Customer Reviews

A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids: Understanding Climate Change and What You Can Do About It

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

 

 

This seems to be a fine and timely book. I confess I did not read it in its entirety, I only browsed the random selections offered online. However, I was greatly disturbed by the assertion in the very first selection offered that carbon monoxide is the ugly black smoke that comes from...whatever. It contrasts carbon monoxide with carbon dioxide, which is invisible, has no odor, etc. WRONG WRONG WRONG! Carbon monoxide is every bit as invisible and odorless as carbon dioxide! This is a very concerning error, and I hope there are no more of them to weaken the book.

While the author's heart is in the right place, she has no business writing a science book. There are many many fundamental science errors in the book; even my high school aged son picked out a bunch of them. There is a thing called editorial review and and fact checking, neither of which the author sought out; it is a pity because there are many fine aspects of the book.

I looked through a copy of this book at the public library as I did not want to put money on the table for it. Arouund four years ago I had an encounter with our local primary school administrators after learning and seeing that the teachers had embarked on their own liberal mission of educating the very young on climate change using for one books and vdos from Al Gore. While the teachers wanted to nudge the young impressionable kids esp. less than 7-8 years old on the feel good importance of green public goods, it was no less than a propaganda indoctrination. When I challenged them on the science they became angry and "voted" me to not attend the public meetings. I told them that no matter how good intentioned they felt they were, what they were doing was not just misguided, it was wrong headed, that the "science" was policy led / driven and not objective and the science is not settled. I further elaborated on the original intention of the IPCC charge from the UNFCCC Rio climate convention (protocols) to be "to study climate change to determine causes of / means for mitigation of anthropogenic i.e., man-made global warming that was the primary (actually the only identified) cause threatening human kind. After some cool headed discussion they agreed that a) this was indeed circular reasons with the premise = the conclusion b) that the models used to reach such conclusions are deterministic and not falsifiable therefore impossible to draw such conclusions that manmade CO2 + other GHGs are the "primary" cause of climate change c) the problem is and will remain attribution of human causes as being the only important cause, d) the climate change "industry" is very big money to those participating including researchers (grants, tenure, professorships...), investors (think Solyndra, and other solar and wind companies, and big business such as GE, Shell, Exxon, BP all of whom reap billions of dollars in financial and other material benefits ..... I cannot think of any endeavor with government intervention / meddling / market distortion in which there is not unintended consequences including corruption, payouts, lobbying, incentives, preferred funding, tax breaks. Look at our congress and financial regulation of Dodd Frank.

In a culture where global warming and being green are becoming household names, A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids helps to deshroud some of the mystery of these terms-- and in language that we can ALL understand without having a science degree.

If you are a parent- buy this book. If you are an educator- buy this book. If you are a kid- get your parent's permission- and then buy this book. Definitely if you are a politician... please BUY THIS BOOK.
The pictures are terrific, and it's chock full of great activities to expand upon the text. A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids is a great resource for the classroom, or the family library.

Written by two authors who practice what they preach in green living, this book will empower you to make green choices in your life, but also to know WHY they matter. A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids isn't scary and full of doomsday-- it's a book full of common language explanations and sends a message of hope for our planet, written for our future--our kids.

This is an important and accessible book that clearly defines climate change and explores the many ways it is adversely affecting our world. It provides interesting examples of things people are already doing to fight climate change. Even better, it suggests positive action items that will inspire and teach children and their families how to become part of the solution. A valuable resource and idea book that belongs in every library, as well as every 6th, 7th and 8th grade science and social studies classroom!

I want my grandchildren to read this book, and I hope their parents will too. All our futures are involved.