Customer Reviews

Extreme Ice Now: Vanishing Glaciers and Changing Climate: A Progress Report

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

James Balog has taken many astonishing photos as he has documented changes in ice around the world, some of which are in this book. The book, however, is rather small and most photos span two pages which means they have a seam down the middle. I do not think this does the photos justice, I would have liked to have seen a bigger book and no distracting seam in the photos. Also, I feel like some of the more unique photos he has taken are not in the book, such as the meltwater rivers/waterfalls on the Greenland Ice Sheet (there are some included but they have writing over top of them). If you are fascinated by ice, though, you should check this out, along with his PBS special.

This book, with its photographic evidence of climate change had the potential to be a fantastic learning tool for the average reader. That potential was lost in a number of ways, including weak text and a size that didn't allow all of the detail of the photographs to show through.

The photography that is present in the book is superb, but at times it is difficult to see what the author is trying to show due to the small frame size of the photos. Making the book a larger size would have provided a remedy to this problem. In addition, the writing is weak and either should have been reduced, or the photographer should have been paired with a better and more knowledgeable writer.

A good look at what is happening in the Polar Regions, but I am not sure it is worth the price charged. I would tend to view it in a library setting first to see if it meets expectations.

Extreme Ice Now is gorgeous, powerful and compelling. Because it is visual and beautiful, it draws people into the story of the climate crisis. As a psychologist and catalyst on climate change, I believe that it has the potential to reach people who are daunted by data and words.

Many books are being written about climate change, many of them very good, but most of them are dense and speak to those who are already persuaded. I think Extreme Ice Now is such an important contribution to the this arena that I am using it as an incentive during the membership drive for the Spheres of Influence Salon on Climate Change.

Read this book and pass it on to a friend.

Jim Balog's book is a must see (and read). He takes the abstraction of global warming and shows its impact visually. By illustrating the disappearance of arctic ice he is alerting us to the reality that will creep south to our backyard in the coming decades.

XXXXX

"First, the ice shows that when the atmosphere contains more carbon, temperatures rise; when it contains less, the temperature cools off. Second, when the climate reaches a tipping point, it can flip-flop from dramatically colder to dramatically warmer regimes in as little as 1 to 3 years. Third, natural processes have made atmospheric carbon dioxide fluctuate between 180 and 285 parts per million by volume (ppmv) from 800,000 years ago to 250 years ago. In all that time, it has NEVER been above 285 ppmv...Today, the global average is 385ppmv. In many urban areas the carbon dioxide level hovers near 500 ppmv...This information changed me from being a climate change sceptic to a climate change believer."

The above is what you'll find in this interesting, slim book by James Balog. Balog is a nature & science photographer and author.

This book consists of two intermeshed parts:

(1) color photographs of ice in the form of icebergs, glaciers, etc., all photographed by Balog. There is a brief explanation given for each photo.

(2) text in the form of brief essays.

The photographs are in a word--stunning. Balog travels all over the world (like to Switzerland, Greenland, Alaska) for his spectacular photographs. On some of these photos, Balog indicates on the photo itself what he wants you to see. Unfortunately, for a few photos I had a difficult time seeing exactly what Balog wanted me to see. (I found this frustrating.)

I found the text, contrary to what other reviewers say, very informative. It is succinct and does not bog down the viewer with excessive detail. The text is not referenced (though a list of "Bibliography Weblinks" is given) but since this book was published by the National Geographic Society, I trust its contents to be accurate. (If I had a choice though, I would have preferred proper referencing.)

Finally, I found the last chapter very informative. It gives tips on "personal action" the reader can take to help curb climate change.

In conclusion, this is a unique book proving that "Shrinking glaciers are the canary in the global coal mine."

(first published 2009; preamble; introduction; 11 chapters; personal action; main narrative 115 pages; acknowledgements; about the author; publishing information)

<<Stephen Pletko, London, Ontario, Canada>>

XXXXX

First of all, this is a good book and definitely worth buying. Apart from the science involved, many of the photos are quite beautiful. It is surprising that this man's project does not get even more attention than it does. Balog is providing definitive and comprehensive scientific evidence of glacial retreat and should be required reading for every consumer and voter. The book itself is quite short and is small in size, and provides just a little sample of what was shown in the PBS television showing or available on the [...] website. Not ordinarily a fan of coffee table type books, I would have preferred a larger, thicker publication that would show the photos to greater effect, accompanied by more scientific explanation of the regional time sequence photography. The survey group should consider a second edition when they have another few years of data.

Stunning full-page color photos in a fine small book with slipcase makes EXTREME ICE NOW a fine pick for any collection strong in changing nature in the world. Accompanying sidebars of information discuss the locations of different dramatic ice structures in a survey that may someday be our only remnants of the great ice caps. Any general lending library will find it eye-catching.

James Balog is a very brave and amazing photographer. To really understand this book you should watch the PBS documentary Extreme Ice to see the dangerous nature of producing this work. This shows that climate change is not an intellectual abstraction. The glaciers of the world are melting now and the pace is picking up, exceeding the worst expectations of scientists. Balog also did a great book on trees Tree: A New Vision of the American Forest

I leafed through this book which was a gift. Very interesting to say the least.

"Extreme Ice Now" is a fine picture book.

It is also an extremely enthusiastic advocate of you doing your
personal best to fight global climate change of the warming variety
caused by carbon dioxide emitted by unthinking or complacent
people and evil corporations. Here I think it will not be very
effective except for the already convinced true believers.

Take a look at the pictures by visiting your local library.
If you like them enough, buy the book. Ignore the text.
If you are a true believer, you can find better ways to convince
the great unwashed of your message of salvation. If you are a
skeptic, it will just make you angry. If you want more information
so you can decide which side to believe, you might conclude the
book is a sabotage effort by those CCD (climate change deniers).

There is no science. There is just a leap from a warming trend
to burning fuel causes the destruction of the planet. The Extreme
Ice project had the goal of documenting shrinking glaciers, not
shrinking, growing, and unchanged glaciers. Skeptics admit most
glaciers are shrinking now, even a substantial majority of the
surveyed glaciers, but not an overwhelming majority. Balog offers
no explanation for growing glaciers. Even IPCC admits it will take
many thousands of years to melt the Greenland ice under the
worst AGW scenario, so it is not surprising that glaciers from the
ice age are still melting. Retreating glaciers recently uncovered
a pass used in Roman times and a Viking house in Greenland.

There is an explicit statement that when an iceberg floating in the
ocean melts, it raises the water level. There is a repeat of the
claim, but it can be parsed to make it refer to the time when the
iceberg was separated from the glacier.

The proffered solution is for each of us to change light bulbs,
unplug appliances, pay more for our electricity, buy a Prius,
travel less, and install solar panels. Never, ever think about
people getting better lives in India and China through industrialization.
Forget that Balog reports traveling 300,000 miles to make the book.

But it is a fine picture book, and Balog is a superb photographer.