Gas Trees and Car Turds: Kids' Guide to the Roots of Global Warming [Paperback]

Kirk Johnson (Author), Mary Ann Bonnell (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Global warming is a complicated problem. Gas Trees and Car Turds is a fun, fast read about the carbon cycle: trees are made of air and water, electricity is made from coal that is made from trees, gasoline is made from plankton, and all of these things are related to each other and to our climate through carbon dioxide. This colorfully illustrated book makes carbon dioxide, an invisible odorless gas responsible for global warming and plant growth, into something that can be imagined and understood by children.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kirk R. Johnson is vice president and chief curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He received his PhD in geology and paleobotany from Yale University in 1989, and did postdoctoral research in the rainforests of northern Australia before coming to Denver in 1991, where he directed the installation of the museum's Prehistoric Journey exhibit. Mary Ann Bonnell is the lead naturalist for the Parks and Open Space Department in Aurora, Colorado. Bonnell earned her degree in environmental, population, and organismic biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1991. For the last 19 years, she has used art, science, and enthusiasm to connect people of all ages to the natural world.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing (August 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155591666X
• ISBN-13: 978-1555916664
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.1 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,487,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kirk R. Johnson is vice president and chief curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He received his PhD in geology and paleobotany from Yale University in 1989, and did postdoctoral research in the rainforests of northern Australia before coming to Denver in 1991, where he directed the installation of the museum's Prehistoric Journey exhibit. His research focuses on fossil plants, the environmental effects of the dinosaursmiting asteroid, and the birth and death of biomes. Johnson also works with artists to create accurate and plausible paintings, murals, and dioramas of prehistoric landscapes, several of which are on display in the Colorado Convention Center. Johnson is the author of Prehistoric Journey: A History of Life on Earth and Ancient Denvers: Scenes from the Past 300 Million Years of the Colorado Front Range . Johnson lives in Denver, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, original way to explain global warming to kids and adults, February 18, 2008

By 

Elizabeth Conover (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gas Trees and Car Turds: Kids' Guide to the Roots of Global Warming (Paperback)

Put on your oxygen shoes! Kirk Johnson is well known and loved for making physical science seem not only real, but funny and engaging. Look no further to understand why planting trees helps reduce greenhouse gases, how much carbon your car produces on an average trip, and how carbon becomes carbon dioxide (see-oh-too) and vice versa, and more....