This phenomenon has been observed over the past one or two centuries. But these solutions dont address the root cause of global warming. The policy director for the optimum population trust, the environmental thinktank, discusses books on global warming. In the 2004 ecothriller the day after tomorrow, director roland emmerich dramatized the potential consequences of accelerated global warming. Indeed, in midfebruary the temperature at the argentine research station on the antarctic peninsula hit 65 degrees fahrenheit, crushing the old record for the entire continent. Simulations here show that when carbon dioxide and a full suite of. Though this warming trend has been going on for a long time, its pace has significantly increased in the last hundred years due to the burning of fossil fuels. Ive read many climate change books and this is up there with the best.
Our future on a hotter planet, isbn 9780007209057 is a 2007 nonfiction book by author mark lynas about global warming. Scientists and kids explore global warming, lynne cherry. Suddenly, global warming has become an accepted fact of modern life, acknowledged as an imminent danger by. Veronica white global warming, along with the cutting and burning of forests and other critical habitats, is causing the loss of living species at a level comparable to the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. In six degrees, mark lynas sketches out what the real, tangible effects of our planets warming will be, degree by degree from the loss of coral reefs and mountain glaciers to, ultimately at 6 degrees, the elimination of most life. It summarizes the results from scientific papers on climate change, and it uses successive chapters to. Global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earths atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, cfcs, and other pollutants. May 19, 2015 cnns john sutter takes reader suggestions for the top nonfiction books on climate change. Jul 29, 2019 but beyond 2 degrees celsius of warming 3.
Oct 24, 2007 in 2001 the intergovernmental panel on climate change predicted that by the end of the century global temperatures would have risen by between 1. Global warming is the longterm warming of the planets overall temperature. They found a warming of between 2 and 3 degrees celsius 3. Climate change denial books and conservative think tanks. World on course for catastrophic 6 rise, reveal scientists. These essays will also guide you to learn about the causes, reasons, impact, relationship, similarities and future of climate change and global warming. The book looks and attempts to summarize results from scientific papers on climate change. Throughout the book, lynas makes several critical points about what must be done to counter the effects of our warming planet. Dangerous new hot zones are spreading around the world. A shift of a single degree is barely perceptible to human skin, but its not human skin were talking about. Sealevel rise would likely be limited to below 2 meters only if warming were kept to well below 1. This is a 2007 2008 in usa book about global warming. The international herald tribune has already posted it on their site which has no subscription wall to.
A draft report from the ipcc says only huge and rapid change in the way we live can keep global warming below 1. As the volume of greenhouse gases increases yearly, scientists are warning that the global average temperature could increase by as much as 6 degrees celsius over the next century, which would cause our world to change radically. Greenhousegas emission targets for limiting global. The evidence that global warming is being driven by carbon dioxide from fossil fuels is straightforward and incontrovertible. Flight behavior by barbara kingsolver, six degrees by mark lynas, the uninhabitable earth. Based on authoritative scientific articles, the latest computer models, and information about past warm events in earth history, six degrees promises to be an eyeopening warning that humanity will ignore at its peril.
A degree by degree explanation of what will happen when. Once weve reached 6 degrees, which is projected to happen by the end of the 21st century, most life on earth would be eliminated, too. List of books and articles about global warming online. The book offers you a detailed and graphic guide through the science of global warming, based on scientific articles, computer models and information about past warm events. By combining stock footage with computergenerated imagery, the national geographic special six degrees could change the world serves as a sort of nonfiction counterpoint.
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the worlds atmosphere and oceans since the preindustrial age. The politically defined threshold of dangerous climate change is an increase of 2 degrees celsius in the mean global temperature. Information presented in the book has been distilled from scientific literature on the subject. Global warming is a gradual increase in the earths temperature generally due to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, cfcs, and other pollutants. Written by the acclaimed author of high tide, this highly relevant and compelling book uses accessible journalistic prose to distill what environmental scientists portend about.
But 2 degrees of warming would mean essentially all. He has 6 degrees, including a phd from stanford in electrical engineering. The effects are compared to paleoclimatic studies, with six degrees of warming compared back to the cretaceous geologic period. It is an undisputed fact that the earths climate is changing, and although the scientific community continues to debate the exact correlation between human activity and climatic change, there is now almost universal consensus that humankind directly impacts earths climate an idea referred to as global warming.
In 2001 the intergovernmental panel on climate change predicted that by the end of the century global temperatures would have risen by between 1. Six degrees our future on a hotter planet by mark lynas 336 pp. Written by the acclaimed author of high tide, this highly relevant and compelling book uses accessible journalistic prose to distill what environmental. This change has disturbed the climatic pattern of the earth. Nov 18, 2009 the world is now firmly on course for the worstcase scenario in terms of climate change, with average global temperatures rising by up to 6c by the end of the century, leading scientists said. Oceans becoming more acidic after the industrial revolution is no accident. Mark lynass six degrees is first, a graceful yet massive synthesis of a very large selection of scientific research papers. Our future on a hotter planet 358 pages, isbn 9780007209057 is a 2007 2008 in usa nonfiction book by author mark lynas about global warming. Its contributors include many of australias most eminent and internationally recognized climate scientists, climate policy makers and policy analysts. The best books on global warming five books expert.
Six degrees summarises the likely consequences of global warming into a form that an interested layman like me can digest without being overwhelmed. The book uk edition seems to imply that global average temperature could rise by 6 c by the end of the 21st century. Unchecked global warming could collapse whole ecosystems. Includes a volume on the wildlife of borneo alongside dh lawrences the rainbow. Six degrees is one of the best global warming books for anyone new to the topic. Some scientists argue that it should really be measured since 1750. Since 1880, the earths average temperature has risen about 1 degree celsius or 1. The most widelydiscussed are the coping solutions that deal with the immediate effects such as a rising sea level and flooding. Yet there are now suggestions that we should consider a 3 degrees c warming cap, even though the earths history suggests that with warming of 23c the new equilibrium sea level will include not only most of the ice from greenland and west antarctica, but a portion of east antarctica, raising sea level of the order of 25 meters. The wri report is entirely designed to blame developing countries for sharing the responsibility for global warming. And we sure dont want to accumulate six of them, writes cnns john sutter. Global warming is the phenomenon of gradual increase in temperature near the earths surface. Top 10 scientists refuting agw manmade global warming. Mark lynas on how global warming will affect the earth.
It is a major aspect of climate change, and has been demonstrated by the instrumental temperature record which shows global warming of around 1 c since the preindustrial period, although the bulk of this 0. Global warming is pushing pacific salmon to the brink. If this scenario were to occur, it would not only be the end of human life as we know it, but the death of the earth we know as well. Through its six chapters, the author describes changes to the global climate, which are likely to occur, as the planet warms up degree by degree from one degree to six degrees over this century. For any amount of global warming, the ocean, which covers 70 percent of. I initially distrusted the book because it was written by a journalist and not a scientist but it.
Global warming refers to the longterm rise in the average temperature of the earths climate system. Climate has changed when the planet received more or less sunlight due to subtle shifts in its orbit, as the atmosphere or surface changed, or when the suns energy varied. A 6degree increase would eliminate most life on earth, including much of humanity. Global warming and its effects, such as more intense summer and winter storms, are also referred to as climate change. Research shows that if greenhouse gases arent reduced, climate change will create a permanent. Possibly the most graphic treatment of global warming that has yet been published, six degrees is what readers of al gores bestselling an inconvenient truth. However, the concept of global warming is quite controversial.
Find high quality essays on global warming and climate change especially written for school, college and university students. This thoughtprovoking film tackles in startling detail the alarming changes that may face us all. It is far too late to stop global warming, but these next ten years seem as if they may be our last chance to limit the chaos. A 6 degree increase would eliminate most life on earth, including much of humanity. Even if global warming is limited to 2c, global mean sea level could continue to rise, with some estimates ranging between 1. Our future on a hotter planet by mark lynas 360pp, fourth estate. The accumulation in the earths atmosphere of these gases is mainly the result of the gargantuan consumption of the developed countries, particularly the united states. A degree by degree explanation of what will happen when the earth warms. May 03, 20 6 degrees argument analysis may 3, 20 by jenny chen after i finished reading mark lynas book, six degrees.
Cnn climate change is the canvas on which the history of the 21st century will be painted. Possibly the most graphic treatment of global warming that has yet bee. Six degrees takes its title from the range of global warming potentially in train according to the uns ipcc international panel on climate change, for the year 2100. Jan 01, 2007 six degrees summarises the likely consequences of global warming into a form that an interested layman like me can digest without being overwhelmed. Ocean acidification is often called global warmings evil twin. As the human population has increased, so has the volume of fossil fuels burned.
Australia in a hot world outlines the expected consequences of this world for australia and its region. Throughout its long history, earth has warmed and cooled time and again. An introduction to global warming for students in grades 68. The best books on global warming recommended by rosamund mcdougall. In each chapter, you learn how each additional degree of warming will impact rivers, oceans. After i finished reading mark lynas book, six degrees. Our data set consists of the population of englishlanguage books assigned an international standard book number isbn that espouse various forms of climate change denial. Read these 3 books about global warming the new york times. A degree by degree explanation of what will happen when the. Mahowald is one of more than 90 global experts who wrote the special report. As humans burn more and more fossil fuels, the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere continues to rise, driving climate change and making both air and sea temperatures hotter and hotter. Why half a degree of global warming is a big deal the. But, the scientists have provided relevant data in. Even if greenhouse emissions stopped overnight the concentrations already in the atmosphere would still mean a global rise of between 0.
David evans used to work for the australian greenhouse office the main modeler of carbon in australias biosphere from 1999 to 2005. Six degrees takes its title from the range of global warming potentially in train according to the uns ipcc international panel on climate change. Since the early 20th century, earths mean surface temperature has increased by about 0. Adapted for a new generation, al gore a downtoearth guide to global warming, laurie david and cambria gordon how do we know what we know about our changing climate. The world is now firmly on course for the worstcase scenario in terms of climate change, with average global temperatures rising by up to 6c by the end of the century, leading scientists said. Temperatures increased in michigan, especially traverse city, where theyre up 2. It summarizes the results from scientific papers on climate change, and it uses successive chapters to describe the worlds climate at 1c, 2c, on up to 6c rise of average temperatures. They include a pulitzer winner and an illustrated comic. This title offers an objective look at the controversial topic of global warming. Global food supplies, especially in the tropics, will also be affected but while two degrees of warming will be survivable for most humans, a third of. Hurricanes, tornadoes and volcanoes are all natural disasters.
Our future on a hotter planet, i have to say that it was one of the most alarming yet compelling books that i have read regarding climate change. The risks decrease and arrive more slowly if global warming is capped at less than 3. How we know that global warming is real washington post. The main point made by lynas in the novel is essentially that six degrees of warming is a prospect more devastating than anything humanity has ever faced and will ever face. Aug 03, 2018 here are three books that predict how global warming may affect humanity and what we can still do. Possibly the most graphic treatment of global warming that has yet been published, six degrees is what readers of al gores bestselling an inconvenient truth or ross gelbspans boiling point will turn to next. Apr 23, 2007 global food supplies, especially in the tropics, will also be affected but while two degrees of warming will be survivable for most humans, a third of all species alive today may be driven to. Suddenly, global warming has become an accepted fact of modern life, acknowledged as an imminent danger by everyone except a few cranks, mavericks and members of the bush family. Here are three books that predict how global warming may affect humanity and what we can still do.
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