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The Britannica Guide to Climate Change
Climate Change is one of the most controversial subjects of our age. While scientists have been observing radical changes in the earth's ecosystem, politicians and activists argue the causes and possible outcomes. The Britannica Guide to Climate Change will explore the evidence surrounding hot topics like the Kyoto Agreement, the environmental damage to the ice caps, Gaia, green architecture, and the impact of green policies—including energy-saving light bulbs, carbon foot printing, and recycling. This book is an unbiased, comprehensive, and accessible guide to the symptoms, debates, and solutions to this key issue.
- GenresClimate Change
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 29, 2023
The title of this book is called "The Britannica Guide to Climate Change: An Unbiased Guide to the Key issue of Our Age"
It should be called;
"The Britannica Guide to Climate Change A Biased Guide to the Key issue of Our Age"
As Jonathan said in a 2015 post this book reads like a "400+ page encyclopedia article, or rather like several articles tacked together and then released as a book" I absolutely concur.....this is exactly what it reads like.
In short the book feels like an environmental activist within Encyclopedia Britannia persuaded his or her bosses to publish this book in order to endorse the support of the IPCC with the Encyclopedia Britannica brand. As such the introduction and chapter one simply regurgitate the IPCC position that Co2 is the climate driver without applying any critical analysis whatsoever. Alternative mechanisms are not considered. The final chapters simply rubber stamp IPCC conclusions and recommendations. To gain credibility for this nonsensical approach they jam in between 340 pages of detailed and disconnected science on everything from the world's climatic zones and their endless classification systems, a narrative describing the earth's palaeoclimatology, detailed explanation of the hydrosphere and its ocean currents (El Nino, Gulf Stream), Sea Ice and icebergs, atmospheric effects such as monsoons and cyclones, a detailed narrative on weather forecasting, land and soil use, deforestation, desertification and biological extinctions. Very little of these block passages are linked or integrated into why the climate is changing and each topic is written by a different expert with a different writing style. As such the text does not flow, the authors are not credited and very unscientifically .........there are no scientific references...which for a scientific text is a ........No No!!!!
It is as if ...EB have thrown all this science which is completely un-integrated into the topic of climate change to demonstrate that they must be experts in what is causing the climate to change. Hoping the scientific detail drowns, bores and confuses anybody that would dare to challenge their narrative of the opening two chapters.
As a geologist my take on the palaeoclimatology section was that it was very accurate and as such I tend to believe that most of the other topics on ocean currents, storms and climate classifications are also probably pretty accurately explained.
Is this book worth reading? Yes.....if you are interested in this topic ...But the most important part is .........the descriptions of weather and earth processes between pages 40 and 384. This is the most valuable part of the book and definitely worth having as a reference on your shelf. Want to understand El Nino....definition right there ....want to understand how monsoons work.... explanation right there...etc etc....There would be few other books that contain this wealth of information in one place. The opening and closing chapters are nothing short of propaganda and can found anywhere on the web and can essentially be ignored.
The lack of scientific references and just a few scattered political references...is an almost arrogant admission that we are EB, we know we are smart and you do not need to question the EB brand.
I also agree that it is a dry read. As Jonathan says "In short: It's dull but informative and for the persistent reader only". Only 53 people on Good reads have been persistent enough to read this book so I think that says a lot. This would suggest that the political objective of EB to spread the "religious kool aid" of human induced warming has been very ineffective based upon the style of the book alone. I struggled with whether to rate the book 2 or 3 stars. 2 Stars simply because the book was so disconnected, flowed so poorly and was overtly political,but I give it three stars for the solid information provided on the weather and earth processes found between pages 40 and 384.
Based upon the disinterest and poor public response to AR6 Synthesis report released in 2023 this UN narrative on dangerous global climate change is slowly falling apart and is on wobbly ground. I guarantee everyone that EB will eventually have egg on its face and this overtly political publication will hurt their brand. They should stick to what they know best ...knowledge and steer clear of politics.
It should be called;
"The Britannica Guide to Climate Change A Biased Guide to the Key issue of Our Age"
As Jonathan said in a 2015 post this book reads like a "400+ page encyclopedia article, or rather like several articles tacked together and then released as a book" I absolutely concur.....this is exactly what it reads like.
In short the book feels like an environmental activist within Encyclopedia Britannia persuaded his or her bosses to publish this book in order to endorse the support of the IPCC with the Encyclopedia Britannica brand. As such the introduction and chapter one simply regurgitate the IPCC position that Co2 is the climate driver without applying any critical analysis whatsoever. Alternative mechanisms are not considered. The final chapters simply rubber stamp IPCC conclusions and recommendations. To gain credibility for this nonsensical approach they jam in between 340 pages of detailed and disconnected science on everything from the world's climatic zones and their endless classification systems, a narrative describing the earth's palaeoclimatology, detailed explanation of the hydrosphere and its ocean currents (El Nino, Gulf Stream), Sea Ice and icebergs, atmospheric effects such as monsoons and cyclones, a detailed narrative on weather forecasting, land and soil use, deforestation, desertification and biological extinctions. Very little of these block passages are linked or integrated into why the climate is changing and each topic is written by a different expert with a different writing style. As such the text does not flow, the authors are not credited and very unscientifically .........there are no scientific references...which for a scientific text is a ........No No!!!!
It is as if ...EB have thrown all this science which is completely un-integrated into the topic of climate change to demonstrate that they must be experts in what is causing the climate to change. Hoping the scientific detail drowns, bores and confuses anybody that would dare to challenge their narrative of the opening two chapters.
As a geologist my take on the palaeoclimatology section was that it was very accurate and as such I tend to believe that most of the other topics on ocean currents, storms and climate classifications are also probably pretty accurately explained.
Is this book worth reading? Yes.....if you are interested in this topic ...But the most important part is .........the descriptions of weather and earth processes between pages 40 and 384. This is the most valuable part of the book and definitely worth having as a reference on your shelf. Want to understand El Nino....definition right there ....want to understand how monsoons work.... explanation right there...etc etc....There would be few other books that contain this wealth of information in one place. The opening and closing chapters are nothing short of propaganda and can found anywhere on the web and can essentially be ignored.
The lack of scientific references and just a few scattered political references...is an almost arrogant admission that we are EB, we know we are smart and you do not need to question the EB brand.
I also agree that it is a dry read. As Jonathan says "In short: It's dull but informative and for the persistent reader only". Only 53 people on Good reads have been persistent enough to read this book so I think that says a lot. This would suggest that the political objective of EB to spread the "religious kool aid" of human induced warming has been very ineffective based upon the style of the book alone. I struggled with whether to rate the book 2 or 3 stars. 2 Stars simply because the book was so disconnected, flowed so poorly and was overtly political,but I give it three stars for the solid information provided on the weather and earth processes found between pages 40 and 384.
Based upon the disinterest and poor public response to AR6 Synthesis report released in 2023 this UN narrative on dangerous global climate change is slowly falling apart and is on wobbly ground. I guarantee everyone that EB will eventually have egg on its face and this overtly political publication will hurt their brand. They should stick to what they know best ...knowledge and steer clear of politics.
December 22, 2021
The level of detail in this suggests a very clear plan to write for the audience of educated non-experts or whatever the precise term is. To read this and not be checking things in the dictionary, you need to have a decent exposure to scientific language, concepts and literature and (like me) be ignorant of climate science specifically. Until reading this book I was not aware just how little I knew about how the planet's temperature might change, why it is as stable as it is, the cycles of carbon, water, nitrogen and other trace elements as well as in the broadest strokes how weather and climate have been investigated until now and what precisely is the mechanism of climate change. Despite doing a secondary school qualification in geography I could tell you more about urban planning in Brasilia than how the earth receives and reflects sunlight and how this contributes to the global temperature and the continued sustenance of life. Another point for the education system - or perhaps the fault is all mine and I was simply not paying attention.
July 20, 2019
Although some of the content on renewable energy sources and the political state of mitigation effort is a bit dated, this book contains a wealth of information on our planet’s climate. Very dense, but well worth the read as it will increase your appreciation for the complexity of Earth’s climate systems and the interactions between atmosphere and biosphere.
January 29, 2013
Undeservedly, climate change is a political hot topic though I feel I have read enough about the subject now that I probably shouldn't have read this in such a linear fashion. For me, this would have worked best as a reference book, something to dip into from time to time or to hop around reading only the subjects that I feel needing clarifying in my mind. No wonder then, that it took me so long to get through it (I started it before Christmas).
On the plus side, it is a comprehensive explanation of everything to do with climate change: what the science says, a history of the science, the types of information we use, how it is used, the different traditions and disclipines that have been brought together to demonstrate to us how we know what we know about this very serious problem. No stone is left unturned, it even lists some of the key thinkers in the debate and their contributions. The writers have done a superb job in ensuring that most of the big questions are answered and covering nearly every aspect of the sort of concepts that the media puts out every single day. It ignores the sort of scare stories and exaggeration from both sides, focussing clearly on the scientific evidence and the contents of the reports released by the IPCC. Kudos goes to the writers in encouraging the reader to seek out the scientific evidence - but it would have been preferable for the author to leave a few pointers.
On the down side, it doesn't seem to be able to strike the balance between interesting the newbie and keeping the attention of the more seasoned reader. It is at once both very dry and difficult going, and lacking in enough information to feel rewarding. It seems to be trying to aim at both ends of the spectrum but ending up a mish-mash of styles with a quality and quantity of information that will please neither. And it really annoys me when such an interesting and engaging popular science book is written in a manner that could bore even the most avid reader. There is no need for it and if you are not a good writer, seek advice from somebody who is.
I would have preferred some sort of reference list at the end of the book, a sort of "if you would like to know more please visit these websites or read these Open Access papers". These are appreciated by experienced readers and would have helped people new to the subject, especially if it directed them to the blogs I listed above. An opportunity missed methinks. Unfortunately, a lot of this information can be obtained for free (above blogs) and is much more engaging.
See more book reviews at my blog
On the plus side, it is a comprehensive explanation of everything to do with climate change: what the science says, a history of the science, the types of information we use, how it is used, the different traditions and disclipines that have been brought together to demonstrate to us how we know what we know about this very serious problem. No stone is left unturned, it even lists some of the key thinkers in the debate and their contributions. The writers have done a superb job in ensuring that most of the big questions are answered and covering nearly every aspect of the sort of concepts that the media puts out every single day. It ignores the sort of scare stories and exaggeration from both sides, focussing clearly on the scientific evidence and the contents of the reports released by the IPCC. Kudos goes to the writers in encouraging the reader to seek out the scientific evidence - but it would have been preferable for the author to leave a few pointers.
On the down side, it doesn't seem to be able to strike the balance between interesting the newbie and keeping the attention of the more seasoned reader. It is at once both very dry and difficult going, and lacking in enough information to feel rewarding. It seems to be trying to aim at both ends of the spectrum but ending up a mish-mash of styles with a quality and quantity of information that will please neither. And it really annoys me when such an interesting and engaging popular science book is written in a manner that could bore even the most avid reader. There is no need for it and if you are not a good writer, seek advice from somebody who is.
I would have preferred some sort of reference list at the end of the book, a sort of "if you would like to know more please visit these websites or read these Open Access papers". These are appreciated by experienced readers and would have helped people new to the subject, especially if it directed them to the blogs I listed above. An opportunity missed methinks. Unfortunately, a lot of this information can be obtained for free (above blogs) and is much more engaging.
See more book reviews at my blog
April 12, 2015
Abandoned: I shouldn't have been surprised I suppose, but well, it reads a bit like a 400+ page encyclopedia article, or rather like several articles tacked together and then released as a book.
After 60 pages I had to give up as I could tell it was going to be a very long haul getting through and I no longer have the patience to read such dry books. Still if you're just after snippets of info it would be very useful or if you just intend to read it in short bursts.
In short: It's dull but informative for the persistent reader.
After 60 pages I had to give up as I could tell it was going to be a very long haul getting through and I no longer have the patience to read such dry books. Still if you're just after snippets of info it would be very useful or if you just intend to read it in short bursts.
In short: It's dull but informative for the persistent reader.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews