Beating the Heat Why and How We Must Combat Global Warming (Paperback)

by John J. Berger (Author)
Key Phrases: climate crisis, climate skeptics, wind capacity, Beating the Heat, Sierra Club, Counting the Costs (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Beating the Heat is for people who are neither scientists nor technically trained but are concerned about the environment. John Berger, who has a Ph.D. in ecology, explains to readers in a nontechnical, friendly style what's causing climate problems, why climate change is so dangerous, and how it can be remedied to make a safer world. Berger suggests steps that can be adopted immediately to help fight global warming. He explains that just as recycling and other types of resource conservation became part of the daily routine for millions of Americans in the past decade, the threat of rising temperatures is poised to encourage new habits that can preserve a healthy planet. Berger's focus on individual responses to this crisis offers readers hope that their individual actions can work for the greater good.

Product Details

• Paperback: 135 pages
• Publisher: Berkeley Hills Books; 1st edition (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893163059
• ISBN-13: 978-1893163058
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,267,836 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, June 8, 2000

By	Max R. Tomlinson (San Francisco, Ca United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

John Berger writes about this subject with both enthusiasm and balance, giving the reader (particularly the layman) an overview of how we got to where we are in the global warming crisis and what can be done about it. There's even a handy section listing resources for taking action. The arguments put forward are well supported.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Science and Realistic Solutions, July 13, 2000

By A Customer

This book will teach you everything you need to know about global warming. I am a businessperson, not a scientist, and I wasn't lost in technical oblivion. Berger makes a convincing case for taking prompt action to combat global warming. His chapter on the various sources of clean energy was particularly interesting. He also outlined steps that policy makers can take to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. I found this book to be very well researched, entertaining, and easy to understand.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on global warming, July 11, 2006

By	David Diez (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

The reason I love this book is that it is over 5 years old. Why? Because we can point back to it and say, "The more extreme events we are seeing now more than ever in our history were predicted." Yes, this book lays out that storms would get stronger and more frequent due to warming (2004 and 2005 testify to that). It also describes that wildfires and floods are supposed to get more frequent and serious in certain areas (and those events have also begun to transpire).

With Shell and BP executives now admitting that global warming is real, is serious, and needs to be dealt with, people need to take this seriously! Why would these multi-billion dollar companies go out against carbon emissions when that is their cash crop, unless they had a really good moral reason to?

Note that the two one star reviewers didn't believe in global warming; note also that they were written 5 years ago. It is a scientific consensus, with little opposition even by industry, that global warming is actually occurring due to human activity. I'm sure each of the reviewers below has changed their mind (assuming they actually read the book and watch/read the news).

That being said, the predictions today for the temperature changes in the next 100 years are more extreme than they were when this book was written, and likely more accurate because more accurate models have been developed. Regardless, this book explains enough for anyone's purpose to get them to act.

If not this book, read some book on global warming. Read the news and actually research this. It may take a lot of effort, but the importance of the issue demands that. A little sidenote...

Making the necessary changes can actually SAVE YOU MONEY (you reduce energy waste, you save a lot of money on your energy bill). The honest truth is, the average American home can reduce its energy bill by over 30% by buying energy efficient appliances and making appropriate and reasonable changes (with no change in lifestyle habits). Not only this, but the energy savings MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR THE INITIAL COST OVER TIME OF THE ENERGY EFFICIENT PRODUCTS. (For example, replacing a 15 y.o. fridge can save $60/year in energy costs.) Please look into energy efficiency and make an effort to help reduce CO2 emissions while saving yourself some moola at the same time. If you can put in a little money and have the desire to, you can also buy renewable energy from your energy provider (available in many areas). [...] Most places have green energy for a reasonable premium (some areas are not so reasonable, at least at the time of this writing).