CO2 Rising: The World's Greatest Environmental Challenge

by Tyler Volk

The most colossal environmental disturbance in human history is under way.Ever-rising levels of the potent greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) are altering the cycles ofmatter and life and interfering with the Earth's natural cooling process. Melting Arctic ice andmountain glaciers are just the first relatively mild symptoms of what will result from thisdisruption of the planetary energy balance. In CO2 Rising, scientist Tyler Volk explains the processat the heart of global warming and climate the global carbon cycle. Vividly and concisely,Volk describes what happens when CO2 is released by the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, andnatural gas), letting loose carbon atoms once trapped deep underground into the interwoven web ofair, water, and soil. To demonstrate how the carbon cycle works, Volk traces the paths that carbonatoms take during their global circuits. Showing us the carbon cycle from a carbon atom's viewpoint,he follows one carbon atom into a leaf of barley and then into an alcohol molecule in a glass ofbeer, through the human bloodstream, and then back into the air. He also compares the fluxes ofcarbon brought into the biosphere naturally against those created by the combustion of fossil fuelsand explains why the latter are responsible for rising temperatures. Knowledge about the globalcarbon cycle and the huge disturbances that human activity produces in it will equip us to considerthe hard questions that Volk raises in the second half of CO2 projections of future levelsof CO2; which energy systems and processes (solar, wind, nuclear, carbon sequestration?) will powercivilization in the future; the relationships among the wealth of nations, energy use, and CO2emissions; and global equity in per capita emissions. Answering these questions will indeed be ourgreatest environmental challenge.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

223 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

Tyler Volk is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at New York University. Volk is an active proponent of the Gaia hypothesis. A 1989 study, co-authored by Volk, published in the journal Nature asserts that without the cooling effects of living things, Earth would be 80 degrees Fahrenheit warmer.

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

As heard on Science Talk, the weekly podcast of Scientific American.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed how you followed the different carbon molecules that were named - it made it fun to follow them and see different paths they take - but the book still was written well above the understanding of the average person. It was very technical and is definitely geared more toward the academic community.

[Marcelo · Rating 2 out of 5]

No experiments, only observational data.

No experiments, only observational data. I was looking for evidence that would show the true relationship of CO2 and temperature. Linear? Decreasing? Increasing? How can we be sure the feedback loops go all in the same direction? If it is based on models I would like to understand the models and the empirical evidence behind them.

[Lee Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read for anyone trying to understand CO2’s life cycle in the biosphere. The best book I’ve read suitable for the ranging levels of knowledge within the audience.

[Kurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being very interested in this subject for many years and having read well over a dozen books about it, I decided to try something a little more scientific -- something that might attempt to explain the process which causes atmospheric CO2 to increase and how the CO2 molecule manages its greenhouse effect.

This book did a pretty good job of answering scientific questions. To illustrate the complex cycles, phases, and paths through which an individual carbon atom may pass, the author gives names to a few hypothetical carbon atoms which travel throughout the biosphere (and even into and out of the biosphere) over thousands of years.

It is a fairly interesting book for someone (like me) who is already fairly familiar with the concept of carbon's greenhouse effect and the world's reliance on carbon-based fossil fuels. But for most people this book would be pretty dull and a little overwhelming. For a first book on the subject I would recommend The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery.

[Steve Hodges]

Very interesting read. Traces several carbon atoms through their movement through the biosphere and geosphere. A real interesting way to introduce the reader to the complexities of the carbon cycle.

[Barbara Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important insights into the carbon cycle. Volk's specialty is gaining the big view of carbon emissions.