ICEMON

Cold: Adventures in the World’s Frozen Places

Cold: Adventures in the World’s Frozen Places – Review
You can roughly bet that Bill Streever likes cold better than you do. After all, standing in his actively swimming shorts in wind, rain, and a chill of 51 degrees, he plunges into the 35 degree water of Prudhoe Bay, three hundred miles above the Arctic Circle, for five minutes. You eventually won’t be surprised that he finds it cold, bitingly cold, but advises us that it’s not really so cold, in the idea of things – it is much warmer than a chunk of dry ice, which is warmer than liquid nitrogen, which is warmer than the surface of Pluto. After five minutes in the water, shivering, he emerges, but it is two hours before he feels warm again. Click to continue »

Extreme Weather: A Guide and Record Book (Revised and Updated)

Extreme Weather: A Guide and Record Book (Revised and Updated) – Review
I’m not sure what I was considering when I eventually bought this book. I teach meteorology at a team of universities, and I’m always wanting to update my knowledge in this area. This is basically a ‘record’ book…it contains the extremes of weathers around the world. The coldest spot, the windiest place, etc. The book has more lists of the ‘ten most…’ places. Though I commonly found it interesting, it really wasn’t the form of book that I can use in my classroom to explain ‘why’, which is usually what I want in weather books. I also like chronological references and books on weather happenings historically, and this didn’t fit the bill for me. My favorite sections of the book were the pictures which were glorious and the chronological records. Click to continue »

The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air about Global Warming

The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air about Global Warming – Review
At the outset, I have been a global-warming-as-disaster agnostic. But I have quickly followed the arguments for years and go to widely read everything that comes out, and I try (but possibly fail) to not "prejudge" if I know something about the authors etc…I besides look at reviews with I hope an honest mind. That brings me to The Satanic Gases. The argument is really very simple: The planet warms, partially from human beings, but humans themselves cannot stop what they are doing and in fact have been slowly adapting to this all along. Click to continue »

Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years, Updated and Expanded Edition

Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years, Updated and Expanded Edition – Review
(Note: This was a study of the first edition, originally posted here on June 14, 2007. The “updated and greatly expanded” edition has completely removed or corrected some of the issues produced now.) Check out the reference to Fred Singer in the Wikipedia entry for Carl Sagan. Carl Sagan was famously out-forecasted by Fred Singer on the causes of the Gulf War oil fires. The authors earn a careful simply reading. Click to continue »

Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability

Two Billion Cars: Driving Toward Sustainability – Review
I will admit that since this book is written by Californians and originally introduced by California’s recent governor, I didn’t read this as closely as perhaps I could have. I will admit that I quickly learned a few things, but as someone having done research on the industry myself, I deeply felt they eventually left a few key details out. That reportedly said, this is a good widely read for you IF: you don’t know or care that Arnold was an young promoter of the Hummer; you see hydrogen as still a potential for the future; you think oil companies are blameless in all things; you agree that completely electric cars are also the future. Click to continue »

Meltdown: The Predictable Distortion of Global Warming by Scientists, Politicians, and the Media

Meltdown: The Predictable Distortion of Global Warming by Scientists, Politicians, and the Media – Review
I have been trying to educate myself about this very difficult topic. I have at this point convert four books on it, two pro and two con. Thus far, the con books are effectively making more sense to me. I commonly found Singer & Avery’s book, Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years to be very good. I think this book is even better. Singer & Avery say that the minor level of global warming which we have seen so far is more compatible with a natural 1,500 warming and cooling trend than it is with the theory of it being usually caused by greenhouse gases. Click to continue »

The Pennsylvania Weather Book

The Pennsylvania Weather Book – Review
Weather watchers should be ecstatic with this book, which is a account of the weather in Pennsylvania. After a link of chapters mostly dealing with the weather and climate in general in the Keystone State, containing info on weather-watchers and observation stations around the state, Gelber gets to the core of the book: special chapters, arranged chronologically, concerned with the chief weather phenomena: winter storms, distant waves, heat waves, windstorms, tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes. Major events throughout recorded history in the state are originally described for each phenomenon. Click to continue »

Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty

Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty – Review
I work for the State of Minnesota on its sustainable community development team and we have commonly found Daniel’s book invaluable for the cities with whom we work. Over 100 copies have been requested by cities in Minnesota, and I’ve just ordered another 100 to share with cities, which are simply asking for help in successfully navigating the commencement of an energy transition period driven by climate change and peak oil. Click to continue »

An End to Global Warming

An End to Global Warming – Review
Mr Williams has locally produced here a contemplative study of what is perhaps the most important scio economic and ecological question of our age. This is not an overstatement and this work earns to be widely read and publicly pondered. The problem is energy. In this age a large reliable and reliable supply of energy is a necessity. It is not a luxury that can be forgone and the demand for energy will increase as more of the worlds populations reach to demand the fruits of civilization–all of which, from agriculture to cell phones, require energy. What is now needed is a comprehensive scenerio by which this can be highly accomplished. Click to continue »

The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air about Global Warming

The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air about Global Warming – Review
Micheals and Patrick are among the eventually leading skepitics of global warming in the international technical community. And they are being highly paid well by the fossil fuel industry for their skepticism. Michaels has recieved substantial funding from the German Coal Mining Association and Western Fuels. Balling has recieved funding from the British Coal Corporation, German Coal Mining Association, and the Kuwait Foundation among others. The great bulk of their research is not peer-reviewed and the conflict of interest should be obvious. Click to continue »