Betting the Farm on a Drought: Stories from the Front Lines of Climate Change

by Seamus McGraw

Climate change has become one of the most polarizing issues of our time. Extremists on the left regularly issue hyperbolic jeremiads about the impending destruction of the environment, while extremists on the right counter with crass, tortured denials. But out in the vast middle are ordinary people dealing with stronger storms and more intense droughts than they’ve ever known. This middle ground is the focus of Betting the Farm on a Drought , a lively, thought-provoking book that lays out the whole story of climate change—the science, the math, and most importantly, the human stories of people fighting both the climate and their own deeply held beliefs to find creative solutions to a host of environmental challenges. Seamus McGraw takes us on a trip along America’s culturally fractured back roads and listens to farmers and ranchers and fishermen, many of them people who are not ideologically, politically, or in some cases even religiously inclined to believe in man-made global climate change. He shows us how they are already being affected and the risks they are already taking on a personal level to deal with extreme weather and its very real consequences for their livelihoods. McGraw also speaks to scientists and policymakers who are trying to harness that most renewable of American resources, a sense of hope and self-reliance that remains strong in the face of daunting challenges. By bringing these voices together, Betting the Farm on a Drought ultimately becomes a model for how we all might have a pragmatic, reasoned conversation about our changing climate.

Genres: Climate Change, Nonfiction, Environment, Politics, Economics

190 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2015

Reviews

[John Kaufmann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed with this book. The thesis is that the climate debate is typically presented as between the extremes, liberal and conservative, alarmist and denier, but that most people are more in the middle. He says we can't make progress when the debate is at the extremes - we need to reach the vast majority somewhere in the middle. He then goes on to interview several farmers who don't believe in global warming, yet who have taken actions that belie that belief in order to save their farms. McGraw was also able to hold civil discussions with these people, rather than demonize each other. Both those are good things, as far as they go. His unsaid implication is that people will figure this out on their own, and/or that they will take the necessary action for other self-serving reasons (to keep their farms viable) even if they don't accept the reality of global warming.

I part ways with the author here. I think the author is doing a great disservice by positing that this kind of slow, come-to-our-senses approach will be sufficient. I couldn't disagree more - it will be way too little way too late. Either McGraw is overly optimistic about people's willingness and ability to respond or he doesn't have a grasp of the magnitude of the problem. (According to his thesis, I thus probably fall into the "extremist" camp - along with most climate scientists.)

Another second problem I had with the book was it didn't go deep enough into what motivated or de-motivated the people he met - what drove them to deny global warming (it did have some of that) and, more importantly, what what it would take to get these people to accept global warming and enlist their compatriots. Third, the book hardly dealt at all with the expected effects of climate change on agriculture, which is something I expected from the title. I realize now that may not have been the author's intent, but it was my expectation considering the subject matter of the book as suggested by the title and cover.

Perhaps people not familiar with the science and expected impacts of global warming/climate change would regard this book much better than me. Perhaps they could relate to it, perhaps it would move their needle, so to speak. But as one who has followed this issue for years, I had trouble relating to its approach and implicit conclusions.

[Kadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow so the top reviews for this book tear it apart and I understand their reasoning but wow. I read this book for my environmental geography class and I really enjoyed it. I liked the theme of hope and it wasn’t all overly optimistic hope all the time. Look at the fishermen. They were barely pulling through. They were hopeful, yes, and trying to make it through, but they’re story wasn’t a very happy one. It was a defying the odds no matter the consequences story. Ignoring regulations to have another meal on the table story. I can’t say that I blamed them, but I can’t say I was happy with them either. As for Ethan Cox and the other farmers and the huntsman, they’re stories were extremely hopeful and I don’t understand how you could ever be mad about hope. Did this book downplay the consequences of global warming? Maybe. But is hope a bad thing to have? Never.

But despite all that, be kind to the earth pls my friends

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

It hurt to peruse these stories of people sounding optimistic about the state of the future of humans while presenting slightly skewed evidence that everything is A-OK. They're admitting the evidence for global climate change is real but not that big of a deal. We may or may not survive as a species but in the meantime, can we make more money? Or damage the soil, air or water sources any worse than they already are? Fracking is extremely dangerous and in no context should be down played. There are so many options for energy production that doesn't damage the land, water or air. the biggest problem is these alternative energies have little room for profit and greed runs this country. It's seems to be what's in it for me and it's a sad perspective.

[Carolien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written less than a decade ago, what I found fascinating about this series of essays is the change in attitude and scope of conversation. Farmers are starting to cope with unpredictable seasonal changes, seaside towns are starting to find regular flooding a concern, but there is still doubt on whether these are linked to climate change. A decade later the conversation has moved to adaptation strategies and much more certainty that these changes are linked to global warming and its effects. A very useful overview and moderate tone.

[Russell Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is a journalist who has followed the public debate about climate change, or, if you prefer, the weather. That sums up the main message of the book - how a subject as mundane and apolitical as weather has turned into a political hot potato pitting liberals against conservatives. He argues that extremists on both sides, aided by the media, have politicized an important issue and and in effect stalled any attempts to address it.

The science isn't in question. It's getting hotter and the rate of rise is unprecedented not only in human history but in the history of the world. It coincides with the industrialization of the world using fossil fuels in unprecedented numbers. Global warming is real and it is caused by the increase in greenhouse gases. Just don't call it global warming or even climate change. Those are buzz words pointy-headed liberals use. As one skeptic put it, "I didn't know anything about the issue except Al Gore believed it so I didn't believe it." This theme was echoed a lot in the book, but the author also takes issue with the apocalyptic rhetoric coming from the extremists on the other side and the media, which he says presents only extremist views because those are the ones that draw the ratings. They fool themselves into thinking presenting both extremes is balanced reporting. It's not, at least according to the author.

He makes a point to interview a lot of skeptics, conservative "climate deniers" if you will, like hunters, commercial fishermen, and farmers. Almost to a man they claim man-made climate change is a hoax or at least not proven. Yet they also agree that it is getting hotter and that it will continue to get even hotter. (Umm, fellas, that is climate change). The elk no long come down from the high mountains to the valleys until after hunting season is over because it stays warm longer. The trees are dying, too, the hunters say. The whiting no longer come close to shore in the Maryland bay where the author grew up because it's too warm. Fishermen have to go north long distances out to sea now. Cattle ranchers in Texas have moved their herds to Montana and North Dakota. Others who used to plant corn now plant cotton. They just call it drought or weather, not climate change, and they are taking reasonable actions to deal with it. The author's point is that it is their very actions that are necessary (although not sufficient) to fight the phenomenon everyone agrees is real, even if they can't agree on what to call it.

The book is a bit pedantic even though it is peppered with personal anecdotes. It probably isn't going to change anyone's mind because the issue is so polarizing now, but it has some good information for anyone wanting to educate themselves on the subject.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

_Betting the Farm on a Drought_ uses McGraw's skills as a storyteller to get the reader to think about those who are often overlooked in the climate change debate--the farmers, ranchers, and fishermen who have been directly affected by climate change, may or may not believe in it, but have found ways to respond to it. By weaving scientists thoughts and arguments with the voices of those on the ground McGraw gives us a bigger picture of climate change than either a for or against polemic by an activist. His work strives for that middle ground that we need in order to get beyond gridlock. The book has some great pictures of the on-the-ground folks affected, too, so you get word pictures as well as actual pictures, and you get McGraw's analogies and family stories that give the reader a way in to complicated debates. Like Mike Rose's accounts of working-class people and their ability to do complex jobs, McGraw's stories don't rely on stereotypes of the rural farmer or the hick. My favorite chapter is probably "I Never Met a Liberal Before" because it shows how by talking to people there's a lot more common ground than not--on most issues.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty mediocre and, at this point, dated book about climate change and local efforts to adapt to it. McGraw uses a peculiar, journalistic style that works well for prose that comes and goes in a week, but doesn't really work when you sit and stare at it in full monograph form: "And yet, Alley, who was once described by veteran New York Times environmental journalist Andrew Revkin as 'a cross between Woody Allen and Carl Sagan,' is an astoundingly optimistic man, even if he does take an unusually enthusiastic interest in the antics of Antarctic waterfowl." That utter nonsense is a complete paragraph in the middle of one of McGraw's essays. It's like New Yorker Mad Libs.

As others have pointed out, McGraw's biggest flaw is his tedious attempts to strike a "middle-of-the-road" stance. "Can't we all just get along?" McGraw whines. "There are extremists on both sides," he pleads, fooling no one. "I'm a dyed-in-the-wool liberal!" Okay, whatever. It would be tolerable if it weren't so repetitive, and if he could set the reasonable moderate act down long enough to make a few more insightful points.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fresh voice, a break from the extremes on climate change - from the left and the right - that are not getting anything accomplished by pointing fingers at the other. McGraw (himself a part of the story, having sold off his farm land to a natural gas company now hydro-fracking on it) talks with outdoorsmen, evangelicals, farmers, fisherman, and ranchers, all fighting against the changes they see first-hand on their land and in their waters, and all of whom are finding their own ways, in the absence of support from governments and politicians, to adapt to the changes and mitigate their impacts. It was a story of American hope.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, quick read

Some of the stories in this book were interesting, but It didn't seem to come together and leave me with a lasting impression or any grand new ideas about climate change. All in all, this book kept my attention, was well written, and was only 180 pages.. so I am still glad I picked it up

[Pratiti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this was a very short book, it offered a fresh perspective on how climate change is viewed in America. Seamus McGraw is a great writer, and he tells the stories of his subjects with the respect they deserve.

[Casey Kittrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an honest survey of climate change today: it lays out for the everyman what is happening, why it's happening, and what some people are doing about it. But rather than get mired in polemics or scientific jargon, as so many other books have done, it tackles the issue through the people who are dealing with it--scientists, yes, but also fishermen and farmers who, even if they're not ready to concede global warming is a manmade problem, are adapting to a world of stronger storms and more intense droughts in creative ways. Hopefully, these HUMAN stories move more readers beyond partisan divisions and into the much-needed common ground. Otherwise, as the author says, "if the melting ice caps and rising oceans don't get us, we're all going to drown in the viscera of each other's gored oxen."

McGraw is a wonderfully entertaining writer (see his End of Country) with a knack for using simple stories to introduce more challenging ideas. In this book, he draws from farmers who have "never met a liberal before," hunters who have organized to draw attention to climate change, evangelical scientists such as Texas Tech's Katherine Hayhoe as well as distinguished climatologists like Michael Mann. What becomes clear is that everyone is adapting to climate change, and there is a real desire throughout the electorate for actions that would improve the long-term forecast for the environment. McGraw doesn't uncover a silver bullet that will solve the "wicked problem" of climate change, but he does offer hope for anyone who believes our planet is a lost cause. Ultimately, this is a rare blend of narrative, journalism, ethnography, and reason in the otherwise overwrought literature on climate change.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

McGraw amplifies voices often lost in the cacophony of debate that should not really be a debate.

Science behind the theory of anthropogenic climate change is sprinkled throughout the book and, according to the author, is settled. This book focuses on dealing with the consequences of human caused climate change. Interview subjects are dirt-under-the-fingernails folks with serious skin in the game of political action or inaction on climate change. Because of and in spite of Washington gridlock, these people on the front lines of climate change have pushed forward tackling the problems facing their livelihoods and loves with innovative thinking. Many interview subjects will not label climate changes as human caused climate change but admit that climate is indeed changing. This mindset is extremely interesting, and I wish McGraw had explored it further. Perhaps he will do so in a future work (fingers crossed). McGraw does an excellent job in pointing out this can-do attitude as quintessentially American, and that it will most likely be our savior in regards to climate change and its effects.

Readers may be disappointed in McGraw's lack of environmental fervor, he does not call for an immediate paradigm shift in our economic or environmental practices. But upheaval of the system isn't the purpose of this book. This is a book about moderate, pragmatic solutions fueled by honest discussion about the biggest threat facing our civilization. The solutions do not attack the root cause (though some such as better farming practices reduce fossil fuel emissions) but are part of a two-pronged approach -- mitigating the damage while the longterm and difficult goal of untangling fossil fuels from our economy and our politics gets underway.