Customer Reviews

Dead Heat: Global Justice and Global Warming

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
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Much of the debate about climate change (global warming) has focused on short-term details about the structure of any international treaty and the near-term rate of change in emissions. Athanasiou and Baer perform a great service by bringing the larger questions of the long-term severity of the climate problem and the potential massively unequal consequences of climate change for people of different wealth levels.

Grounding their argument in the well-accepted science of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the authors describe in clear language the imperative to dramatically reduce global greenhouse gas emissions over the next 50 years. Importantly, they endorse the current ideas about international emissions trading as a low-cost way to achieve these cuts, but they then lay out an ethically grounded argument for ensuring that this trading is structured in a fair and equitable way--both for people in poorer countries and for people in future generations. Moreover, they are careful to defend the political viability of their proposed solutions.

Written in direct and comprehensible language, Dead Heat is a forceful call for more serious action to address the social and environmental consequences of climate change and climate change policy.

...but for those who already know some of the details on global warming and the Kyoto Protocol. I picked up this book for a term paper, hoping this would have all the information I needed. I was thoroughly confused with all the specific terms that were used but not explained. After I read through other resources which started from the beginning, I was able to enjoy this book more.

It's really a great book to read, and I enjoyed it.

For individuals wanting to learn more about the extremely important and dire problem of global warming but intimidated by books with lots of difficult scientific language, this short, comprehensible book is the perfect introduction for the lay person. Not only does it detail the frightening consequences of climate chaos like hurricanes, drought, and outbreaks of diseases like malaria, it more importantly outlines individual and institutional strategies for stabilizing the planet's temperature. And it does so in a global justice context. If you care about polar bears, coral reefs, poor folks in Bangledesh, Central America, and the Gulf Coast, then read this book. If you care about your future, the future of your children, and the future of this planet, then read this book (and then ride your bike, plant a tree, join a collective household, go solar, and eat organic, locally grown slow cuisine).

This book explains both the science of global warming and the political reasons why governments have not acted to reverse it.