Fire and Ice: Soot, Solidarity, and Survival on the Roof of the World: Soot, Solidarity, and Survival on the Roof of the World

by Jonathan Mingle

High in the Himalayan valley of Zanskar in northwest India sits a village as isolated as the legendary Shangri-La. Long fed by runoff from glaciers and lofty snowfields, Kumik―a settlement of thirty nine mud brick homes―has survived and thrived in one of the world's most challenging settings for a thousand years. But now its people confront an existential chronic, crippling drought, which leaves the village canal dry and threatens to end their ancient culture of farming and animal husbandry.

Fire and Ice weaves together the story of Kumik's inspiring response to this calamity with the story of black carbon. Black carbon from inefficient fires - the particulate residue that makes soot dark - is the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide. It's also a key ingredient of the air pollution that public health experts regard as humanity's greatest environmental health risk soot-laden smoke from household hearth fires and outdoor sources combine to kill over seven million people around the world every year.
Jonathan Mingle describes the joys and struggles of daily life in the Zanskar Valley, where villagers are buffeted by powerful environmental and economic forces, while also tracing black carbon's dark fingerprints outward from Kumik and around the world. Mingle investigates its impacts on snow, ice, and water from Mt. Everest to California, and the silent health epidemic it fuels from New York to New Delhi. Combining cultural history, detailed reportage, climate and energy science and dramatic storytelling, Fire and Ice is a profound examination of the global challenges of averting climate chaos and lifting billions out of energy poverty and water scarcity.
Can Kumik's people come together to reinvent fire, harness what remains of their life-sustaining ice, and reinvigorate their traditions of solidarity, in time to save themselves? Can the rest of us rise to the same challenge? Fire and Ice connects these questions with the work of enterprising scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and activists around the world, in a narrative that combines mythology, reason, humor, persistence, and hope in a race against a global clock.

Genres: Environment, Nonfiction, Science, India, History

464 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2015

About the author

Jonathan Mingle is the author of Fire and Ice: Soot, Solidarity and Survival on the Roof of the World. His writing on the environment, climate and development has appeared in The New York Times, Slate, The Boston Globe, and other publications. He is a former Middlebury Fellow in Environmental Journalism, a recipient of the American Alpine Club's Zach Martin Breaking Barriers Award, and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group. He lives in Vermont.

Reviews

[Bookphile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raises a lot of important issues but it's overly long and very repetitive at times. More complete review to come.

Complete review:

I have such conflicted feelings about this book. I learned a lot from it, and I think it was an extremely worthwhile read that taught me a lot about an aspect of climate change I really knew nothing about. Environmental issues are important to me, and I try to be a good citizen by reducing my carbon footprint, but I was very surprised to learn how much damage black carbon inflicts on the planet. It certainly made me view things like a casual bonfire in a whole new light.

The most impressive thing about this book, though, is how it takes a fascinating, unfamiliar cultural history and weaves into it a larger message about unintended consequences and the effects of globalization and modernization on not just our planet, but the people living on it. The true strength of the book is Mingle's argument that saving the planet isn't just some abstract idea, it's something that's of real importance to people who are forced to take the brunt of what's damaging our planet. It's one thing for Westerners to fret about it and drive electric cars, but it's quite different for people who rely on snow melt to bring them the water they need to sustain life. I can think of plenty of Americans who would shrug and wonder why disappearing glaciers are a big deal, yet millions of people depend on those glaciers to ensure their survival. It was incredibly sad to me to read about how the people of Kumik will have to change a way of life that's the only one they've known for over a thousand years because climate change is impacting them in such a personal, visceral manner.

This book also made me uncomfortable, which I think is a good thing, because it made me aware of my privilege, something we relatively affluent Westerners sometimes lose sight of. Eating organic and shopping at Whole Foods is all well and good, but Mingle does an excellent job of exploring the clash between developed and developing parts of the world. Especially cogent, I thought, was his pointed commentary about how Westerners lament the detrimental effects of pollution, and then turn around and snap up the cheap goods that are the very reason for much of the pollution generated by manufacturing. After all, those of us in the developed world have already reaped the benefits of industrialization. To say it's hypocritical of us to tell people in the developing world, "Stop, you're ruining our planet!" is putting it far, far too mildly. The fact is that we do live on this one world together and have to figure out some way of preserving it for the benefit of all, but we do not have the right to demand it be done in a way that's detrimental to people in developing countries. The real problem, as Mingle illustrates it, is in finding ways in which to continue the development in these countries, but to do so in a way that makes the planet a safer and healthier environment for all. Unfortunately, this is a question that doesn't seem to much interest many Western nations because of a "what's in it for us" mentality?

Reading about the health effects of wood and dung-burning stoves was chilling, and I really empathized with the people who depend on this method to heat their homes and cook their food. What a privilege to not have to worry about making the choice between poisoning my family's lungs and putting food in their bellies. It's an unthinkable Catch-22 that these people have no choice but to do the thing that's slowly destroying their way of life. As Mingle points out, this is an aspect of the climate change argument about which Westerners don't seem to worry much, or at least not as much as we should. There are real human lives at stake, yet these health issues tend to be brushed aside in favor of more academic concerns. Debating about greenhouse gases is a debate worth having, but far more important is facing the reality of how many people are sickened and die as a result of air pollution.

Yet even as I admired all this about the book, I simply found it exhausting. Some of this is due to a lot of repetition. These problems bears repeating, but sometimes the book says the exact same thing it said only a few pages ago. This happens on several occasions, and it left me feeling like the book could have used some more judicious editing, cutting out facts already presented in order to make the book shorter and more impactful.

In addition, some parts of it left me feeling as though the author was trying a little too hard to drive home his point when the information he provides needs no embellishment. Unadorned, it's plenty chilling and compelling. However, once an example has been provided, and then another, and then another, the mind tends to reach the point of over-saturation, and I felt like I simply couldn't process more devastating information. It took me nearly a month to read this book, not because I'm a slow reader, but because I found it all very hard to take. It's a book that's certainly worth reading, but may be best taken in small doses.

[wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very thoughtful look primarily at the principle causal agent for the receding of glaciers across the world. The agent is black carbon (soot) that comes from various sources including cook stoves, wild fires, diesel engines, fireplaces etc. but primarily open fires. If we could reduce these sources it will help in the global warming fight but will have immediate impact on glaciers. Whits snow reflects heat but black carbon absorbs heat which is the problem. The author primarily focuses on field work he has done over several years in the Himalayas in Nepal Very informative but a tad repetitious on his major points.

[Charlie Newfell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel guilty giving this book just two stars for two reasons. First, I only made it through the first 80 pages (it goes 400) and second, it does deal with a serious issue - global warming.

The author's premise, which I believe, is that black carbon (the waste from burning) is having an extreme impact in many areas of the developing world. In Northern India, where most people use open flames for cooking and heating, it's having a terrible impact on the melting of the glaciers, disputing villages that have been inhabited for a millennia.

What hurts the book for me is the way it is presented. This would be much better as an serious article, or series of articles than a 400 page book. Too much repeated elements, even in the first 80 pages I felt like I was hearing a sermon.

[Tuna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fire and Ice is a great story following a select group of people in the Zanskari region as they adapt to the swiftly changing conditions with their only source of water over the decades of increasing temperature. The book is a mix of a biographical narrative of the people living in Kumik over several years as they adapt to increased drought conditions and the movement of their village to a better location. Over the 400 or so pages, I came to become heavily invested in the individuals lives as they adapted to this conditions. Many characters definitely grow on the reader over the course of the book. I enjoyed the bits of comedy placed in it too. I always cracked up when they teased the writer about if he cooks like they do or can work like they do, or even their own ironic comments like "kha kumik, chu shila" (the snow falls above kumik, but the water goes to shila"). This comment stood out even more when he did go to Shila and they had a waterfall, and even could wash clothes and such in their rivers. Unbelievable. the deep insight included in the book as well was intriguing. Specifically seeing over the course of the narrative portion, the community working together to move the village or even wanting to go to a more harnessing the sun type of mindset, or ultimately, wanting to do things that arent so smoky. It seems many of the villagers came to grow to enjoy the writers presence and even confided some secrets in him to explain at least some of the villagers concerns over one another or even just the state of things.

Beyond the story of Kumik we even got to see several explanations for why their glacier was decreasing. The story of climate change in the world has always focused on the issue of Carbon Dioxide but it seems this Black Carbon issue that is detailed here, is a more pressing concern. We were able to see how cooking methods of people in rural India and China affects their local climate and even climate issues as far as the Western American soil and the Artic. Several moments were spent on showing how things could change for the better if people invested in methods to get these people away from cooking with very dirty stoves, or even decreasing burning of crops at the end of the season, both huge contributors of black carbon. And for people worldwide there was even great detail spent on suggesting that everywhere could benefit from moving to cleaner forms of diesel or using a filter for it.

I could go on and on about all the various aspects to things that need to change but the book does a great detail of covering this. It is a very fascinating topic and covered in great and enjoyable detail. Many of the interviews gathered from startups interested in making a change in rural countries from either using cleaner stoves for the people, moving away from heating homes with dung, or even moving towards getting them connected to the grip for electricity, makes it a book that is very relevant for the times.

It is a must read.

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I think of a book on global warming and more specifically black carbon, I don't think of an enjoyable narrative. However, in Jonathan Mingle's, Fire and Ice, Mingle is able to do just that. He weaves an intriguing story of the people of Kumik, high in the Himalayas, with the impact of black carbon on global warming. Mingle writes with a charming, conversational tone that helped draw me into his story of over a decade of visits to Kumik. This writing style makes all of the science that so often dries out other books, tolerable.

I confess that knowing quite a bit about black carbon, and being well informed on climate change, I opened the 400 page book wondering how Mingle was going to fill it. Unfortunately, Mingle does this by filling the pages with different iterations of only a few points, at times restating the exact same anecdote or statistic. It is possible that Mingle did this to drive home points, however it becomes quit tiresome.

All in all, Fire and Ice is a brilliant insight into the impact of climate change on a strikingly different culture. Following Kumik's population was enjoyable, and what kept me turning pages. However, I think the Mingle could have said the same thing in 100 pages less.

Recommended reading to those interested and new to the science of black carbon and climate change.

[Melissa Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book that melds science and narrative into a story about the dangers of black carbon. Mingle skillfully weaves the technical material necessary understanding the science with interesting stories about the people who are most impacted by soot.

Ultimately, Mingle writes with the knowledge that we may not feel moved to do anything about those who are suffering half-way around the world as he rightly notes that we don't have "the cognitive or emotional bandwidth to take on board a meaningful connection to 7.2 billion people." Thus he takes great care to show how every person on our planet lives "downwind of someone else's fire." While the bulk of his story takes place in the shadow of Mount Everest, there are numerous side trips to other places, include the US.

If you decide to read, you should in advance that the book is long and at times felt a little burdensome to read. The weight of the trouble Mingle shares feels heavy, especially when readers may feel powerless to do anything about it. There were also times when I personally was over the technical jargon and scientific explanations and really wanted to head back into story. The book could have been a bit shorter and still accomplished its purpose.

[Kyle Schroeckenthaler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was great. Jon does a great job of weaving together two main themes - the science of black carbon warming the planet, and the lives and culture of a village in the Zanskar valley of northern India. He works hard to make the science of short lived climate forces (mostly emphasizing black carbon) accessible throughout the book and is effective in communicating the scope of the issue and also some of the actions available to combat it. By interweaving the narrative of Kumik, he avoids preaching or lecturing on the science. You really fall in love with the village, just as it is clear Jon did throughout his many visits. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that he also brings to bear a lot of insights on related climatology, geology, glaciology, geography, sociology,, etc. The book is filled with historical quotes about the region and about the science, as well as literary and cultural references.

[Nammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no doubt that is book presents crucial information on climate change of which we all should familiarize ourselves. However, I find the repetition of information very exhausting and at times very confusing. The book could have been more powerful if it was more concise and to the point.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jonathan Mingle (journalist, frequent contributor to Slate.com, etc.) has written a book that will surely be acclaimed as an essential read in the climate change debate, arguably the most important current debate about our world and our collective policy decisions. "Fire and Ice" focuses on the catastrophic environmental impact inflicted by the tiny grains of black carbon created by inefficient burning . . . and a stark reminder that our global economy relies on a staggering amount of inefficient burning.

"Fire and Ice" is one of those books that gives you a headache the deeper you dive into it. This is not due to the writing - Mingle wisely grounds his story in the daily lives and struggles of the villagers in Kumik, a thousand-year old village in the Zanskar valley high in the Himalayas. The headache comes from the mind-boggling scope of the environmental damage we inflict every day. The science is simple . . . inefficient burning leads to dense smoke, and one of the worst contaminants found in that smoke is black carbon. These tiny particles of black carbon are unleashed into the atmosphere and when they land in snow, the particles act as tiny furnaces by absorbing sunlight and melting the nearby snow. Add billions of black carbon particles to a glacier, and pretty soon you've got no glacier left.

Mingle demonstrates convincingly that the world relies on glaciers for water, and if we're killing our glaciers at a rate that is truly scary. What could have been a very dry academic tome in the hands of another author is instead a very human tale as Mingle tells the story of the Kumik villagers who are confronted with a truly scary prospect - the land where their village has stood for around 1,000 years is dying because the glaciers are no longer providing the water needed to sustain life. That change can be tied back to black carbon. Think about that simple prospect - a place that has existed more or less unchanged for 1,000 years is no longer inhabitable. That will have you putting the Irish in your coffee before 9 am.

"Fire and Ice" has lots of science to back up its claims, and Mingle interviews lots of climate authority figures and uses examples beyond the Himalayas - from the American West to China to the Alps and beyond.

So why four stars? Ultimately, "Fire and Ice" wore me out. At around 400 pages, I confess that "Fire and Ice" exhausted me - it makes more or less the same points - humans are burning too much too inefficiently, and too many people don't care. (The most mind-boggling example of denial Mingle tracks down comes from China - after trying to fight debilitating smog, the Chinese government throws up its hands and says that smog is good because it encourages a fatalistic sense of humor to cope with it.) After 50 pages, I was convinced - admittedly I was not a tough sell. At 200 pages, I was done. At 400 pages, I was happy to put the book down.

I will recommend "Fire and Ice" to anyone who's interested, but with the caveat that this powerful read may test your patience.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Black Carbon. My first thought with those words is "soot", yet how wrong that simple picture is. As we peer up into our skies, and think about how much progress we've made on combating air pollution, it turns out we really haven't come that far. And we have "miles to go before we sleep".

Black Carbon is, essentially, what is released upon burning. It might not travel, or it could travel hundreds - even thousands - of miles. And it, more than almost anything else, is what is responsible for the rapidly melting glaciers all over the world. As the particles settle, it affects the light-reflecting properties of snow and ice, so they end up absorbing heat faster and sooner than they should. It also affects the size of the snow, making it bigger, the snowpack less dense, allowing more light (and therefore heat) into the snow. Again, more and faster melting.

Jonathan Mingle moves between China, the US, and a tiny Himalayan village in order to explore and expose what is happening and what can be done. The book is interesting, though at times seems a bit like it bounces around in a way that is more confusing than it needs to be. But the science within the book is solid, and it's an eye-opening look at a problem too few even know exists. Be prepared - it's a LONG book. I wouldn't recommend sitting down and trying to read it all in one sitting. But the information contained within is definitely something that everyone should be aware of, both concerned environmentalists and climate-change deniers alike.

In all, it's a book well worth reading, about a problem that can be fixed relatively quickly if the solutions are allowed to be put into place. China - I'm talking to you.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two books in one, and both very well written. The villagers of Kumik are portrayed in some depth, since Mingle visited for months at a time over the course of some years. This story reminded me of Mortensen's books, Three Cups of Tea, etc. but the cultures of the villages contrast in many ways.

Then there is the deep science and historical research on the pollution of soot, or black carbon. It's another critical factor in climate change, but one that we already have the technology to mitigate, by directly making lives in the developing world--and some places in the developed world-- better. Overall a hopeful and positive message. I needed this information.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book through good reads giveaways. While I'm glad I read it (I honestly hadn't heard much about black carbon at all), and got to learn about this crisis, I thought that the author was more wordy than necessary. I sort of felt like I kept reading the same thing over and over. I think he probably could have achieved getting his message and the story across in way fewer pages. Thanks to the publisher for sharing this book through giveaways and alerting us to this important environmental impact.

[James (Jimmy) Blackhall · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the already unfolding drama of climate change "Fire and ice" brings something new to keep in mind- soot or black carbon. Tiny Particles that are exhausted across great focuses in the Himalayas which regulate the water flow of the mighty rivers of Asia. This book is more about scientific fact and unfortunately keeps reminding us of the perils we have inflicted on ourselves constantly across all classes and cultures- but does give great reasoning for change.

[Tracy Dorsett]

Too much for me. I hate to admit it, but I would have preferred this book in the form of a documentary film.