Storms Of My Grandchildren: The Truth About The Climate Catastrophe And Our Last Chance To Save Humanity (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
To say I had mixed feelings about this book would be an understatement. Hansen's explanations of the science, how it has developed, what we are certain about and what we are not, what we think based on models and what we know based on paleoclimate history, etc. are all fantastic and very helpful for those, like me, trying to better understand the problem. But all of that makes up about half of the book, perhaps less. The rest is about equal parts stories about Hansen's personal misadventures interacting with national figures and rather naive and unhelpful ramblings about the ills of politics. You can only read "everyone who disagrees with me about the only possible solution to the climate change problem is lying and willfully endangering our grandchildren" so many times before it starts to grate... In all, it was a useful, if often-times aggravating, read. I followed up the book with the documentary Chasing Ice, and I must say that the photographs and video clips of glaciers collapsing in that film were far more compelling than anything in Hansen's book. Pictures > words. Good information, and a very earnest presentation, but I found it hard to keep reading. It gives a personal inside picture of why political measures to address climate change are so very hard to bring about because of powerful special interests; the ongoing and deliberate compromising of scientific findings by political appointees; and why very strong grassroots public pressure will be key to bringing about any significant change in this area, if indeed change is brought about at all.
What do You think about Storms Of My Grandchildren: The Truth About The Climate Catastrophe And Our Last Chance To Save Humanity (2000)?
I just looked it up and Atlanta is 1050 ft. about sea level. So I have that going for me.
—Akp040299
I'm glad he's speaking up, but the writing was too technical for me.
—lagiii
A book by a NASA scientist FOR a NASA scientist!! yikes
—mikey
