The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations
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Spotlight Customer Reviews:
Summary:
Great overview of climate change issues
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Comment:
Linden is a science journalist with a long history of work in the area of climate. This book is more about the history of climate change than global warming per se. It details many past instances of climate change events and how they affected civilizations at the time. It is an excellent overview of past events and gives the feel of being well-researched. There are decent references to other studies and works. The main concern ends up being worries about rapid climate change, including the potential for a rapid cooling spell. At times the book seems to bog down a bit in endless details or examples, but in the end it comes off as being fairly complete. Along the way there is decent coverage of some of the key figures and events in climate research. His conclusion is that there is ample reason to believe that current climate change trends could lead to devastating effects for civilization. Most of the explicit coverage of global warming comes near the end and seems almost tacked-on with regard to the focus of the main narrative. This is just one of many books on climate change available. The strong points of this one are that it covers the whole range of issues related to climate change, not just global warming, and it does a pretty good job of summarizing and giving references to many issues that get thrown around in discussions of climate change without being well understood in context.
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Summary:
Good overview of climate change
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Comment:
I thought it was a very good introduction to climate change. It covers:
1) The history of the young science of climate change;
2) Basic concepts in how energy from the sun is distributed by the world's oceans and atmosphere, and how this creates weather patterns and affects the earth's climate;
3) How scientists currently believe the earth's climate has changed through the ages;
4) Techniques that are used to determine how the earth's climate has changed over the past thousands of years;, and
5) Reasons why understanding climate change is so important.
The book's main theme is that a stable climate has been vital to the development and survival of civilization. If the climate had not been fairly stable for the past 4,000 years the human race would not be where it is today. But this stability cannot and should not be taken for granted. In fact, a very large body of evidence indicates that in the past the earth's climate has changed quickly and radically many times through the ages, and we may be on the verge of another radical shift. The effect of such a shift (or shifts, as the the climate 'flickers' back and forth between brief warmer and cooler periods before stabilizing again) would be calamities unprecedented since the dawn of civilzation.
This is not a book about green-house gasses. The first two-thirds of the book hardly mention C02 and methane at all. And in the final chapters the focuses on the evidence that the climate IS changing, and the consequences of that change, and doesn't spend much time on the debate about humankind's part in it, other than citing studies showing that of 700 peer-reviewed journal articles between 1993 and 2003 regarding modern climate change, "not one took issue with the consensus that humans are changing climate."
Minor criticisms: some sections of the book include technical explanations that were so complicated that I glossed over them; certain parts of the book emphasize that much of what we 'know' about what the climate was doing thousands of years ago are just theories, while in other places he states them as 'facts'; and many of the little charts at the start of each chapter look very technical and official, most label only one axis, so that they're essentially meaningless.
I learned a lot from this book, and recommend it to others. People should read it (or a similar book on the same topic) before becomping opinionated on the issue of global warming and climate change.
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Summary:
Quality material in a sea of junk-science
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Comment:
I was pleased, overall. The author has the credentials to discuss the topic with some authority (unlike some other books I've read recently...) The beginning is somewhat slow; it seemed to re-cover historical ground (i.e. the Norse experiment in Iceland and Greenland) that was already discussed at length by Jarred Diamond in "Collapse."
The best part of the book was the explanation of the mechanics of the oceans: how temperature and salinity work to create currents and climate.
I agree with those other reviewers who though the book could have used a bit more focus. Overall, however, WoC is a very informative read: scientific without being technical and boring. As a non-scientist, I thought this was very accessible. Quality material in a sea of rhetoric and junk-science.
Very educational. Recommended.
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Summary:
Interesting use of history with science
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Comment:
Using the known history of climate change, together with a discussion of the kinds of scientific evidence, provides the basis for conclusions regarding the human factor.
Dismissing all chnage as somehow normal (or ignoring it regarding policy) clearly is unacceptable and dangerous. As "practical" people report to the government (only to be edited, delayed, given scant attention) other practical folks like the insurance industry and some investors show increasing awareness.
Draw your own conclusions; to me immediate and meaningful action are required with real policy changes. It may force some settled business interests to change but seems critical, healthy, and could provide new industries and jobs in the process. Many of these jobs by their very nature could not be shipped overseas so pracical politicians and business people for even selfish motives may come around. Will it be soon enough?
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Summary:
The Pre-historical Perspective to Climate Change
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Comment:
Linden goes to great effort to describe climate changes in the past, such as the Little Ice Age. He relates fallen civilizations such as the Vikings of Greenland and the Mayans to climate change. Linden calls climate change the serial killer of civilizations. It is more of a flicker than a change.
Because global warming is a different kind of climate change than the climate changes described here (as those during the Ice Ages) there has to be a modest jump that is impossible to avoid. Linden's approach is important in that it shows how climate change inevitably will occur. It suggests that increasing carbon dioxide emissions, caused by humans, is like teasing the serial killer.
The book should not be considered a complete guide to global warming, but it looks at climate change through a unique perspective.
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