This book deals with virtually all of the major climate issues, from atmospheric temperatures to sea level rise to ocean acidification, the Great Barrier Reef and the Paris Agreement. Moreover, 21 of the 22 chapters written by leaders in their fields have been written especially for this book and seem to me to be absolutely up-to-date through 2016 and even a few mentions of events in 2017! (The exception is a chapter from a book published in 2010 by the late Bob Carter, a paleontologist and marine geologist.) The essays are very well-written and highly detailed; they do not seem to have been restricted in length. Thus the book is very satisfyingly complete at 335 pages. For those who wish to go further into any topic, there are 45 pages of well-chosen references (perhaps 500 in all).
Highlights for me are as follows:
Carbon Dioxide and Plant Growth, by Dr. Craig D. Idso. The author has done much to study the impacts of CO2 on plant growth. His Table 13.1 is a detailed look at the effect on plant growth of a 300 ppm increase in CO2. As all greenhouse operators know, CO2 levels at 800-1000 ppm are good for growth, but Table 13.1 tells us that an increase to about 600-700 ppm will produce 34-36% increases in the world's most important crops (wheat, rice, sugar cane, etc.), with corn not far behind at 24%. With world population increasing, these benefits of increased CO2 are crucial to maintaining and increasing world food production. Idso points out the increased greening of the planet as shown by NASA satellites that has led to a 6-13% increase in primary plant productivity since the 19080s.
The Impact and Cost of the Paris Agreement, by Bjorn Lomborg. The author begins his chapter with the statement that global warming is real, mostly man-made, and will have a negative impact over the long run. He then calculates not only the benefit (reduction in global temperature) but also the cost associated with each country's statement of their intentions in the Paris Agreement. He assumes that each country actually makes good on its stated intentions (such as the USA promise to reduce CO2 emissions by 26-28% by 2030) and also considers the extension of these actions out to 2100. The result is absolutely flabbergasting: A reduction in global temperatures by 0.05 degrees Celsius by 2030 compared to the expected increase of a degree or so, and a reduction by 2100 of 0.17 C compared to the expected increase of about 1.5-2 C. Under an optimistic scenario of great efficiency of these actions, the cost is estimated at 946 billion, but under a more realistic scenario the cost balloons to about 1.9 trillion US dollars. At the time of writing, this was the only peer-reviewed benefit-cost analysis of the Paris Agreement.
The Poor are Carrying the Cost of Today's Climate Policy, by Dr. Matt Ridley. Ridley estimates that ethanol subsidies have consumed about 5% of the world food crops and quotes the UN conclusion that it was the main cause of the rise in food prices in 2008 and years following. Dr. Indur Goklany has calculated that this policy resulted in the death of 200,000 people. Wind turbines kill rare birds of prey, including eagles, hawks, gannets, and swifts, plus great numbers of bats. Wind and solar power both receive huge subsidies from many governments, which enrich rich people and raise the price of electricity for poor people.
Mass Death Dies Hard, by Clive James. This chapter is NOT written by an expert in climate science, but it is still one of my favorites. Clive James is a poet, author, and broadcaster. He writes "I speak as one who knows nothing about the mathematics involved in modeling non-linear systems." But he does know something about the language and uses language precisely enough to keep me laughing throughout his chapter. Here is a sample: "The Australian climate star Tim Flannery will probably not, of his own free will, shrink back to ...being an expert on the extinction of the giant wombat. He is far more likely to go on being one of the mass media's mobile experts on climate...It will go on being dangerous to stand between him and a TV camera. If the giant wombat could have moved at that speed, it would still be with us."
I enjoyed reading almost every chapter. The main person responsible for the book appears to be the editor, Jennifer Marohasy, a Senior Fellow at the Australian Institute for Public Affairs. As such, there is a distinct leaning toward topics of interest to Australians, such as the Great Barrier Reef (two chapters) and the astoundingly mediocre (or worse) Bureau of Meteorology (several more chapters). One of the most perfect takedowns of the BOM is the chapter by Joanne Nova, writer of the witty and always perceptive climate science blog http://joannenova.com.au/ . She documents in unanswerable detail the trials and tribulations of one temperature station in Rutherglen, Australia, which has consistently reported temperature using the same equipment in an area that has not undergone much urban growth, thus a rare example of a long-term undisturbed data series. The raw data show a gentle cooling over 100 years, and this trend is matched by 4 nearby stations. However, the BOM transforms this into a rather sharp rise by "homogenizing" the Rutherglen data with measurements from 23 stations, some rather distant. This appears to be an example of contaminating good data with bad, a practice that Anthony Watts (another author of another chapter in the book) has repeatedly called attention to. (Watts is the proprietor of the most widely read blog on climate science)
I should state that I chose to buy the rather expensive paperback book rather than the very affordable Kindle version. I am very happy with my decision, because the paperback book is so well put together, with good binding, wide margins, and highly readable type. It has clearly been planned with considerable care. I expect it will be useful to me for years to come, so for me the book was the better option.
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2017
The outcomes of climate mitigation policies are completely out of balance with the tremendous costs.
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2017Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2018
Top reviews from other countries
Paul S.
I found this book to be the best ever for a complete coverage on all that is ...
Reviewed in Canada on April 2, 2018Mr. R. J. L. Payne
Excellent product
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2019Herman Van Den Broeck
There is nothing wrong with our climate
Reviewed in France on April 2, 2019
