an improved glossary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

climate Con: How It Pays Off
What if CO2 emissions from 6,000 older inefficient PCs in Duluth could be reduced by half by replacing them with one big 5-acre computer in Des Moines run by just 88 people? Think of what we'd save in CO2 emissions!
We'll establish another UN bureaucracy with green jobbers to monitor this mitigation plan! And we'll finance it all - and a make a ton of money - with an annual fee per ton of CO2 emissions saved - paid by New Yorkers required by law to pony up - every year for the life of the computer in Des Moines, estimated at 20 years. We'll charge fees for any files printed in Des Moines and delivered to Duluth (but ignore the CO2 emissions generated in transit).
Along with the Teamsters, NGOs and bureaucrats, New Yorkers will be thrilled by this plan since these are green jobs and, after all, we're saving the planet!
And what could possibly be better than that?

[...]

Ludicrous right wing baloney.
Ludicrous right wing baloney. There have now been thousands of peer-reviewed professional papers published by seasoned relevant researchers demonstrating, not only historically out of bounds global climate CHANGE (not all of it will be warming), but statistically driven proof of human causality. How many peer reviewed studies have been published demonstrating a LACK of human causality? Anyone? Oh, that's right. It is zero, zip, nada. Right wingers lie about climate change but scientists go by the results, even if they contradict their possible pre-existing beliefs. I have seen quite a few professionals who have abandoned their prior skepticism about climate CHANGE (not all of it will be warming). Why is the British government leading the global effort to deal with the issue. Because they are scared spitless by the increasingly rapid loss of the Greenland icecap. NASA satellite measurements have recently shown that the loss rate has been twice that predicted only about 5 years ago. This leads to a great increase in 'bergs' being calved off of the edge of the icecap. These bergs float out into the northern Atlantic and slowly melt when they get in the warm current coming across from the Gulf. This influx of cold fresh water decreases the salinity of the so-called 'Atlantic conveyor' which carries heat from the warmer southern waters up to the area of the British Isles. The heat is released there, often in the form of warm precipitation, and the cooler resulting water sinks to the bottom due to its high salinity and flows back towards the south. Seabed deposits show that the Atlantic conveyor has totally stopped several times (at least) in the last 100,000 years. That is very much not a good thing. The loss of the added heat from the Atlantic conveyer basically makes the British Isles and much of western Europe almost uninhabitable and destroys any form of agriculture. Only the most incompetent leader would stand back and watch that sad fate developing without taking immediate strong action. I firmly believe that Tony Blair tried to maintain close ties with the current administration to get more influence over U.S. climate change policy. It remains to be seen whether that worked. And, yes, there have been numerous warming and cooling periods on Earth historically. Primarily driven by the increasing well understood Milankovitch cycles. The cycles run the earth's climate system with a little help (!) from the sun. The statistical variance in a cycle comes from other influences including human intervention.

Global Warming:Reality
Dessler and Parson have provided a welcome contribution on the subject of climate change. It is, of course, a nightmare for the climate change denial folks. Clearly written and making the critical distinction between science and political decision making, the authors lay out the case for a rapid response to a looming disaster. The book provides a counter balance for the nonsense being spewed forth by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Joanne Nova and Senator Orrin Hatch. It will not change the minds of politicians whose campaigns are funded by the energy industry, but it should sway the opinion of a literate public with its compelling arguments: 'We have met the enemy and he is us.'

excellent, brief introduction to the science and politics
In my effort to learn about climate change, I found it admittedly very difficult to read the lengthy IPCC reports (e.g. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis), so it's wonderful to have Dessler's and Parson's short, inexpensive book to give a guide to the findings of the IPCC, as well as to explain some of the politics in a calm, rational way. I think that any citizen genuinely interested in this topic should try to become familiar with the actual IPCC findings.

What is the IPCC ?What have they concluded ?How uncertain are the conclusions ?How have the policy makers reacted ?What are the scientific criticisms ?These issues are explained in this nice compact book.A very good aspect of this book is that it conforms to the standard practice of scientific argument: it shows data, describes theories (models), discusses how the theory fits data, explains the uncertainties, and (importantly) cites references.When looking into this subject, I suggest the reader beware of books or articles that are primarily "expert opinion" with no, or very little, reference to actual data.

The only reasons I didn't give 5 stars are: a) I would have liked it if the book could have covered the 2007 edition of IPCC report (maybe they will update it ?), and b) The book has a somewhat dry, academic style which probably will not make it very popular with a mass audience, hence limiting it's impact.At least it's short, though. Perhaps when they update it they can bring in a science writer to improve the style.

Eschew Obfuscation
I was disappointed in the writing.The book reads like a scientific treatise.The authors write, "This tangling of positive with normative claims, and of explicit arguments with unstated assumptions, obstructs reasoned deliberations on public policy."(p. 22.)OK.No doubt this is true.It borders on common sense and needs to be said.The problem is that, for the non-scientific person to whom this book is addressed, such language obstructs understanding.We don't talk that way.I gather that the authors are keen to be as objective and sound in their discussion as possible.Certainly this is commendable.Do they need to speak in these kinds of terms in order to be objective?Do they need to speak in such language in order to convey these basic concepts?Not to the degree they have done so.I give the book only four stars because I was anxious to learn more about this topic, and I was annoyed when an "accessible primer" is made unnecessarily difficult.I'm not planning in taking a degree in the subject. ... Read more

Product Description
This interdisciplinary volume aimed at graduate students and researchers provides a thorough grounding in the tools necessary for an appreciation of climate change and its implications. It discusses not only the primary concepts involved but also the mathematical, physical, chemical and biological basis for the component models and the sources of uncertainty, the assumptions made and the approximations introduced. Climate System Modeling addresses all aspects of the climate system: the atmosphere and the oceans, the cryosphere, terrestrial ecosystems and the biosphere, land surface processes and global biogeochemical cycles. As a comprehensive text it will appeal to students and researchers concerned with any aspect of climatology and the study of related topics in the broad earth and environmental sciences. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A heavy book with the most essential essentials
This book you can use to get a really good picture of what climate modelling really is. You should be somewhat into your studies and not a first year student. The book covers virtually every topic that is important if you want to build your own climate model. Do not try this, though; your PC cannot work with all the subsystems that are described in the volume. Following Schneiders 1982 book this is really guff! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (74)

Not scientific, no solutions offered
This work is by the Charlatan-in-Chief, the snake oil salesman of all time.This guy just wants to sell his carbon credits and has no concern at all for the climate, the environment, the well-being of humanity or the preservation of modern society.

Al Gore will go down in history as the laughing stock of the early 21st Century.

Climate change myth/facts
Check out this guys sources and debunking of climate change myths/facts.Learned alot. Read the banter between the two guys.Way funny after he picks apart this guys arguments. When he is left with nothing to argue about he resorts to name calling!
[...]

Hopeful and useful
Our Choice is as easy to read as a mystery novel. It has comprehensive descriptions of the newest climate research, and exciting accounts of technological innovations and social advances that could put us on a path out of the climate labyrinth.

A great read
I wager that the majority of the semi-literate reviewers who gave this book one star did not read it, but were merely parroting what they heard on Fox News or Rush Limbaugh about climate change, or engaging in ad hominem attacks on Al Gore. This is a very good read and a hopeful guide to our energy future. Why all the hate? Even if, through ignorance and anti-intellectualism, you don't agree that humans are causing global warming, why be against new technologies? Why oppose clean energy like wind, solar, and geothermal, that could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce the likelihood of oil spills like the current one in the Gulf of Mexico? What reason is there to be against progress and entrepreneurs and new ideas? I don't get it - these alternative sources of energy make sense no matter what. Unless you work for an oil company, I suppose.

A Detailed Look At Climate Solutions
This is a great book for a detailed look at the climate issues and climate solutions that are in front of us today. It can be at times, a bit tedious as it is a very analytical fact driven piece. However if you want a detailed look at the issues facing energy (solar, wind, nuclear, etc.) and our environment (soil, oceans, forests, etc.) then this is really what you need. Although a smaller touch, I really enjoyed the quotes and and insight offered periodically throughout the book. I definitely encourage anyone who is concerend about global warming and climate issues to read this book. In the end the book is an optimistic look at what is possible, and at the same time a sober reminder of what could be if we fail to act. ... Read more

Product Description
Climate change is now upon us. While mitigation is essential to reduce the future severity of climate change, it will take time and some effects will inevitably continue for centuries. Consequently, more attention is now also being directed to adaptation as a means of reducing losses. As the importance of adaptation becomes more apparent, there is need for wider appreciation and understanding of the concept and its potential as well as the obstacles to its effective deployment.

This reader, the first of its kind, pulls together and makes sense of the most significant writings on adaptation to climate change from the past two decades. An introduction maps out the field and traces the evolution of adaptation from a biological concept into a policy objective. The literature is divided into five sections. Part I: Adaptation Science includes papers that have been seminal in evolving the conceptual thinking about adaptation and tackles the complexities of adaptation typology and other conceptual issues. Part II: Adaptation, Coping and Resilience covers the specifics of what adaptation is and includes papers that feature case studies and examples of adaptation, discusses constraints to adaptation and examine adaptation vis-à-vis coping and resilience. Part III: Adaptation, Risk and Vulnerability includes papers that discuss the specific role that adaptation plays in reducing vulnerability to climate change and disaster risk and specifically the relationship between adaptation and risk management. Part IV: Adaptation and Development covers the relationship between future development and immense challenges posed by the needs of adaptation in a variety of contexts.Part V: Adaptation and Climate Change Policy presents material that discusses adaptation within the UNFCCC and also other policy mechanisms, such as insurance and legal issues arising from adaptation.

This is the ideal collection for students, policy makers, researchers, activists and NGOs and all people who need a solid grounding in all aspects of climate change adaptation.
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (38)

Clarifing the complex
I have read about a dozen books and hundreds of articles on climate change.This book conveys the best clear description of what we know and where more research needs to be done.The author shows where the sceptics have brought up a few valid questions and clearly states that we need more research on the effects of clouds and airborne pollutants.We are clearly putting mankind and the biosphere's future on the line.We must get this right since there will be no second chance.Please read this if you care about you children's future.

Comprehensive Overview
The author addresses the global warming issue through a multitude of dimensions in a journalistic style. He makes clear that it is far from likely that as global warming proceeds it will be a smooth linear process of things simply getting warmer. Global warming, assuming humanity does not take aggressive action to thwart it, will likely cross [a] critical threshold[s] that is/are followed by a cascade of catastrophic effects. Once this happens, humanity will essentially lose control of the matter; the wreck will have to play itself out.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS EVER WRITTEN ON GLOBAL WARMING
BEST BOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN CLIMATE CHANGE, BUT HAVE A SOMEWHAT OPEN MIND.

Written by one of Britain's leading science writers, "With Speed and Violence" is a fascinating read, traveling the globe and looking at the difference parts of the earth's ecosystem that could collapse as a result of the continued use of fossil fuels.

THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK I RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE.OK, sometimes I recommend my book first: Addicted to Energy: A Venture Capitalist's Perspective on How to Save Our Economy and Our Climate.

I highly recommend.

Global Tipping Points
This a fascinating book for all no matter how much knowledge one has with the subject of climate change.Climate change is important because it is something that will severely impact our world in devastating ways.Using 18 years of previous knowledge and research, Fred Pearce describes the effects and dangers of this phenomenon.By interviewing numerous researchers and scientists, most of whom are experts, he has proved that global climate change is indeed occurring; it is not just a myth.

Even though I have limited knowledge in this subject, this book was still easy to read and understand.Pearce does a fine job of explaining ideas in "non-science" ways so that all readers can understand his arguments.The information in this book is so extensive and detailed that any reader can turn into an expert on climate change.While he depicts the various problems that humankind will face in the future, he unfortunately does not give any advice on how to solve them.I was disappointed because it is now a known fact that our current generation as well as future generations will face tremendous problems as a result of climate change, some of which are already starting.Pearce interviews so many experts in this book and I would have liked to hear some thoughts on how to solve our current problem.But overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to anyone!

You Don't Know Climate Change Until You Read This Book
There's a reason why anthropogenic climate change, or human-caused global warming, has been very much in the news for years. No other field of science makes such sobering predictions of what the world could be like in the near future if humans continue to pollute the earth's atmosphere with greenhouse gases. The idea of global warming is not universally believed, of course. The fact that it is not is a great example of the scientific method at work. Theories must withstand the most rigorous and skeptical scrutiny before they are widely accepted as correct. The science of global warming gets stronger every day, though, and it is instructive to note that most skeptics are employed by oil, gas and chemical companies, and have huge financial stakes in playing down the consequences of the observations of earth's changing climate that even they cannot deny.

Global warming can seem to be a stately, gradual, incremental process that will not have big impacts on life as we know it for centuries. After all, who can get excited about an increase in the earth's average temperature of a couple of degrees? Who cares if sea levels rise a few inches? Would anyone even notice such small changes? If this is what you think, you need to read "With Speed and Violence." Author Fred Pearce presents compelling, well-documented evidence that global warming can profoundly alter the earth's climate on time scales of just a few years, or, in some really scary cases, in the space of a single season. Some of the possibilities he discusses make "The Day After Tomorrow" seem like a documentary.

This is not fringe science or sensationalistic journalism. "With Speed and Violence" reports the latest mainstream research (with references, so you can check out the peer-reviewed papers yourself if you want to) about "tipping points" in the earth's climatic system. These points are certain conditions of temperatures, greenhouse gas concentrations, ocean salinity, atmospheric aerosols, etc., that act like "on-off" switches, and can drastically change the climate very quickly if they are flipped. Here's just one example. In March 2002, the Larsen B ice shelf, a huge chunk of ice as big as Luxembourg and 650 feet thick, broke away from the coast of Antarctica and shattered to pieces. Its dramatic demise was almost certainly caused by air and water temperatures that had been warming gradually for almost 50 years. When Larsen B broke up, it did not itself have any effect on sea levels, because it was already floating (just as ice melting in a glass does not raise the water level). But it acted like a cork in a wine bottle for inland glaciers behind it. Now that Larsen B is not there to hold them back, these glaciers are flowing to the sea eight times faster than when the shelf was in place, and these glaciers DO raise sea levels when they calve icebergs into the water. There is enough ice in these now-released "speeding" glaciers to raise sea levels by nearly 20 feet. Thus can a local event have severe global consequences. A 20-foot sea level rise would flood coastal areas worldwide. Worse, there's no going back from a tipping point. We can't reassemble Larsen B and glue it back onto Antarctica. Once it's gone, it's gone, and everything changes.

"With Speed and Violence" covers scores of these potential "tipping points." Mr. Pearce presents each one in a very balanced manner, clearly not that of a wild-eyed fanatic. They will not all happen, of course, but even if just a few do, human society on earth could change beyond recognition. Drastic climate changes have happened before in the earth's history, and will certainly happen again. But, with our ongoing reckless consumption of fossil fuels, we seem determined to do everything we can to make the next climate cycle as fast, violent and hostile as possible. Can we afford to risk triggering conditions "beyond which there is no redemption," as the nation's top climate modeler warned in 2005? I heartily agree with Lester Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute: "If you can read only one book on climate change, this is it." Most highly recommended. Read it, think about it and then take action before its too late. ... Read more

Product Description

Climate Change Biology is a new textbook which examines this emerging discipline of human-induced climate change and the resulting shifts in the distributions of species and the timing of biological events. The text focuses on understanding the impacts of human-induced climate change, but draws on multiple lines of evidence, including paleoecology, modelling and current observation. Climate Change Biology lays out the scope and depth of understanding of this new discipline in terms that are accessible to students, managers and professional biologists.

Product Description
The debate about the existence of climate change seems finally at an end. We now have to decide what to do about it. Here, James Garvey argues that the ultimate rationale for action on climate change cannot be simply economic, political, scientific or social, though no doubt our decisions should be informed by such things. Instead, climate change is largely a moral problem. What we should do about it depends on what matters to us and what we think is right.This book is an introduction to the ethics of climate change. It considers a little climate science and a lot of moral philosophy, ultimately finding a way into the many possible positions associated with climate change. It is also a call for action, for doing something about the moral demands placed on both governments and individuals by the fact of climate change. This is a book about choices, responsibility, and where the moral weight falls on our warming world.Articulate, provocative and stimulating, this timely book will make a significant contribution to one of the most important debates of our time." Think Now" is a brand new series of stimulating and accessible books examining key contemporary social issues from a philosophical perspective. Written by experts in philosophy, these books offer sophisticated and provocative yet engaging writing on political and cultural themes of genuine concern to the educated reader. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Ethics
Accessible in terms of the science of climate change and the ethics.A bit too wonkish for the public in terms of ethical reasoning -- seemed more like an ethics course lecture in places.I am an ethics teacher and if I were teaching a course this book would be considered as a text.

Good information
I enjoyed the book.The author has good insights and a keen ability of helping the reader understand the ethical dilemma of American consumption and entitlement issues.

Compelling and Engaging
Garvey's writing style is like having a conversation with a good friend. Humors at times, the book is written in clear language that is both accessible and absorbing. The first part of the book gives a salient overview of what climate change actually is. A few well-chosen scientific findings are presented that clearly show climate change is happening and furthermore is linked directly to the activities of post industrial revolution humankind. This allows Garvey to establish credibility for the arguments presented in the second half of the book. Once this link has been firmly established, the moral and ethical implications are compelling and engaging.

A fascinating and stimulating read!
In today's avalanche of books and manuals on climate change who all want to be your best friend and show you `THE truth', this book stands out not only for its refreshing outlook but also for its crystal clear facts. The author has evidently done his homework, and not just on Aquinas or Aristotle but also on the tangible scientific data which is the only way for us to have an objective look at today's situation ; this is truly a multi-disciplinary effort.

Let me put it simply, this book is a very straight-forward, well-written and rather different (at least when it came out) approach to the issues of climate change. Rather than guilt-tripping us into saving the Earth (which has largely been the media's strategy) for economical, scientific or 'just-because-we-say-you-should' reasons, James Garvey presents a variety of interesting arguments mainly, but not exclusively-sourced in the field of moral philosophy through topics like choice, government, responsibility (to name a few). The question presented here isn't so much `is global warming our fault ?' but, `why should we care and where does the responsibility lie ?'

Having read some of the author's previous works, I would further emphasize how well-written this work is and add that of the many philosophy books I have read, his writing is never pompous and he doesn't resort to sensationalist claims (he doesn't need to anyway), making the topics he researches, deeply enjoyable explorations for the reader.

The book thankfully falls short of becoming another of those 'the idiot's guide to...'/pop-philosophy books which are sometimes far too simplistic. Nevertheless, the author's arguments are informed by good examples which can make sense today, to those who aren't always well-versed in philosophical debates and issues, while still captivating the interest of those who are.

While this is clearly a call to action, don't expect 180 pages of brainwashing.

A worthy read and purchase which I recommend, even to those who are dubious about climate change, its cause and whether or not it is truely going on. ... Read more

Product Description
In Future Scenarios, permaculture co-originator and leading sustainability innovator David Holmgren outlines four scenarios that bring to life the likely cultural, political, agricultural, and economic implications of peak oil and climate change, and the generations-long era of “energy descent” that faces us.

Customer Reviews (3)

Amazingly accessible book - Great Gift!
Considering how David Holmgren and Bill Mollison created Permaculture, I thought I'd go ahead and order this book on Future Scenarios: How Communities Can Adapt to Peak Oil and Climate Change to understand David's thoughts on these subjects.

I was prepared for another hard-to-read book similiar to the author's previous book: Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability.I found that book extremely difficult to get through, although it was filled with many great ideas.I can't say I'd recommend that book to anyone outside the sustainability field.My recommendation for learning about Permaculture remains Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison (pricey but by far the best).

When I started reading Future Scenarios, I was delighted to find that he must now either have a new editor or a ghost writer - This is an amazing book, relatively easy to read, and filled with ideas and perspectives on the future convergence of Peak Oil and Climate Change that I haven't read anywhere else.

I can easily recommend this book for all audiences, both experienced and those new to these concepts.I even gave this to my father to read as an introduction to Peak Oil.After reading this, he now wants to learn about Permaculture!

Holmgren's 'Future Scenarios' - an essential planning resource
I would recommend this short book to anyone who has the task of creating a workshop for a community to develop strategies to deal with the converging threats of Peak Oil and Climate Change. Or indeed for anyone, who wants to understand these issues.

It would be an ideal planning resource for a rural based intentional community and in particular one that has embraced permaculture principles.

The book is short but dense, in the sense that every sentence and diagram needs to be considered and understood.

David Holmgren explores the four scenarios that could each represent our most likely future, depending on how well and how quickly the world's political leaders deal with this greatest challenge humanity has ever faced.

This quote from the back cover explains it well: "Future Scenarios depicts four very different futures. Each is a permutation of mild or destructive climate change, combined with either slow or severe energy declines. Probable futures, explains Holmgren, range from the relatively benign 'Green Tech' scenario to the near catastrophic `Lifeboats' scenario."Future Scenarios: How Communities Can Adapt to Peak Oil and Climate Change

Encouragingly, the G8 have recently adopted the target of reducing emissions recommended by the world's climate scientists for not exceeding the critical 2ºC of average global warming ([...]). It remains to be seen whether individual countries will do the same.

Packed with invaluable applications for survival
FUTURE SCENARIOS: HOW COMMUNITIES CAN ADAPT TO PEAK OIL AND CLIMATE CHANGE should be in every general lending library's collection: it comes from a permaculture co-originator and sustainability innovator and shows how to adapt to the cultural, political and economic implications of two forces that will shape our world in years to come: peak oil and climate change. Packed with invaluable applications for survival, this is not to be missed.
... Read more

Product Description

Roughly a billion people around the world continue to live in state of chronic hunger and food insecurity. Unfortunately, efforts to improve their livelihoods must now unfold in the context of a rapidly changing climate, in which warming temperatures and changing rainfall regimes could threaten the basic productivity of the agricultural systems on which most of the world’s poor directly depend. But whether climate change represents a minor impediment or an existential threat to development is an area of substantial controversy, with different conclusions wrought from different methodologies and based on different data.

This book aims to resolve some of the controversy by exploring and comparing the different methodologies and data that scientists use to understand climate’s effects on food security. In explains the nature of the climate threat, the ways in which crops and farmers might respond, and the potential role for public and private investment to help agriculture adapt to a warmer world. This broader understanding should prove useful to both scientists charged with quantifying climate threats, and policy-makers responsible for crucial decisions about how to respond. The book is especially suitable as a companion to an interdisciplinary undergraduate or graduate level class.

Product Description
Providing a concise, up-to-date presentation of current knowledge of climate change and its implications for society as a whole, this new edition has been thoroughly updated and extended to include the latest information. The text describes the components of the global climate, considers how the many elements of climate combine to define its behaviour, and reviews how climate change is measured. The author discusses how the causes of climate change can be related to the evidence of change, and modelled to predict future changes. This book is ideally suited for introductory courses in meteorology, oceanography, environmental science, earth science, geography, agriculture and social science. It contains review questions at the end of each chapter to enable readers to monitor their understanding of the materials covered. This book should appeal to an audience with a keen interest in all aspects of the climate change debate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

good link between physics and divulgation
It's a very good synoptic overwiev of almost all aspects regrding this complex and actual argument. It's a very good link between too mathematical reading of many scientific papers and oversimplified divulgative texts.
Some notes:
there is a print error on page 176;
a syntesis with a diagram dealing of the global cyclic phenomena could help the reader to understand the magnitude of periods (or frequencies) interesting periodic or quasi-periodic events;
it would be more useful a trace on spectra and filtering, instead of the definition of variance;
maybe, a short paragraph on solutions of CO2 in the oceans would be interesting.
Other aspects which would be linkable to all of these could be, for instance, the immission of water vapour in the troposphere due to combustion, and if changes in Earth's angular momentum due to fuel extraction can lead to any change in climate stability.

A useful introduction to a controversial and complex topic
Many professional scientists need to rapidly access key information on specific aspects of a new domain of science they are vaguely familiar with. For me climate change falls in this category. I came across some very positive comments on this book and decided to make it my first introduction to the topic. I was particularly interested in measurements of climate change and broad descriptions of associated mathematics to guide me on planning the first steps on some work in that domain. I found chapters 4 and 5 particularly useful for that purpose. They provide appropriate qualitative descriptions of what I may need to look for in scientific papers to get me started on the development of some local empirical models.I found general discussions on the ENSO and other climatologic measurements of interactions between oceans and atmosphere pitched just at the right level. I will have no hesitation to recommend this text.

The next step
After reading some other text introducing the general topic of climate change, the next step should be this book. Burroughs does an excellent job of introducing the intermediate level to the concerned citizen. It is an unbiased account of the state of knowledge and covers a broad spectrum of climate change from statistical interpretation to continental drift. This is not a book for people that want to confirm alarmist or denialist positions, but a methodical (sometimes dry) walkthrough of the topic of climate change that require at least fundamental knowledge of natural science. Be prepared to do your homework though.

Well worth the (small) effort
There are parts of this book that make tough going for those of us whose career in the hard sciences ended with AP Chem II in high school, but give yourself time, read it over, and you'll get a handle on it. This is a good book for people who want to understand the basic sciences of weather and climate. ... Read more