Produced by Climate Central—a highly regarded independent, nonprofit journalism and research foundation founded in 2008—and reviewed by scientists at major educational and research institutions the world over, Global Weirdness summarizes, in clear and accessible prose, everything we know about the science of climate change; explains what is likely to happen to the climate in the future; and lays out in practical terms what we can and cannot do to avoid further shifts.
Sixty easy-to-read entries tackle such questions as: Is climate ever “normal”? Why and how do fossil-fuel burning and other human practices produce greenhouse gases? What natural forces have caused climate change in the past? What risks does climate change pose for human health? What accounts for the diminishment of mountain glaciers and small ice caps around the world since 1850? What are the economic costs and benefits of reducing carbon emissions?
Global Weirdness enlarges our understanding of how climate change affects our daily lives, and arms us with the incontrovertible facts we need to make informed decisions about the future of the planet and of humankind.
With black-and-white images interspersed throughout.
Global Weirdness
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shop the Amazon.com Textbooks Store and save up to 70% on textbook rentals, 90% on used textbooks and 60% on eTextbooks. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Without talking down to readers, the authors do a masterful job of clarifying all aspects of a complicated and alarming topic, making it that much more difficult for global-warming denialists to keep their heads in the sand.” –Booklist (starred review)
"With quippy titles, helpful summaries, and a jargon-free writing style, Climate Central integrates scientific, historical, and sociological facts in an appealing and informative manner.... A great starter text on climate-change issues--fans of Bill McKibben will enjoy this work and then pass it along to skeptical friends." –Library Journal
“An ideal introduction to the facts about global warming . . . Lucidly written and thoughtful.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“An easily digestible read, with most chapters less than three pages long. Divided into four sections (‘What the Science Says,’ ‘What’s Actually Happening,’ ‘What’s Likely to Happen in the Future,’ and ‘Can We Avoid the Risks of Climate Change?’), the book covers all the basics, including descriptions of Earth’s previous climates and how hard it is for different cultures to adjust to changes; the difference between weather and climate; the greenhouse effect; and how climate scientists’ predictions are coming true.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Slim and elegant…written in the kind of plain English of which Strunk and White would approve, that lays out what we know about climate change while hewing to the facts and taking great care to avoid bias and hysteria.”
—The New York Times
“Written in straightforward prose and fact-checked by the world’s eminent climate scholars, Global Weirdness reads like the 9/11 Commission Report: all of the facts, none of the hyperbole. In four succinct sections, its authors detail the truth about climate change.”
—CBS Smart Planet
“a breath of fresh air: just the facts, efficient and easy to understand. It’ll be within arm’s reach of my own desk.”
—Scientific American
“Global Weirdness is probably the weirdest book about global warming you’re going to read…because it’s nonpartisan, making absolutely zero attempts to agitate for legislation.”
—Time Out Chicago
“so welcome…explains climate change in simple, easy-to-understand language and ultrashort chapters.”
—Mark Bittman, The New York Times
“This primer on the science of global warming provides a fact-filled explanation of how climate change impacts, and will continue to impact, our daily lives. The 60 concise and easily digestible chapters tackle such questions as: Is climate ever ‘normal’? What risks does climate change pose for human health? What are the economic costs and benefits of reducing carbon emissions? The authors are up-front about the potential downfalls of alternative energy and technological fixes.”
—Conversation Magazine
“Written in language that most people can understand, with nine pages of supporting scientific references, the book probably comes as close as possible to satisfying journalist Thomas Friedman’s 2010 public plea in The New York Times for a report ‘summarizing everything we already know about climate change in language a sixth grader could understand, with unimpeachable peer-reviewed footnotes’…A concise summary for anyone who wants a better understanding of what is happening to the planet and the possible actions that can be taken.”
—Santa Fe New Mexican’s Pasatiempto
"With quippy titles, helpful summaries, and a jargon-free writing style, Climate Central integrates scientific, historical, and sociological facts in an appealing and informative manner.... A great starter text on climate-change issues--fans of Bill McKibben will enjoy this work and then pass it along to skeptical friends." –Library Journal
“An ideal introduction to the facts about global warming . . . Lucidly written and thoughtful.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“An easily digestible read, with most chapters less than three pages long. Divided into four sections (‘What the Science Says,’ ‘What’s Actually Happening,’ ‘What’s Likely to Happen in the Future,’ and ‘Can We Avoid the Risks of Climate Change?’), the book covers all the basics, including descriptions of Earth’s previous climates and how hard it is for different cultures to adjust to changes; the difference between weather and climate; the greenhouse effect; and how climate scientists’ predictions are coming true.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Slim and elegant…written in the kind of plain English of which Strunk and White would approve, that lays out what we know about climate change while hewing to the facts and taking great care to avoid bias and hysteria.”
—The New York Times
“Written in straightforward prose and fact-checked by the world’s eminent climate scholars, Global Weirdness reads like the 9/11 Commission Report: all of the facts, none of the hyperbole. In four succinct sections, its authors detail the truth about climate change.”
—CBS Smart Planet
“a breath of fresh air: just the facts, efficient and easy to understand. It’ll be within arm’s reach of my own desk.”
—Scientific American
“Global Weirdness is probably the weirdest book about global warming you’re going to read…because it’s nonpartisan, making absolutely zero attempts to agitate for legislation.”
—Time Out Chicago
“so welcome…explains climate change in simple, easy-to-understand language and ultrashort chapters.”
—Mark Bittman, The New York Times
“This primer on the science of global warming provides a fact-filled explanation of how climate change impacts, and will continue to impact, our daily lives. The 60 concise and easily digestible chapters tackle such questions as: Is climate ever ‘normal’? What risks does climate change pose for human health? What are the economic costs and benefits of reducing carbon emissions? The authors are up-front about the potential downfalls of alternative energy and technological fixes.”
—Conversation Magazine
“Written in language that most people can understand, with nine pages of supporting scientific references, the book probably comes as close as possible to satisfying journalist Thomas Friedman’s 2010 public plea in The New York Times for a report ‘summarizing everything we already know about climate change in language a sixth grader could understand, with unimpeachable peer-reviewed footnotes’…A concise summary for anyone who wants a better understanding of what is happening to the planet and the possible actions that can be taken.”
—Santa Fe New Mexican’s Pasatiempto
About the Author
This book was produced collectively by scientists and journalists at Climate Central, a nonprofit, nonpartisan science and journalism organization. It was written by Emily Elert and Michael D. Lemonick. Prior to external scientific peer review, it was reviewed by staff scientists Philip Duffy, Ph.D. (chief scientist), Nicole Heller, Ph.D. (ecosystems and adaptation), Alyson Kenward, Ph.D. (chemistry), Eric Larson, Ph.D. (energy systems) and Claudia Tebaldi, Ph.D. (climate statistics).
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
60 of 67 people found the following review helpful
By Lowell
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a retired university bioscience professor and I have spent much of the last 4-5 years educating myself on the science and consequences of global warming. I've read most of the available books on the subject, attended conferences, followed climate blogs and read scientific papers. When I learned of this new book from Climate Central, a highly respected non-profit that deals with communicating climate change issues to the public, I immediately ordered it from Amazon. The book is an easy read for someone who already has some background understanding of climate change/global warming. In the book's introduction, the authors state that their rationale (provided by author Thomas Friedman) for writing the book was to summarize "..everything we already know about climate change in language that a sixth grader could understand, with unimpeachable, peer-reviewed footnotes."
So did they accomplish this goal? Probably not that well - while the book does give a shallow, broad overview of what is scientifically known about climate change, what's actually happening, what's likely to happen in the future and can we avoid the trouble climate change will bring, I'm not sure it would hold the interest of the average sixth grader for two reasons. (i) The book is very poorly illustrated. I counted a total of 12 illustrations, all in black and white with very small print, in this 200 page book. None of these illustrations are particulary compelling. (ii) While one of Climate Central's highly experienced journalists (Michael Lemonick) co-authored the book, it reads like something a less-experienced journalist might compose.
While I identified only a couple of obvious factual errors (perhaps typos), the book frequently equivocates on the significance of generally established science to the point of leaving the reader wondering "Is this true or not?" For example, in Chapter 40, titled "Computer Models Aren't Perfect. This Isn't A Big Surprise", the authors conclude that progress in climate modeling has been slow and "..decision makers who want to use information about future climate have to make do with imperfect information." The authors fail to state that climate scientists use multiple models to reach their findings, and the data they get - even using many different models at many different laboratories - are remarkably consistent and fit historic climatic occurances. There are many more instances in the book where the authors seem to be taking pains to avoid being seen as too dire in stating the known risks of climate change. While not as bad as the practice of some journalists who insist on "giving both sides of the argument" even when one of the sides is blatantly false, the caution used by the authors in this book is often unwarranted.
So in summary, what's good about the book? It is an easy to read, broad overview of present understanding of climate change. It is by-and-large factually correct - in addition to being reviewed by 5 internal Climate Central scientists, it was reviewed by 22 outside climate scientists. While it isn't footnoted (one of the book's stated aims), there is a list of references at the end. This list isn't comprehesive but does include several key reports and papers.
Who might be interested in reading this book? Probably someone who is beginning to suspect that climate change is a really important issue, but doesn't yet have a knowledge foundation as to why. I'm not sure it would be good for most sixth graders because it is so poorly illustrated. I wish I could say it is a great book, but in reality there are other books on this subject that are better.
So did they accomplish this goal? Probably not that well - while the book does give a shallow, broad overview of what is scientifically known about climate change, what's actually happening, what's likely to happen in the future and can we avoid the trouble climate change will bring, I'm not sure it would hold the interest of the average sixth grader for two reasons. (i) The book is very poorly illustrated. I counted a total of 12 illustrations, all in black and white with very small print, in this 200 page book. None of these illustrations are particulary compelling. (ii) While one of Climate Central's highly experienced journalists (Michael Lemonick) co-authored the book, it reads like something a less-experienced journalist might compose.
While I identified only a couple of obvious factual errors (perhaps typos), the book frequently equivocates on the significance of generally established science to the point of leaving the reader wondering "Is this true or not?" For example, in Chapter 40, titled "Computer Models Aren't Perfect. This Isn't A Big Surprise", the authors conclude that progress in climate modeling has been slow and "..decision makers who want to use information about future climate have to make do with imperfect information." The authors fail to state that climate scientists use multiple models to reach their findings, and the data they get - even using many different models at many different laboratories - are remarkably consistent and fit historic climatic occurances. There are many more instances in the book where the authors seem to be taking pains to avoid being seen as too dire in stating the known risks of climate change. While not as bad as the practice of some journalists who insist on "giving both sides of the argument" even when one of the sides is blatantly false, the caution used by the authors in this book is often unwarranted.
So in summary, what's good about the book? It is an easy to read, broad overview of present understanding of climate change. It is by-and-large factually correct - in addition to being reviewed by 5 internal Climate Central scientists, it was reviewed by 22 outside climate scientists. While it isn't footnoted (one of the book's stated aims), there is a list of references at the end. This list isn't comprehesive but does include several key reports and papers.
Who might be interested in reading this book? Probably someone who is beginning to suspect that climate change is a really important issue, but doesn't yet have a knowledge foundation as to why. I'm not sure it would be good for most sixth graders because it is so poorly illustrated. I wish I could say it is a great book, but in reality there are other books on this subject that are better.
30 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
My take on this book with hopes that its circulated to the general public.
August 3, 2012
By Annie T.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Though I understand the first reviewer's comments about this book coming from his erudite position, I would give the book five stars for a very different reason.
I don't believe this nation is facing the perilous path it is heading down, and leadership isn't helping to make this situation the prime, number one concern it is.
A huge portion of the populace listen to news and radio channels which propagate notions that science isn't correct regarding climate concerns.
If you are a scientist, if you are highly educated, or if you are curious, you would find relevant articles about climate changes over the past years. Many folks are
not and this information has to get out to the public in one form or another. In addition, people do what is called 'selective inattention' as they lead their lives.
There are other things to worry about, there are families to raise, there are jobs to be found and finances to manage. This is where attention goes.
I find this book to be clear, focused, and filled with good information. The title itself is something that people would relate to in terms of their own experiences
these days, whether with wild,severe storms or drought. Yes, as reviewer one said, there are places where the authors seem to be hedging, though I thought as reading
this that they were soft pedaling to bring disbelievers on board.
Read this book and pass it forward asking others to do the same. Ask your politicians and our presidential candidates how critical they see climate change issues to
be and don't vote for them if they are evasive, or don't get the peril our planet is in.
I don't believe this nation is facing the perilous path it is heading down, and leadership isn't helping to make this situation the prime, number one concern it is.
A huge portion of the populace listen to news and radio channels which propagate notions that science isn't correct regarding climate concerns.
If you are a scientist, if you are highly educated, or if you are curious, you would find relevant articles about climate changes over the past years. Many folks are
not and this information has to get out to the public in one form or another. In addition, people do what is called 'selective inattention' as they lead their lives.
There are other things to worry about, there are families to raise, there are jobs to be found and finances to manage. This is where attention goes.
I find this book to be clear, focused, and filled with good information. The title itself is something that people would relate to in terms of their own experiences
these days, whether with wild,severe storms or drought. Yes, as reviewer one said, there are places where the authors seem to be hedging, though I thought as reading
this that they were soft pedaling to bring disbelievers on board.
Read this book and pass it forward asking others to do the same. Ask your politicians and our presidential candidates how critical they see climate change issues to
be and don't vote for them if they are evasive, or don't get the peril our planet is in.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Summers
Format:Hardcover
I read a lot about climate change and wanted to find a simple overview for myself and to show to a few of my more skeptical friends. This book almost works for my purposes, since it is accurate, simply argued,and discusses most of the important issues regarding climate change. However, it lacks two things needed for almost any non-fiction book: a table of contents (or index)and footnotes.
A simple table of context listing each of the 60 "chapter" titles would allow me to find and show a chapter to a friend and ask them to read the two or three pages on the topic. Footnotes would allow them to look into the issue more deeply if they remained skeptical. Instead, you have to flip through multiple chapters to find a topic and then hope that the general references actually address that topic. What a shame - with a little more effort, this book could have been a valuable asset for introducing climate change to skeptics.
One issue I wished the book had discussed more involves the impact of climate change on civilizations. To oversimplify, unstable climate = unstable food supplies = unstable civilizations = loss of life as the civilization crumbles. I know we can't prove that the drought and fires in Russia caused the price of wheat to increase and that the price increase was a major factor in the Arab Spring uprisings but, to me, that is one of the side effects of climate change that should have been mentioned - at least as a possibility.
A simple table of context listing each of the 60 "chapter" titles would allow me to find and show a chapter to a friend and ask them to read the two or three pages on the topic. Footnotes would allow them to look into the issue more deeply if they remained skeptical. Instead, you have to flip through multiple chapters to find a topic and then hope that the general references actually address that topic. What a shame - with a little more effort, this book could have been a valuable asset for introducing climate change to skeptics.
One issue I wished the book had discussed more involves the impact of climate change on civilizations. To oversimplify, unstable climate = unstable food supplies = unstable civilizations = loss of life as the civilization crumbles. I know we can't prove that the drought and fires in Russia caused the price of wheat to increase and that the price increase was a major factor in the Arab Spring uprisings but, to me, that is one of the side effects of climate change that should have been mentioned - at least as a possibility.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brief and succinct, this is one of the better nontechnical overviews...
Physicist Richard Feynman wrote the book QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter in a style that an educated audience of nonscientists could understand. Read more
Published 11 days ago by R Schmidt
3.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful Catalogue
If you believe in Climate Change, this provides a brief but comprehensive list of examples of where the world is falling apart. Depressing.
Published 20 days ago by John Hemphill
5.0 out of 5 stars
handy book
This is a very nice collection of very brief summaries on practically every topic associated with weather. Read more
Published 1 month ago by W. Jamison
5.0 out of 5 stars
I recommend this book
This was an easy read. If you ever doubted that climate change was real or wanted to learn up on the issue so you could talk about it intelligently at parties, read this book.
Published 2 months ago by P. J. Dolan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Climate control issues
good so far, not finished reading it. glad these global situations not being ignored and hopefully books like this will convince people to understand and support efforts to make... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Linda
5.0 out of 5 stars
Global Weirdness
Very interesting read. Definitely I believe our climate is changing as this has been the hottest year on record (2012) - the ice cap is melting - we've had so many huge storms and... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Terry H. Mccann
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very readable and has great information
I've read several climate change books, but this does the best job of explaining all of the details and the state of the science. It is enjoyable reading--very well written. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Beth
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly simple, effective teaching tool
This little book divides issues related to climate change into small, easily digestible portions, using a 6th grade level vocabulary and reading level, to communicate issues and... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dr Bon
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best book on global warming
This little book is a big key to explaining what global warming is and isn't about and it is written in words practically anyone can understand. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Wilbert D. Hall
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bends over backwards to be clear and fair
The purpose of this book is to make what we know about climate change ("global warming") crystal clear even to a sixth grader. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dennis Littrell
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
So You'd Like to...
|
|
Look for Similar Items by Category
- Books > New, Used & Rental Textbooks > Science & Mathematics > Earth Sciences
- Books > New, Used & Rental Textbooks > Science & Mathematics > Environmental Studies
- Books > Science & Math > Earth Sciences > Climatology
- Books > Science & Math > Earth Sciences > Environmental Science
- Books > Science & Math > Earth Sciences > Rivers
- Books > Science & Math > Environment > Weather
- Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Conservation
