Best of
Global-Warming

2016

The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial Is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy


Michael E. Mann - 2016
    Mann and the Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Tom Toles have been on the front lines of the fight against climate denialism for most of their careers. They have witnessed the manipulation of the media by business and political interests and the unconscionable play to partisanship on issues that affect the well-being of billions. The lessons they have learned have been invaluable, inspiring this brilliant, colorful escape hatch from the madhouse of the climate wars.The Madhouse Effect portrays the intellectual pretzels into which denialists must twist logic to explain away the clear evidence that human activity has changed Earth's climate. Toles's cartoons collapse counter-scientific strategies into their biased components, helping readers see how to best strike at these fallacies. Mann's expert skills at science communication aim to restore sanity to a debate that continues to rage against widely acknowledged scientific consensus. The synergy of these two climate science crusaders enlivens the gloom and doom of so many climate-themed books--and may even convert die-hard doubters to the side of sound science.

Earth System Science: A Very Short Introduction


Tim Lenton - 2016
    The concept of the Earth's atmosphere, biosphere, oceans, soil, and rocks operating as a closely interacting system has rapidly gained ground in science. This new field, involving geographers, geologists, biologists, oceanographers, and atmospheric physicists, is known as Earth System Science.In this Very Short Introduction, Tim Lenton considers how a world in which humans could evolve was created; how, as a species, we are now reshaping that world; and what a sustainable future for humanity within the Earth System might look like. Drawing on elements of geology, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, Lenton asks whether Earth System Science can help guide us onto a sustainable course before we alter the Earth system to the point where we destroy ourselves and our current civilisation.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Hopping Ahead of Climate Change


Sneed B. Collard III - 2016
    Follows scientists as they seek to answer the critical question "Can snowshoe hares and other animals that change their coat colors each winter adapt to shorter winters caused by climate change?"

Ruby and the Blue Sky: A Tale of Fame, Power Sacrifice - And Tea.


Katherine Dewar - 2016
    Ruby wins 'Best Song' and makes an impulsive acceptance speech that excites nature lovers across the world. While Ruby and her band celebrate, an extreme evangelical sect, funded by covert paymasters, dispatches a disciple on a ruthless mission to England.As the band plays its sold-out tour, Ruby is pursued by eco-groupies insisting she use her new fame to fight climate change.Back home, in rain-drenched Leeds, Ruby must confront a challenge not even tea, beer or her mum's veggie lasagne will make go away. In a storm and drought-plagued world, run by cynical old men and self-serving corporations, could one young woman lead change?Torn between the demands of the climate campaigners and her bandmates, Ruby has to decide how much - and even who - she will sacrifice.

Fracture


Taylor Brorby - 2016
    A Midwest Connections pick of the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association, Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America brings together a choir of established and emerging writers, giving voice to the complexities of hydraulic fracturing across the United States.

After Oil


Imre Szeman - 2016
    Written collectively by participants in the first After Oil School, After Oil explains why the adoption of renewable, ecologically sustainable energy sources is only the first step of energy transition.   Energy plays a critical role in determining the shape, form and character of our daily existence, which is why a genuine shift in our energy usage demands a wholesale transformation of the petrocultures in which we live. After Oil provides readers with the resources to make this happen.