The Global Warming Reader: A Century of Writing About Climate Change

by Bill McKibben

Overview

Van Jones, Al Gore, Elizabeth Kolbert, Naomi Klein, and other essential voices on global warming, from its 19th-century discovery to the present, in a volume edited by Bill McKibben, our most widely respected environmental writer

With the rise of extreme weather events worldwide—witness the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Sandy, Irene, and Katrina, and the sustained drought across the American West—global warming has become increasingly difficult to deny.

What is happening to our planet? And what can we do about it? The Global Warming Reader provides more than thirty-five answers to these burning questions, from more than one hundred years of engagement with the topic. Here is Elizabeth Kolbert's groundbreaking essay "The Darkening Sea," Michael Crichton's skeptical view of climate change, George Monbiot's biting indictment of those who are really using up the planet's resources, NASA scientist James Hansen's testimony before the U.S. Congress, and clarion calls for action by Al Gore, Arundhati Roy, Naomi Klein, Van Jones, and many others. The Global Warming Reader is a comprehensive resource, expertly edited by someone who lives and breathes this defining issue of our time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143121893
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/27/2012
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	404,852
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Bill McKibben is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books, including The End of Nature, Deep Economy, Eaarth, and Falter. A founder of the environmental organization 350.org, he was among the first to have warned of the dangers of global warming. He is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College and the winner of the Gandhi Prize, the Thomas Merton Prize, and the Right Livelihood Prize. He lives in Vermont.

Table of Contents

Introduction Bill McKibben 9

Part I Science

On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground Svante Arrhenius 19

The Artificial Production of Carbon Dioxide and Its Influence on Temperature G.S. Callendar 33

Carbon Dioxide Exchange between Atmosphere and Ocean and the Question of an Increase of Atmospheric CO₂ during the Past Decades Roger Revelle Hans E. Suess 39

The Keeling Curve Dave Keeling 45

Statement of Dr. James Hansen James Hansen 47

Summary for Policymakers: The Science of Climate Change IPCC Working Group I 55

The "Anthropocene" Paul J. Crutzen Eugene F. Stoermer 69

The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change Naomi Oreskes 75

Target Atmospheric CO₂: Where Should Humanity Aim? James Hansen 81

Causes of the Russian Heat Wave and Pakistani Floods Jeff Masters 89

Part II Politics

from Earth in the Balance Al Gore 97

"The Battle for Control of Reality" from The Heat Is On Ross Gelbspan 105

Remarks at the Kyoto Climate Change Conference Al Gore 127

"Is Your Stomach Too Full?" from Earth Odyssey Mark Hertsgaard 135

The Science of Climate Change: Senate Floor Statement James M. Inhofe 165

from State of Fear Michael Crichton 193

from An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore 209

from The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems Van Jones 211

Climate Generation:! The Evolution of the Energy Action Coalition's Strategy Billy Parish 225

To Really Save the Planet, Stop Going Green Mike Tidwell 233

Climate Rage Naomi Klein 239

This Is Fucked Up-It's Time to Get Mad, and Then Busy Bill McKibben 251

The Green Generation Adrienne Maree Brown 259

The Population Myth George Monbiot 269

Global Warming Twenty Years Later: Tipping Points Near James Hansen 275

Speech at Klimaforum Mohamed Nasheed 285

Part III Impact

from The End of Nature Bill McKibben 293

John 5:1-9 Sally Bingham 299

Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action The Evangelical Climate Initiative 309

An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and its Implications for United States National Security Peter Schwartz Doug Randall 319

"The Briefing" from Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers Arundhati Roy 351

Images David Breashears E. O. Wheeler 361

Climate Change and Agriculture Dr. Vandana Shiva 365

Images Gary Braasch 373

The Darkening Sea: What Carbon Emissions Are Doing to the Ocean Elizabeth Kolbert 377

Nepal's Farmers on the Front Line of Global Climate Change John Vidal 401

References 405

Index 417

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Relevant, timely, and engaging . . . Among the many books available on global warming, this one is unique. . . . One would be hard pressed to create a better list of documents. . . . Highly recommended for lay readers, professionals and activists, and a worthy addition to any general library collection.” —Electronic Green Journal

Editorial Reviews

As John McCain has written, "We have many advantages in the fight against global warming, but time is not one of them." In thirty-five diverse articles, Bill McKibben's The Global Warming Reader addresses the problem, its history, and controversies about its possible solutions. An inexpensive trade paperback and NOOK Book original.

— Vicki Powers

Relevant, timely, and engaging . . . Among the many books available on global warming, this one is unique. . . . One would be hard pressed to create a better list of documents. . . . Highly recommended for lay readers, professionals and activists, and a worthy addition to any general library collection.” —Electronic Green Journal

From the Publisher

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