The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change (No-Nonsense Guides) [Paperback]

Dinyar Godrej (Author)

Book Description

Series: No Nonsense Guides (Verso) | Publication Date: May 2001

The hole in the ozone layer is now the size of a continent. Ships can negotiate the North West Passage without confronting pack ice. Floods devastate Mozambique and tinder-dry forests of the American North-West go up in a blaze. Yet scientists are still divided as to whether this is a random blip or an irreversible trend. Worse, political and corporate jargon confuses the issues, sometimes with deliberate disinformation. This book charts up-to-the-minute developments, explores the extent that the human race is responsible for the catastrophes and suggests what can be done to prevent them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'For anyone who wants a lucid, factual, reliable guide to some of the most important issues of our time, I strongly recommend you check out the No-Nonsense Guides.' Howard Zinn, historian, playwright and social activist 'A splendid series of pocketable guides to issue politics... rigorously clear.' The Guardian, London --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Indian-born Dinyar Godrej, a former editor of New Internationalist, works as a freelance journalist based in Europe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Verso (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859843352
• ISBN-13: 978-1859843352
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,540,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not "Bad Science" Anymore!, December 26, 2002

By 

Kerry Walters (Lewisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change (No-Nonsense Guides) (Paperback)

Even conservatives now admit that global warming is a reality and that it's primarily the result of fossil fuel use (see the EPA document on global warming published earlier this year). But the extent of the problem is only beginning to sink in. The twentieth century was the hottest century, the 1990s the hottest decade of the millennium, and 1998 the hottest year of the 1990s (we know this from analyzing atmospheric gases trapped in Arctic ice). And we're only feeling the effects of CO2 emissions from 35 years ago! The nasty effects of all the emissions since then haven't even kicked in yet. Moreover, global warming will also lead to "feedback"--the official term for extreme weather. Tornadoes out of season, violent thunderstorms and hail, droughts, floodings, blizzards: all of these are already occuring as wind currents and meterological conditions feel the effects of overall global warming.

Dinyar Godrej's *Climate Change,* a volume in the excellent "No-Nonsense" series, outlines the basic (and frightening!) facts about global warming, backing his claims up with a wealth of data and references. This makes his book a convenient (and affordable) resource for anyone who wants to get a handle on what's happening to the planet. But Godrej also offers some social, political, and personal suggestions for slowing down and hopefully reducing the human activity that creates global warming. Highly recommended. Read it, get scared, get angry, get working! And while you're at it, get rid of your SUV.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A bit too much nonsense, April 18, 2007

By 

J. Ellebracht "steady Amazon customer" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change (No-Nonsense Guides) (Paperback)

Unfortunately the author has gotten some of the science wrong, stating for example that carbon is radioactive and mislabeling important graphs. Since this is the 3rd edition one would have hoped the editors would have glanced at the book since it was written in 2001. The author (an immigrant from India) has a very strong anti developed-world bias. He argues vehemently against carbon trading and offsets, not acknowledging that these mechanisms reduce CO2 buildup. He wants instead, I think, punishment to be meted out to the developed countries for their success and rewards to be given to developing countries for their lack of success. He does not appear to want emission controls on developing countries, but prefers that the developed world gift the developing world with free solar power plants. For a no-nonsense guide, there is too much of this nonsense.
I do like the chart on top of page 138 on tips to personally cut emissions (like becoming a vegetarian).