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Summary
Summary
In STORMS OF MY GRANDCHILDREN, Dr. James Hansen, the nation's leading scientist on climate issues, speaks out for the first time with the full truth about global warming: the planet is hurtling even more rapidly than previously acknowledged to a climatic point of no return. Although Hansen was Al Gore's science advisor for "An Inconvenient Truth," his recent data shows that our situation is even more dire today. But politicians haven't made the connection between the policy and the science. He shows why Gore's solution, cap and trade, won't work, why we must phase out all coal, and why 350 ppm of carbon is a goal we must achieve in the next two decades if our grandchildren are to avoid global meltdown and the storms of the book's title. This urgent manifesto bucks conventional wisdom (including the Kyoto Protocol) and is sure to stir controversy, but Hansen-whose climate predictions have come to pass again and again, beginning in the 1980s when he first warned Congress about globalwarming-is the single most credible voice on the subject worldwide.
Hansen paints a devastating but all-too-realistic picture of what will happen in the next year, and ten years from now if we follow the course we're on. But he is also an optimist, showing that there is still time to do what we need to do. Urgent, strong action is needed, and this book, released just before the Copenhagen Conference in December 2009, will be key in setting the agenda going forward to create a groundswell, a tipping point, to save humanity-and our grandchildren--from a dire fate more imminent than we had supposed.
Author Notes
Dr. James Hansen is perhaps best known for bringing global warming to the world's attention in the 1980s, when he first testified before Congress. An adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University and at Columbia's Earth Institute, and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, he is frequently called to testify before Congress on climate issues. Dr. Hansen's background in both space and earth sciences allows a broad perspective on the status and prospects of our home planet. This is his first book.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, lays all the cards on the table in this thorough, detailed analysis of the history, science and politics of climate change, a Silent Spring-style warning cry that predicts "a rough ride" for our grandchildren. Using numerous charts and graphs alongside accessible explanations, Hansen presents copious climate data for a broad audience. After discussing the recent history of global warming science, from the Climate Task Force of 2000 to his up-to-the-minute carbon dioxide limit of 350ppm, Hansen provides recommendations for achieving greenhouse gas reduction, as well as strategies for reducing or eliminating fossil fuel use: "[F]or the sake of our children and grandchildren, we cannot allow our government to continue to connive with the coal industry in subterfuges that allow dirty-coal use to continue." The most significant step, he says, would be creating a cost structure that escalates cost as carbon emissions increase. With of-the-moment discussion of topics such as climate vs. weather (addressing in particular the cool U.S. summer of 2009), cap-and-trade vs. fee-and-dividend, and climate change politics as well as activism, this is certain to be as controversial as it is informative. Hansen's message is stirring as well as urgent, and should be required reading for anyone involved in public policy. (Dec.) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Climatologist Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and an internationally renowned global-warming expert, became even more famous when he was censored by the Bush administration. After decades of studying the role fossil fuels play in global warming and witnessing the federal government's failure to take action to lower carbon emissions, he felt compelled to write his first book out of concern about the potentially catastrophic future facing his grandchildren. Hansen condemns governmental greenwashing and the undue influence of more than 2,300 energy lobbyists, and attempts to close the gap between public perception and scientific reality by lucidly explaining the dynamics of global warming, its acceleration, and how a slight rise in temperature can lead to disastrous consequences. He then boldly declares that the way to solve the climate crisis is to rapidly phase out coal emissions. How will we meet our energy needs without coal? Hansen tells the secret story of the jettisoned fast nuclear reactor, a safer and more efficient reactor than those currently in use, and advocates for its resurrection. Rich in invaluable insights into the geopolitics as well as the geophysics of climate change, Hansen's guaranteed-to-be-controversial manifesto is the most comprehensible, realistic, and courageous call to prevent climate change yet. It belongs in every library.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2009 Booklist
Kirkus Review
In his debut, a leading climatologist lambasts world governments for their ineffectual response to the dangers of global warming. After sounding the climate alarm in papers and conferences for two decades, here Hansen takes off the gloves, faulting "the undue influence of special interests and government greenwash" for the failure to take the actions necessary to stabilize Earth's climate. Much of the book is a heady crash course in the science of global warming, and the author makes readily apparent the nuances of human-caused and other factors involved in climate change. Offered within the context of Hansen's work of the past eight yearsincluding his widely reported clashes with the Bush administrationthe science sections are followed by his own prescriptions for action. Unlike politicians, he writes, nature does not compromise. He dismisses key aspects of legislation now before Congress as well as the Kyoto approach to international climate treaty-making, arguing that setting goals for a gradual slowing down of emissions will not solve the problem. "Ladies and gentlemen, your governments are lying through their teeth," he writes. Coal use must be prohibited unless ways can be found to capture and dispose of carbon dioxide emissions. Relying on renewables and increasing energy efficiency will not do the trick either. Dismissing the cap-and-trade approaches now being considered by lawmakers, Hansen proposes a fee-and-dividend approach as the best way to phase out fossil fuels. He considers nuclear power a possible safe-energy alternative and calls for the United States to build a test fast-reactor nuclear power plant. Hansen blames the Obama Administration for listening to the advice of Environmental Defense and other well-meaning environmental groups, which are satisfied with gradual legislative progress. As the author writes, we're simply out of time. With urgency and authority, Hansen urges readers to speak outtaking to the streets if necessaryto protect the Earth from calamity for the sake of their children and grandchildren. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Hansen has been researching climate changes over the last 30 years and is considered an expert and the most prominent scientist in this country on the subject of global warming. His predictions for climate change have consistently been proven true. Here, he focuses on proving that global warming is occurring more rapidly than previously thought and that politicians are more concerned about supporting policies that please their special interest groups. Hansen vehemently recommends phasing out all coal usage and drastically reducing carbon monoxide in our atmosphere. Verdict Going against current thinking, this book is sure to garner strong reactions. It's a compelling, readable wake-up call that will appeal to those who have read Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and anyone interested in the current global warming crisis and looking for ways that individuals can make a difference.-Gloria Maxwell, Metropolitan Community Coll., Kansas City, MO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. ix |
| 1 The Vice President's Climate Task Force | p. 1 |
| 2 The A-Team and the Secretary's Quandary | p. 17 |
| 3 A Visit to the White House | p. 28 |
| 4 Time Warp | p. 59 |
| 5 Dangerous Reticence: A Slippery Slope | p. 70 |
| 6 The Faustian Bargain: Humanity's Own Trap | p. 90 |
| 7 Is There Still Time? A Tribute to Charles David Keeling | p. 112 |
| 8 Target Carbon Dioxide: Where Should Humanity Aim? | p. 140 |
| 9 An Honest, Effective Path | p. 172 |
| 10 The Venus Syndrome | p. 223 |
| 11 Storms of My Grandchildren | p. 237 |
| Afterword | p. 271 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 278 |
| Appendix 1 Key Differences with Contrarians | p. 279 |
| Appendix 2 Global Climate Forcings and Radiative Feedbacks | p. 281 |
| Selected Sources | p. 282 |
| Index | p. 287 |
