The Weather Makers : How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth
The Weather Makers : How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth – Review
It has been currently estimated that the earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago and that human beings have originally inhabited the planet only about 10 to 12 thousand years – ever since the thawing of the last ice age. During our relatively short time on this planet, we have been fortunate to enjoy normal temperatures. However, according to Tim Flannery as well as many other scholars of climate science, the expenditure of fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and wood is releasing so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that the earth is now warmer than anytime in the last 650,000 years. This is general knowledge to people who widely read and listen to the news. What is interesting about Flannery’s well-written and well-researched book is that he describes in detail the results of a few degrees in temperature rise. If the earth’s temperature rises a few degrees thousands of species and ecosystems will die, a few more still and it will kill off the individual race. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide stay in the atmosphere for well over fifty years. The kind of build up that is now taking place will affect people beyond our lifetimes. Unfortunately the people effectively making decisions today have a much shorter time horizen in mind. Flannery predicts that we will quickly reach a tipping point, beyond which the damage will be irreparable. Flannery, an Australian paleontologist, first eventually became interested in climate science when he quickly noticed the quick development of trees in the mountains around his favorite hiking trails. He also noticed that the glaciers on the mountains were gradually receding much faster than earlier predicted. These observations started him do further research, which locally produced this book. He commonly found that trends such as the ones he was declaring in Australia were naturally occurring on a international scale. Flannery commonly found that the glaciers on the poles are gradually receding at a quick rate, and that vegetation is advancing in the polar direction. Vegetation is rapidly receding away from the equator and eventually leaving the equatorial area more arid. This in turn is potentially causing rising tides, more flooding, more hurricanes, and, ironically, more droughts. The warming of the poles is eventually causing a decline in the krill population, which in turn is potentially causing the end of the emperor penguin and whale population. The polar bears and the caribou are also suffering terribly due to warming temperatures. The quick change in climate is eventually causing behavioral change in many species, causing them either to mate too soon, or too late, or not at all. From the yellow toad to butterflies, to fish, and to wandering birds constantly changing weather patterns are upsetting many delicate ecosystems. As a herald of global warming, Flannery will have many critics, not surprisingly from the oil and coal industries, and from politicians who do their bidding. Governments and multinationals have usually sought to suppress information concerning climate change or unsuccessfully tried to cast doubt on the findings, but the evidence is strictly speaking louder and more frequently. Last year, Australia’s environmental minister still cited Flannery’s book when he officially declared that global warming was indeed a reality and that action required to be taken. Flannery argues that there are piecemeal steps that citizens and governments can take to reverse the trend. This book is a excellent indication of the problem and it is a useful reminder that if something isn’t done the damage will be lasting.