Greenhouse: The 200 Year Story of Global Warming
Greenhouse: The 200 Year Story of Global Warming – Review
Dr Gale Christianson, a Distinguished Professor of Arts and Science and a history teacher at Indiana State U. is well suited to write on the history and art of global warming. This book is a one-stop-shop for all aspects of global warming and is approachable by a broad audience. I now knew this would be a good widely read by his quote from William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “HOW CAM’ST THOU IN THIS PICKLE?” (page before the index). Indeed! How did we find ourselves in the 21st century- the supposedly progressive generations of vast technical knowledge about the effects and dynamics of just about everything, sweating-out the rapidly increasing international temperature and it’s harmful effects on all life? Currently, the problem is not science, for as we see in this thorough review of global warming, the issue has been on the table for centuries and that part is equally fascinating! Christianson has done a outstanding activity of currently assembling a broad collection of chronological data on the effects of global warming from early Europeans to the American Indians and more. The on-set of the industrial revolution kicks the study into extreme gear and biologist, anthropologist, meteorologist, historians, et al., will no-doubt appreciate the broad perspective. The contemporary debate about whether the daily activities of now billions of humans can alter the climate, let alone ecological processes, has become a outrageous statement about our collective penchant for denial as the operative factor in approaching (or actively resisting approaching) this important stage in our evolution. Of course we can and do effect the climate- 6 billion of any sizable mammal can do that and while doing nothing more than barely breathing, eating and defecating! Of course, we humans do a heck-of-a-lot more. Virtually everything we do creates heat and the worst forms of it are those that contribute to the greenhouse effect by throwing heat trapping carbon dioxide into the air. And who is willing to stand-up in the face of a preponderance of historical and recent data on human usually caused global warming, anymore? Looking at those whose activities make shares of money from emitting greenhouse gases certainly have a economic stake in denial, but how about those anthropocentrics who think we humans are infallible and can do no wrong? Sheesh! Whatever camp one is in, this book will demonstrate the science of global warming in all aspects and hopefully, with this knowledge, we begin to do something historically different- alter our ways! Like an ancient Chinese Proverb states, “If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.” And in this case, it’s toast! (Proverb told in Duane Elgin’s book, “Promise Ahead”).