New Books About Climate Change

We have a number of new books about climate change. They make grim reading. The winds of change : climate, weather, and the destruction of civilizations by journalist Eugene Linden and The weather makers : how man is changing the climate and what it means for life on Earth by Australian mammalogist and paleontologist Tim Flannery are both readable. Both try to be as current as possible with research and events (both mention Hurricane Katrina, for example). The Flannery book has more in the way of references and other scholarly apparatus, and also has an action chart ('Check fuel efficiency next car = Up to 70% reduction in transport emissions').

Also there is Field notes from a catastrophe : man, nature, and climate change by Elizabeth Kolbert, based on her series of articles in the New Yorker; Thin ice : unlocking the secrets of climate in the world's highest mountains by Mark Bowen, a profile of climatologist Lonnie Thompson's studies of high mountain glaciers; and a section in the popular new book Why geography matters : three challenges facing America : climate change, the rise of China, and global terrorism by H. J. de Blij. These five titles are just some of the newest ones. If you are interested in pursuing the topic, you might try clicking a likely looking subject heading and then sorting with newest on top to see what you get.

There are a lot of news stories this week about melting ice, rising sea level, etc., mostly because of articles in in the March 24th Science Magazine; its cover story is "Climate Change: Breaking the Ice." The content doesn't appear to be available free online. Our copy of the print magazine should be along in a couple of days.