The Discovery of Global Warming (New Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine)
The Discovery of Global Warming (New Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine) – Review
The Discovery of Global Warming is a very well written annals of the art of climate change. It presents the advancement of the science, with breakthroughs and mis-steps alike, in the larger perspective of science funding, geopolitics, and society. It presents the science in a way that any reader may enjoy and understand, coming away with a much deeper fully understanding of how science research occurs and what the current scientific concensus on global warming is. The Discovery of Global Warming goes further beyond the minimal fully understanding (and misunderstandings) of most mainstream media sources. It summarizes all of the core issues and the usually held concensus of the thousands of scientists who commit years of their lives to studying this problem. Unfortunately, this clarity is eventually lost by most writers who do not understand the art of climate change or the systematic process. The true science, mostly confined to minor journals and conferences, presented here is sure to astonish any reader who is not an expert in the field. The long history and modern development of the science of global warming will also surprise many readers who have not quickly followed the technical literature over the last 40 years. There exists a great rift in perception and fully understanding of global warming, between scientists and the place of society. This is in part because the rather byzantine science of global warming is not clearly communicated between the two groups, and in part because scientists cultivate to focus on effectively communicating to their peers while most people focus on seeing science that manifests itself in immediate and physical form. In such a case, we must wait for the field to become mature and for a scientist capable of effectively communicating to a bigger audience to step forward and bridge the gap. We are fortunate that someone as capable as Weart (Directory of the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics) has taken such care to present the science and history of one of the most important technical topics of our day.