A Brief History of the Earth's Climate: Everyone's Guide to The Science of Climate Change

by Steven Earle

“Give[s] . . . policymakers and concerned citizens a more thorough understanding of climate science and renewed conviction . . . on leaving fossil fuels behind.” —Tom Green, Senior Climate Policy Advisor, David Suzuki FoundationA Brief History of the Earth’s Climate is an accessible guide to the natural evolution of the Earth’s climate over 4.6 billion years, and how and why human-caused global warming is different and much more dangerous.Richly illustrated chapters cover the major historical climate change processes including evolution of the sun, plate motions and continental collisions, volcanic eruptions, changes to major ocean currents, Earth’s orbital variations, sunspot variations, and short-term ocean current cycles. There is also an overview of the implications of the COVID pandemic for climate change. Content natural geological processes that shaped the climateHow human impacts are now rapidly changing the climateTipping points and the unfolding climate crisisWhat we can do to limit the damage to the planet and ecosystemsCountering climate myths peddled by climate change science deniers.A Brief History of the Earth’s Climate is essential reading for everyone who is looking to understand what drives climate change, counter skeptics and deniers, and take action on the climate emergency.“Earle understands the big climate picture and paints it with exceptional clarity.” —James Hansen, director, Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions, Columbia University Earth InstituteSteven Earle’s innate story-telling ability, coupled with his remarkable talent for making complex scientific information accessible, makes this page-turner a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the Earth’s climate system.” —Andrew Weaver, University of Victoria, lead author, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Genres: Science, Climate Change, Nonfiction, History, Environment, Nature

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 12, 2021

Reviews

[Arndis]

góðar skýringar og fínt kennsluefni. ég hefði örugglega fílað hana meira ef ég hefði verið með bókina í höndunum en ekki með hana í brettinu. svarar öllum mótsögnum við loftslagsmálum á góðan hátt.

[Alexander]

Excellent read for anyone who wants to get an introduction on Earth's climate, what natural and man-made actions contribute to varying Earth's climate over millions of years.

[Thomas Lønn Hammer]

Please say something new

[John]

Overview of the how and why the Earth’s climate changes and why the current changes are caused by humans.

[John Mellis]

A clear and concise description of the various factors that influence and have influenced the Earth's climate over billions of years, including of course the potentially disastrous spike of greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity in the last hundred years. Packed with graphs and references. Essential reading.

[Donato Colangelo]

This is a much needed book. It is so not as for those, like me, who understand the evidence collected so far and thus accept the reality of climate change, as for the climate-change deniers, which are always too many.
The author painstaking job of description and explanation of the mechanisms, from the less obvious to the most apparent, from the least important to the most important, is laudable. He really tries - and succeeds! - to show the raw picture of the whole topic. It's evidence discussed and put into context.
A long list of graphs, pictures, data, references are provided to back the statements and conclusions, which is how you should argue any position in science.
It's simply too good to be missed. Even though for those which are familiar with the science behind climate change the book offers no more than few new and additional insights into the topic, it is nonetheless the perfect choice for those who want to read an introduction on climate change! Given the spread of ignorance about the issue, and the many warped opinions which are being passed and shared on social media, adding lies to the general confusion, Earle's book is like a candle in the dark, so to speak.
Each chapter ends with a short section of debunking the common myths and lies around the "possible" causes to climate change, i.e., those elements that do not fall under the umbrella of human responsibility for it: the ever changing climate throughout Earth history, sunspots, volcanoes and orbital variations are among the most common.
The conclusion is one, and just one: we must change our lifestyle if we want to avoid the worst consequences. A chapter devoted to describing the concept of tipping point is also present, and I strongly believe it is key to understanding why our society is doing less than nothing to counteract the devastation that is running towards us: many of us do not take measures until he/she suffers the consequences. This is a risky move when it comes to climate change.
It is a complete book, a nice (and terrifying) addition to my collection. For sure, a book I hope will be translated in all the languages, for all to read and comprehend what is at stake here.

[John]

This book gives a good overview of the many factors that have shaped the constantly changing climate over millions of years. My impression when I got the book was that it was sort of a layman’s guide, and that may be true to some extent, but much of the science was way over my head. The book delves into chemistry, geology, anthropology, astronomy, oceanography and more in describing the natural history of our planet. (If I had to name the scientific discipline that I understand and like the most, they would be biology and physics, so you can see where I’m coming from.) The book effectively shuts down any arguments that anything other than our society’s fossil fuel addiction is the reason for the current warming of the planet.

[Keith Taylor]

Cogent and well written, he systematically dismantles the "whataboutisms" thrown up by climate deniers and other ostriches. And kudos to the author and publisher - usually when you buy a Kindle book, you take it as a given that any tables or illustrations will be illegible and functionally useless. But special care was taken with this book to make them clear and readable.

[isabella]

O autor faz um en passant bem legal sobre todos os aspectos das mudanças climáticas, salientando realmente a ação humana como verdadeira responsável por tudo o que se vive atualmente. Gostei mesmo, não é nada novo, sob nova ótica, mas ao mesmo tempo serve como um norte para quem caiu de paraquedas no tema.

[Karen Gonzalez-Videla]

Although I like the concept and all the information given in the book, I would have liked a more thorough exploration of ways to HELP STOP/IMPROVE the climate crisis. It was discussed in the final chapters, but (in my opinion) in a rather shallow way

[Tim Castle]

An excellent introduction.

[Glen Frear]

All the deniers should read this

[Alan Eyre]

Finished. Fascinating account of all the different causative factors of climate over time.