And Climate Change - Field Notes from a Catastrophe

I enjoyed this book. In about the first two-thirds, the author presents quantitative scientific evidence indicating that the earth is warming up and that it is warmer now than ever experienced in human history. In the last third of the book, important political and economic issues are presented. Although everyone agrees that the earth is indeed warming up, some are unsure about the real human contribution to this effect; they point out that over the past hundreds of thousands of years, some sudden climate changes have occurred for unknown reasons - certainly not due to human activity; some of these sudden changes were responsible for destroying prominent cities and, indeed, civilizations. They also point out that even farther back in time, during the Cretaceous, the earth was much warmer than it is today. Hence these people suggest that it may still be too early to take drastic and expensive remedial action. On the other hand, most people appear to be convinced that humans are mainly responsible for global warming - this time around, anyway. Not willing to take the chance that they are not, these people are urging that serious measures be taken immediately to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The book is written in a reasonably objective manner. It is clear, engaging and is difficult to put down. It is not written like an "end-of-the-world-is-near" type of book, but is filled with facts: scientific, political and economical, all backed up with a respectable list of references. I recommend this book to everyone: from those wanting to know the main issues on this important topic to those just looking for a good read.

While many people want to argue if the present Global Warming is being caused by our fossil fuel emissions, the simple fact is that things are changing in the global climate. When one reviews past histories of various civilizations, it turns out that drought and lack of rainfall really killed some expanding human habitation systems. Then the survivors shrink back to more primitive times, and leave their ruins behind. All this before the petroleum culture and Henry Ford. What I like about this book, is the reporter's exchanges with true scientists, who spend all their professional lives documenting SOMETHING on the face of this earth. Our concern with the environment has been all too much to do with leisure instead of heavy natural science knowlege. Those immersed in such serious work seldom get the attention that this author gave to them; more of that should occur!

I am buying this book as a graduation present for my nephew who possibly could be spending the next fifty years of his life on these issues affecting this present USA civilization.

Unfortunately apparently nothing will convince the doubter's of climate change and the associated dangers. However, for those who what an update or those in doubt but with an open mind, this is a must read. Rather than rely on statistics to make the point the book relies, as the title suggests, on the author's contact with residents and researchers in the field. The story of the unfolding disaster is told from "boots on the ground" perspective which to me makes it very compelling though very sad and frightening.

Why people argue that man and his actions may not be "causing" global warming is beyond me. Whether our careless actions are causing the glaciers to melt, etc. should not be in question. The fact is that we can all do something to slow down the process. This book scares me with the reality that without EVERY NATION'S effort and participation this planet is in deep trouble. Al Gore's book, An Inconvenient Truth, was a lot easier for me to follow; however, this book (Field Notes) is probably more realistic in that simply changing lightbulbs, etc. isn't going to be enough. The U.S. government has to set an example for developing nations like China, so they take this issue seriously and incorporate earth-friendly designs when developing new power plants. Even if each individual in the U.S. buys the right cars and the right lightbulbs, China is capable of erasing any benefit we've provided toward reduction of C02 in the environment...by a land slide. The scary thing is when our U.S. government wakes up and decides to take the right position on this matter it will probably be too late. I see the world in a completely different way after reading this book.

I read portions of this book in their previous incarnations as NEW YORKER articles, and was vastly impressed by Elizabeth Kolbert's writing style. When one is dealing with the potentially disastrous results of global warming, it would be easy to fall prey to justified hectoring. But Kolbert is too fine a writer to bludgeon us; instead she travels the world, gracefully reports on climate changes, and gently leads us to the conclusion that we BETTER GET OUR HOUSE IN ORDER!

Whew, sorry, that was me. I have a number of relatives who refuse to acknowledge global warming is anything more than the normal fluctuation of global climate change, and it is infuriating to try to persuade them otherwise. But I'm going to insist they read this volume; it's short, it's even-handed, and it's oh-so convincing.

Did I mention that it's beautifully written? It is. Kolbert joins Verlyn Klinkenborg as two of my favorite writers on the natural world.

In 2006, it was estimated that nearly 29 million pounds of carbon dioxide were emitted into Earth's atmosphere. This number is extremely alarming in terms of the issues of global climate change. It is now widely believed that greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are trapped within the Earth's atmosphere therefore resulting in dangerous effects to life on the planet. Rising temperatures, severe drought, extinction of certain species, and melting to ice sheets and glaciers are only a handful of negative consequences provoked by global climate change.
Author Elizabeth Kolbert addresses the issues of global climate change in her book entitled, Field Notes From a Catastrophe. The book consists of two sections: the first segment`s focal point is evidence of the phenomenon occurring in nature. The second half of the book explores the human activity that has contributed to global warming and whether or not the proper action is being taken to reduce what has already occurred. Despite the issues' complexity, the book is simplistic enough for first time exposure to the issue, yet still provides great insight for those well informed on the topic.
As previously mentioned, the first half of the book focuses the causes and effects from global climate change. Kolbert takes a trip around the world to experience the direct effects of climate change firsthand. Her journey begins in Shishmaref, Alaska where she encounters two main positive feedback loops that have become detrimental to the environment. The first feedback loops can be found in rapid melting of the glaciers. As the glaciers are continuing to melt, sea levels are rising and thus flooding the coastal regions. Humans who once inhabited these areas have now been forced to find homes farther inland. The second loop is a product of the melting permafrost which is releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect. A similar occurrence is taking place in Greenland where glaciers are rapidly melting as well. This fresh water released from these glaciers is altering ocean currents and thus causing climates to be colder or warmer. In addition to melting of glaciers, Kolbert emphasizes the migration of animal's species northward and the extinction of others due to increased temperatures.
Although Kolbert doesn't directly state causes to global climate change, she includes a chapter about human influence on the environment. Carbon emissions from humans were historically stable until we reached our industrialized era. Once our society became more developed, our carbon dioxide emissions doubled. This is detrimental to life on Earth since this carbon is trapped inside our atmosphere and not only increasing global temperatures but also burning a hole in our ozone layer. This is a huge concern since ozone absorbs harmful rays emitted from the sun that are detrimental to human life.
The second half of Kolbert's book discusses how human influences have contributed to global climate and actions that are being taken to reduce its effects. This half begins by exploring the theory that ancient civilizations, such as the Mayans and Shekhna, experienced the tragic effects of global warming as well. Evidence posed by scientists show patterns of droughts in these areas whose severity ultimately lead to wiping out the entire population of humans and species. Now that both current and historical evidence have been factored into proving the phenomenon, Kolbert asks what is exactly being done to combat this? The answer to this is complicated with remainder of the book highlighting various actions taken by different counties.
In the Netherlands for example, the issue of global climate change is being embraced. Recently, the country has experienced reoccurring patterns of widespread flooding in which new innovations are being made to construct roads and homes that have the ability to float. It has been recognized that humans need to give more room to rivers rather than trying to push them back. Not all countries are making great efforts however. In theory, the United States is addressing the issue, however actions prove otherwise. When the Kyoto Protocol, a plan presented by the UN for industrialized countries to reduce emission of greenhouse gases, was introduced, the U.S. rejected the plan within 24 hours of its proposal. In addition politicians such as George W. Bush have proposed plans that would help greenhouse emissions steadily decline, yet the United State's emissions have only shown patterns of continuous increase. Hopefully this pattern will soon change.
Overall, the book is well worth reading. Kolbert's main argument about the reality of global warming is backed by strong, credible evidence. What makes the evidence so strong and credible is a handful of factors. First, Kolbert herself visited places all around the globe from Alaska to the Netherlands, to Greenland and Washington D.C., just to name a few. In visiting all these places, Kolbert proves that climate change is indeed a global issue that is in desperate need of more attention. In addition to traveling to such places Kolbert conducts many interviews with not only a number of experts but locals as well. Between her personal experience, science, and other's observations Kolbert provides many different viewpoints on the issue that all have the same conclusions: global climate change is a real thing. In this, Kolbert offers an array of perspectives on the matter rather than just one to prove her point.
Another factor that contributes to the book's excellence is the way in which the book was written. Specifically, the language and organization throughout the book make it an easy read. The way in which Kolbert wrote the book breaks the problem down enough for the common reader to understand yet is still well written enough for even the informed reader. As far as organization goes, Kolbert first focuses on global warming and its effects, then proceeds in the second half to talk about actions being taken to reduce the problem. Structuring the book in the manner sucks a reader in. If the two sections were to have been reversed, solutions then problems, a reader would have been less connected with the problem and the book would have been much more difficult to get through.
One additional factor that made the book appealing was the United State's reaction to the phenomenon. Kolbert discusses how historically and currently the U.S. has been the largest emitter of greenhouse gages, yet we are lagging in taking responsibility for it. Kolbert argues that because the U.S. is the biggest contributor that they are the ones who should be leading the fight against global climate change. She points out that the U.S. has the ability to set examples for the rest of the world, especially for other industrialized countries like China. She makes an excellent point that the goal of every country is to modernize like the United State yet if they were to follow the same patterns as the United States, humankind and the Earth would be in tremendous trouble. Ultimately, The U.S. needs to start taking advantage of its leading role and put it to good use and needs to do it sooner rather than later.

Elizabeth Kolbert is a highly touted and award winning journalist who has a passion for science. Kolbert has been a staff writer for the New Yorker since 1999 as well as a reporter for the New York Times (Kolbert, 2006). She decided to embark on a journey across the world to shed light on mans impact on the environment. She travels and interviews scientist and locals to gain perspective on the reasoning behind the climate changes and the impact it has had on the community. She consistently comes back to the idea of needing a global effort to combat climate, and she deduces that the United States needs to be more involved in situation.
Kolbert believes in order to combat climate change, global cooperation is needed. She believed that more initiatives like the Kyoto Protocol, which was a pact to reduce global emissions and control greenhouse gases, needed to be taken. The evidence is clear from a scientific standpoint and in real world application that the Earth is rising in temperature which has impacted the global climate. Kolbert scolds the United States for not being involved in the Kyoto Protocol. Global collaboration is inherent to the success of eliminating the negative effects of humans. She does however commend the national powers on cooperating in the effort to eliminate Chloroflourocarbons from the atmosphere. The various governments came together and had their scientists collaborate which made for more effective research. She believes that humans have been able to adapt to their environment through their ingenuity.
With ingenuity people need to find ways to reduce emissions and clean up the atmosphere. She claims that if the average global temperature increase only a few more degrees, that it will be the hottest it has ever since our species has evolved. She continuously comes back to the idea of hope in that humans can get out of the mess they made by being resourceful. Kolbert cautions the world to be careful with its response and does not want to see the human race put an end to itself, “It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that is what we are now in the process of doing” (Kolbert, 2006). The lines quoted above are part of the last sentence in her book, and it shows her confidence but also her disappointment in the human race. Humans have the capability to combat climate change, but the focus and the drive have to be present. Organization and communication will help the world combat climate change before the effects become irreversible.

A masterful work of science and nature writing. In clear, sensible prose, Elizabeth Kolbert presents the undeniable evidence that human-controlled emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere is destroying our climate and ecosystems. Despite this grim fact (and the Bush administration's continued denial of such scientific evidence), Kolbert's tone is measured and far from shrill. In fact, she manages to find beauty, humor, and friendship in her travels around world, talking with those who are at the forefront of trying to curb this dangerous trend. The chapters on Iceland's melting glaciers and Burlington, Vermont's local efforts to reduce its emissions are especially engaging. Highly recommended reading.

The "envirosceptic" remains a potent force. It's hard to know if that's merely depressing or downright dangerous. Envirosceptics are enthusiastic gardeners: they root about seeking an attractive seed. Once found, the seed is nurtured and pandered to ceaselessly in the hope that it will bear fruit. Such seeds are numbers. They reflect an "unknown" portion of what we understand about our changing world. While the sceptics would like that seed to become a glorious blossom, it always turns out to be a weed. The sceptics are working enclosed in mental greenhouses. Others are outside finding out how the changes are affecting people and places.

Elizabeth Kolbert is one of the investigators observing changes and asking what they mean. In this book, which is, as the title suggests, a set of "field notes", she relates where she's been and who she's talked with. Her wanderings have enabled her to form a comprehensive image of our warming world. She relates her travels, and travails, in fine style - never pretending to adopt a researcher's role or enhance their findings. Even so, she manages to provide some sense of how they work when she's given tasks while interrogating the scientists about how they do research. Scientists are often sceptical themselves - always about their findings, since that's how science works, but more so about journalists who have an unhappy tendency to massage words. Kolbert isn't one of these and the "field notes" read in a straightforward manner. That doesn't mean "dull", particularly with a topic of such immediate importance to us all - and to our children.

Kolbert first visits the Arctic, an area of high concern to climate scientists. The ice is melting. For the village of Shismaref, that means curtailed hunting. It also means the village is being steadily swept away, taken by the rising ocean. That process is not only evident, it's clear that it's accelerating. Recent reports of Nanooks losing their hunting grounds on the ice don't seem important this far south. The loss, however, means open water instead of ice in the Arctic indicates climate change is occuring more rapidly than previously believed. Going farther east in the North, Kolbert visits the glacier research teams on the Greenland Ice Cap. How fast is that cover melting and what are the implications. "Glacial" is supposed to imply leisurely movement. Today, however, the glaciers are, relatively speaking, galloping. Meltwater at the top is percolating to the bottom, providing lubricant for the mass of ice. "Can the entire ice cap slide into the sea?", Kolbert asks. Elsewhere glaciers are simply shrinking with astonishing speed.

There's more involved here than watching ice act like it's at Indianapolis. The changes are affecting the life around us. The story of the Golden Toad is indicative. This creature, who lived in the mountains of Central America, is gone. We knew it for only thirty years - half a single lifetime. Increasing temperatures drove it up the Costa Rican mountainsides until there was no place left for it to live. Warming air in the tropics has more meaning than simply evicting toads from their usual habitat. The heat raises the ocean's temperature, Kolbert reminds us. For the Western Hemisphere, that means more intense storms. "Katrina", which nearly wiped the city of New Orleans off the map, was an indicator. There won't necessarily be more hurricanes, Kolbert notes, but they will be more vicious. Warming, she reminds us, means heavier rains in some places, but elsewhere it results in droughts.

Kolbert extends her investigation to how people are responding to the threat of climate change. The short answer is: "Not enough!" She relates the attitudes of scientists and politicians to the negotiations leading to the Kyoto Protocol. It was saved, she notes, in spite of two industrialised nations, the United States and Australia opting out. Kolbert's interview with one of the Bush administration's bureaucrats is telling. The quest to find "different approaches" has so far offered no alternative solutions. Certainly, as Kolbert notes, there are no attempts in the United States to place any mandatory caps on emissions or to actively seek alternative energy sources. What these policies are accomplishing is nothing more than camoflage for "Business As Usual". That is, continuing the conditions that created the climate threat in the first place.

For Kolbert, such views ignore the reality and significance of the problems facing us - and our children. Unlike the envirosceptics, researchers studying climate change and its future impacts, aren't trying to pin down "hard numbers". What they study are the trends - and those are alarming, even potentially "catastrophic". As countless studies have indicated, today's climate change is not a "natural phenomenon" as has occured in the past. This time, she warns, we are the major cause, and there is a wealth of information to support that conclusion. Therefore, Kolbert urges, it's up to us to correct the situation. Some places, like our neighbours in the town of Burlington, Vermont, are making some attempts. But it will take more serious action, Kolbert concludes. It's important for us, and it's vital for our children. Will we leave them a world too stressed for them to endure? Is that a form of child abuse we all stand guilty of and should be preventing instead? [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

There are so many different ways Humanity is warned against coming catastrophe that it becomes difficult sometimes to know what to fear first. For most of my lifetime the possiblity of Nuclear War between the United States and the Soviet Union was considered the greatest danger. Since the end of the Cold War that particular danger has passed, though the nuclear proliferation threat especially with Iran pressing for nuclear weapons, has certainly not left us. Other kinds of natural and unnatural disaster are , according to various experts on, or not on, the way. There have been mass -animal dieouts on the planet before and who knows when some surprising visitor from the deep distance may open up a crater larger than Yucatan. Martin Rees has perhaps more than anyone else chronicled in a scientifically credible way the variety of possible candidates for doing away with us. These of course include our own experimental work in nanotechnology and sub- atomic particle investigation.
Elizabeth Kolbert focuses on one of the most credible threats to our future on this planet, global- warming. She makes a kind of global tour of places already effected by the rise in temperature. From Alaska where she speaks with a group of Eskimos who have literally lost their world, to Holland where there is a concern that the great part of the landmass may disappear in the centuries ahead , she collects data and personal stories which highlight the danger. Her own heat however is specially concentrated on U.S. policy in this area, and especially the decision not to ratify the Kyoto accord. Kolbert also is greatly concerned with the growing Chinese and Indian economies which too promise in the decades ahead to vastly increase the amount of carbon dioxide they put in the atmosphere.
She, it seems to me, makes a very strong case for global warming. It is bolstered in my own mind by my own sense that past years have been considerably warmer, than the colder times of my childhood. But of course this is just personal impression and not solid evidence.
Global-warming skeptics will say that this is all alarmist, that in much longer time- framework the kinds of temperature variations we are talking about are not significant. They will argue that 'natural events and processes' have far greater influence on the world , than human actions in the so- called 'Anthropocene'.
My own best guess here is that there is danger, that we are warming the planet up, and threatening our own future. However my sense is also that the 'catastrophe' if it comes may be much farther away than Kolbert would have us believe.
I do not really know.
What Kolbert has done however in this book is show that there are already many people for whom the negative effects of global - warming are already very real.

Recent (March 2006) addition to the literature addressed to the mythical educated layman on the issue of anthrogenic climate change.

Better than most, a bit more science, much more personal interest (partly i think because the author is female and partly because it began as a series in the NYT). It was an enjoyable and informative read, the best was the relationship of the science to several personal encounters with people, the chapter on Swiss camp. Makes the case for DAI (dangerous anthrogenic interference) kind of slowly, increased in not upsetting people so that they cease reading, interested in making the case scientifically and well structured. Is perhaps better than most in the genre, certainly i'd have no problems recommending it.

Chapter 3, Under the Glacier is both the most interesting and the best written chapter. Her personality and observational abilities both make this an excellent place to start reading and a good introduction to the book. If you are looking for a nice read on the topic of global climate change, this is a suitable and interesting book.

Similiar to "High Tide" by a BBC journalist Mark Lynas. In fact this author goes on a very similiar journey from Greenland to Alaska (where these Global Warming books always start) then to the scientists' offices in New York and in the UK. She missed the sinking island nations like Tuvalu. Nevertheless this is an EXCELLENT take on this issue. Fast paced and to the-heart-of-it ,even more punch than Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth". Gotta have them both to keep your Global Warming collection growing! Although I prefer the "global catastrophe of environmental unraveling" akin to Ehrlich's "One With Nineveh" and Speth's "Red Sky At Morning" where all the terrible environmental calamities awaiting us like eco-system unraveling (a nasty one), death of oceans and other results of gross unsustainable socities mixed in with your blood-boiling colosall global warming. J.F. Rischard doesn't even stop there and brings in resource wars and other geo-politcal maddness at the new dark ages in his "High Noon: 20 Global Problems and 20 Years to Solve Them" (High Tide, High Noon..the only way these DON"T make me feel is HIGH I can tell you that good sir!). I'm a big big big picture guy..not just a big big picture guy. HOWEVER..this author's magazine journalist style keeps the pace rather breakneck..impossible for me to put this book down. Left me with fire in my stomach. Easily one of the best..and..um...fun?.. books on this fascinating subject. Printed on a highly readbale "Bembo" font. Classy.

Highly recommened.

I also recommend the author's excellent online streaming talk she gave on this book in Boston I think...totally excellent..surf around. She admits that once you're in on this thing..YOU'RE IN. I appreciate the fact that this author is thinking about what kind of world her sons will have to deal with. I'm just 30 myself and actually bother to think about where we're headed. The legions of burger -eating SUV drivers with pea brains will never think of this. I suppose..too busy thinking about wrestling and the Dukes Of Hazard. The writer from the Scientific American above says that in the context of "Silent Spring" there was a culture of activism that no longer exists here. The British post-punk band Joy Division has been called by critics "the true voice of depair at the cynical victory of conservatism at the begining of the 1980s". Listen to them. They're right. And Reagan helped to frame the right as middle. That's one reason I'm planning to live abroad as soon as I can jump off this sinking ship. I'm off the Global Warming topic here..sorry. But here are those of us that are ready to fight this thing for the long haul. I'm one of them...you're lucky to have us.

Earlier this year I read The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery. It was an excellent book full of scientific explanations to nearly all the questions I had about the issue of climate change. Now I have just finished Field Notes From a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert. It also is an excellent book. In fact, I wish I had read it first - not because it is the better of the two books, but because it is a better introduction to the subject.

Field Notes From A Catastrophe details the author's experiences as she traveled, met, and conversed with several leading authorities of the climate change issue. The first chapters explain some of the negative effects of climate change on nature, while the later chapters deal with how climate change has affected man and civilization in the past, how it will likely affect us in the future, and how political leaders are squandering the last few years we have left to make much of difference - all in order to appease their big-time cash contributors.

The author excels in letting experts in the field tell the story for her. For example, in explaining the devastating consequence of modest, but prolonged, local climate change to an ancient middle-eastern civilization the leading paleo-climatologist to study the case says, "The thing they couldn't prepare for was the same thing that we won't prepare for, because in their case they didn't know about it and because in our case the political system can't listen to it. And that is that the climate system has much greater things in store for us than we think."

I highly recommend this book. For more advanced scientific information about climate change many other good books are available (including The Weather Makers), but for an introduction to the subject this one is nearly perfect.

An excellent, brief, readable summary of the evidence for global warming, its scientific explanation, its consequences and the sorry history of our leaders' response to the problem over the last thirty years. The anecdotes and character sketches of the scientists involved bring the issues to life.

The weakness of the book is the lack of pictures and colour graphics to complement the excellent writing. Let us hope that the next edition will remedy this and bring the book to a wider audience.

Paraphrasing the last two paragraphs of the book to show its excellence:

'Ice cores show the last glaciation was a time of frequent and traumatic climate swings. During that period, humans who were, genetically speaking, just like ourselves produced nothing permanent other than isolated cave paintings and large piles of mastodon bones. Then, 10,000 years ago the climate settled down and so did we, building towns and inventing agriculture, metallurgy, writing and the other technologies that future civilisation would rely upon. These developments would not have been possible without human ingenuity, but, until the climate cooperated, ingenuity, it seems, wasn't enough.'

'Ice core records also show that the earth will soon be hotter than it has been at any time since our species evolved. The feedbacks that have been identified in the climate system - the ice-albedo feedback, the water vapour feedback, the feedback between temperatures and carbon storage in the permafrost - take small changes to the system and amplify them into much larger forces. Perhaps the most unpredictable feedback of all is the human one. With six billion people, the risks are everywhere apparent. A disruption in monsoon patters, a shift in ocean currents, a major drought - any one of these could easily produce millions of refugees. Will we find an adequate global response to global warming or will we retreat into ever narrower and more destructive forms of self interest? It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that is what we are now in the process of doing.'

Read the whole book for the compelling story behind this message.

In Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change by Elizabeth Colbert, many different topics pertaining to climate change are discussed with Colbert's persuasive reporting that bring the reader to a sobering clarity on the climate change that surrounds us. The way she reports on climate change brings the reader to a realization that an apocalypse is already upon us. She lets the facts tell the story through a narrative that is engaging due to its storytelling like qualities that draw the reader into the situations that she is describing first hand. Some readers may find her style abrasive and short but I found her writing style very to the point and informative. She provides an unbiased written overview about the urgency of addressing climate change and provides examples of not only what is physically happening on earth but also what man is doing to cause these changes and correct, while sometimes not correct, the changes we have already caused through industrialization. This book is a great overview of the many issues regarding climate change and the human impact on the earth's climate. Therefore, this book provides a great resource to those interested in climate change in the political and biological fields.

Elizabeth Kolbert chronicles the true face of what so many refuse to believe to be real: Global Climate change. Far from being alarmist, she carefully assembles eye witness experts and scientific papers to such disparate topics as species migration, toad species extinction, ice sheet core analysis, and ice flow consistencies from all over the globe. It's as careful as her journalism and as sourced as a dissertation and rightly so, since it springs from the series of articles she wrote for the New Yorker on the subject.

The work isn't new and it isn't hidden, this is what has been available to all of us for quite some time. The earth is warming and the human contributions are no longer deniable. There are things that can be done, if only we are willing.

A truly striking theme in the book is the notice that scientists are being characterized as alarmist and extremist. When have scientists ever fit that bill? When have they thrown the scientific method to the wind and gone on the vagaries of belief as a crux of argument? They have not ever done that and they aren't now. As a group they agree on the principle elements - the earth is warming, humans contribute to that, and it's going to be a major and drastic change that no one is sure whether we can survive - provided nothing is done to stop it.

Never before have we been so threatened by simple profit motive. But who is out there to actually discredit science? Kolbert takes us carefully through the science and also through the opponents of the science to show that there is no real benefit in lying about the warming, but there is profit in denying it.

It's a valuable book, with beautiful material and illustrations. It's also a sad book which shouldn't be read by anyone who has already lost hope.

- CV Rick

Elizabeth Kolbert's book is all that it should be, as the previous reviews have attested. Perhaps the best news on this page is that lots of people seem to be reading it, judging from the rankings. But, still, I fear that most of these readers, like myself, come to these pages with an existing concern about global warming, and learn, mostly, how unaware we were of the extent of the damage that has already been done, and the magnitude of the challenge to merely slow the inevitable. The initiatives that might slow the rate of climate change require such enormous and farreaching commitment that it will take a massive grass roots comprehension of the problem. Media. Movies. Coldplay songs. But this book is so well written, short, dispassionate but compelling that I have hopes of seeing it on the best seller list -- soon.

I recommend this book to any casual reader who needs an introduction to the nature and scope of the environmental catastrophe we are experiencing.

It is less densely informative and grindingly depressing than Tim Flannery"s 'The Weather Makers' which is the best book I have read so far on the subject of climate change.
It puts a human face on the problem without sacrificing the breadth of the problem or its grave nature. More journalistic in approach than many comparable books the author does not fall into the trap of the sensational statistic and goshwowism that besets many laypersons writing popular science. The otherwise excellent Bill Bryson comes to mind here.
By telling the story of climate change from the field rather than a general context the information is easier to assimilate because it has a human face.
Refreshingly the author does not spill to much ink on the subject of the opportunist criminal greed heads, who against all scientific evidence, tried to discredited the study of climate change for so long. The transnational corporations and their political servants are past masters at this and such behavior was expected (the issues of tobacco,leaded petrol and CFCs come to mind).

So I urge you to read this book. It offers no solutions (because there aren't any)but gives you a human and lucid exposition of the problems that beset us.

Kolbert writes well and has collected many anecdotes to support her catastrophist view. She is. of course, highly biased, sometimes comically so, but at least she is honest about it. The data are outdated, inevitably, because the book was written in 2006. So, you cannot really blame Kolbert for failing to mention that the global catastrophe has not happened yet, but actually global temperatures have kept constant, more or less, or even decreased slightly. I suppose you can say that it is bad enough to be stuck at the high temperatures of the last decade, and the Arctic keeps melting.

Little by little the skeptics of global warming are falling away. Let's hope this brief and very persuasive book shakes loose a few more of them, because Kolbert, an unbiased reporter and one of the best non-fiction writers of English today, makes it clear that the time to act on anthropogenic climate change is ten years ago. Were it not that the subject matter is inherently depressing, this book would be a sheer pleasure to read---and as it is, it can and should be read by everyone who has a middle school diploma. If you are considering buying it, stop reading the reviews right now and make the purchase. Then read it and pass it on.

This book, published in 2006, is an easy-to-read, unbiased summary of the state of the science on climate change up to that date. Kolbert, a top journalist, has a true talent for translating arcane scientific concepts into language that interested laypeople can grasp without difficulty. Of course, this is a fast-moving field, with new information coming out almost daily, so the book is already a bit out-of-date. Nevertheless, the information it contains is still valid, and if I had to recommend just one book to someone investigating the topic for the first time, “Field Notes” would be it.

One never ceases to marvel at the consistent way in which we humans seem to be lunging headlong into the ecological abyss. In this wonderful new book by former New York Times reporter Elizabeth Kolbert, the reader is whisked away into a series of field trips into the myriad of places across the globe where the increasing evidence of approaching disaster is being observed, discussed, and reacted to in ways that has to give the reader pause. Eskimos are abandoning a small island in the Artic Ocean even as the surrounding ice cap that once protected from wind and storm damage melts into oblivion as a direct result of the Greenhouse Effect.

Kolbert offer us poignant glimpses at humans forced to confront ugly truths about the nature of the Anthropocene era, that is, that so-far limited expanse of time that humans have inhabited the earth. Presented with the bulk of the evidence, it is hard for an objective intellect to escape the distinct possibility that as a species we seem to be hell-bent on self-destruction. Indeed, the breadth and scope of the manifest effects of climate change on human habitation is breath-taking, affecting societies as far-flung as Netherlands to Siberia, from South Africa to the Great Barrier Reef. She writes wryly about stepping through the looking glass in a conversation with a Washington wonk who attempted to justify the Bush administration's active opposition to both the Kyoto Treaty and any attempt to rework it into a manageable tool to effectively combat the effects of global warming.

It is in such encounters that she discovers her voice and her poignant sense of urgency; if the best educated among us choose to stand in active opposition, what chance is thereto turn this catastrophic change in climate around? Furthermore, in interviewing climate specialists, we discover that the environment is moving rapidly toward disaster, and while there are reasons to hope, there is also reason to view our inaction and our opposition to meaningful global action with alarm. As the former Third World countries like India and China become both more industrial and more consumptive societies, the environment's ability to overcome the cumulative injuries to the earth's biosphere becomes even more difficult to imagine. This book is an easy read, is quite informative, delivered in a reporter's style of succinct and yet comprehensive prose. It does yeoman's service in informing citizens of just how dangerous and calamitous this developing ecological, social, and economic catastrophe truly is. This is a great book, and one I can heartily recommend. Enjoy!

It's hard to believe that climate change could become so relevant yet still be seen as insignificant in the eyes of many. It has been a long heated debate on the authenticity of climate change, and though we see strong evidence that supports the theory, many still refuse to believe that such a "catastrophe" is upon us. Skepticism clearly runs deep when it comes to climate change; however, Elizabeth Kolbert delivers to us noteworthy proof that climate change is among us, in her book Field Notes from a Catastrophe. In the book, Kolbert travels to various places among the earth and looks at the significant change that has been bestowed upon them within the recent decade or so. In most cases the outcome is grim, and we see that climate change is happening. She also delivers to us the reality that if we don't take the right measures to curb our current earth shattering habits (literally) the consequences could be life or death. The book written in 2006 was for me a decent read. Dry in some spots, but particularly enlightening in others. By no means would I call myself even remotely knowledgeable in the subject of climate change; I do however believe that it is true, and that my generation will have an even more massive problem on our hands than what we see now. With all of this said when I read Field Notes from a Catastrophe I was struck by how clear and concise her information was. For the average American (what I consider myself) it was easy to understand.

Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change
We fire our concerns about climate change thinking that we will not have to deal with the effectos of the global warming. Elizabeth Kolbert does not permit you to lie yourself. The picture of the climate change that is already here and the effects that it might have on us, not on our sons and nephews is so vivid that my plunge you in depression. You should read it, unless you want to act like the boiling frog.

Climate change is being felt everywhere, in obvious ways as well as less obvious ways. Kolbert looks at a variety of these impacts and ways that people are attempting to be ready for those impacts. For a more complete view, I'd recommend Hot, Flat, and Crowded, but the variety of stories told here are interesting.

I thought this book hit the sweet spot between hard science and understandability. It's divided neatly into 2 parts: Nature and Man. The Nature section details what's happening to the earth and many of the species on it, as a result of Global Warming. The Man section details the myriad responses (or lack thereof) to the situation globally. I can honestly say that I'm more incented to personally modify my energy consumption habits in light of my better understanding of how local action can impact global reaction. Now: How to evangelize this to my circle of influence without inducing eye-rolls...

Elizabeth Kolbert, in her novel Field Notes From a Catastrophe, strives to educate her readers on a plethora of issues regarding worldwide climate change and global warming. She states her goal as, "To convey, as vividly as possible, the reality of global warming" (2). To do this she employs an array of data and perspectives providing a holistic approach to global warming. Kolbert illustrates the severity of the global warming "catastrophe" in a tangible and articulate manner that inspires critical thinking and analysis. Field Notes From a Catastrophe takes it's readers on a journey examining the varied and omnipresent effects of global warming in an undeniable and powerful read.

Kolbert's extended magazine article series on climate change (global warming) was slightly interesting. I appreciated that she was able to make her point in 187 pages, but I still felt like I was forcing myself to eat brussel sprouts.

Field Notes from a Catastrophe does a nice job of explaining some of the key evidence that our forebearers and we have been heating up the planet for some time--and we haven't realized what far reaching effects this heating up is and will cause. Ms. Kolbert takes us from Alaska to Greenland to the scientists' labs as she interviews experts on oceanography, atmospheric physics, geology, and climatology. This technique is effective because it shows us that all experts in this branch of science agree on global warming. Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh's petty opposition should stop when all the experts are against them. Not surprisingly, Kolbert is decidedly against President Bush's policies regarding the environment, but she doesn't get too wild eyed about it.

The essential problem with this book is that it just isn't very engaging. From one bespecled, wiry-haired scientist to another, it seems like a bunch of similar interviews in similar locations with a lot of acronyms. I read two other books while making myself read a chapter a night of Field Notes. It's a good introduction to the subject, but it's not great.

In this gripping narrative about the effects of global warming, Kolbert demysifies the scientific data relating to the environmental catastrophe that is upon us. I rarely read environmental writing, yet I couldn't put this book down.

Climate change is THE issue of our time. Any book that raises public consciousness about it is a good thing.

To its credit, "Field Notes From a Catastrophe" does educate lay readers about the basic science and implications of climate change. However, it never really makes the transition from a series of New Yorker articles to a full-blown book. It consists mostly of human interest stories about climate researchers and the impact of global warming in places like Alaska and Iceland. These vignettes would be easily digestible on a subway or in a doctor's waiting room, but we expect more from a book. The reading non-science-educated public (which includes me) can handle more than this.

One good chapter tells how scientists discovered that carbon dioxide levels can raise or lower the global temperature equilibrium. There's another good chapter on the incredible mendacity and short-sightedness of the Bush Administration (may it rest in peace forever). Every American should read these sections, since America is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world and the greatest obstacle to international action. The rest of the book, however, is little more than disposable science journalism.

Discussing global climate patterns which are exacerbating weather changes worldwide, Elizabeth Kolbert explains how human-induced global will likely have dire consequences. In the Netherlands, Kolbert explains, construction is under way on buoyant roads and amphibious homes resembling toasters. In Alaska, as myopic politicans insist on drilling for more the last drop of oil, climate change is forcing people to leave their homes and, as Kolbert explains, their ways of life.

This will affect us all, as conflict over basic needs could soon turn the United States into a fully guarded zones, with security personnel staving off millions of migrants from flooded regions. Yet, as Kolbert also notes, the United States is the largest emitter of carbon in the world. Thus, the U.S. population has substantial responsibility for the migrations to come.

This book deserves serious attention, not only as a handbook of facts about climate and geography, but also for its keen interest in what real people are experiencing, right now.

Kolbert foresees widespread and dire consequences, yet interviews an expert who retains some hope that we could still avert utter disaster. In that sense, there's an element of activism to this book -- although Kolbert's sense of doom is quite clear by the book's conclusion. We're selfish, says this book, and it's killing us.

So what should our response be? Carbon emissions are more dangerous due to the increasing lack of forests, which we tear down for cities and rangeland. Methane is second to carbon dioxide in its warming potential; it accounts for 9 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with more than twenty times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. It's generated during cows' digestion processes, as well as by the consumption of oil and gas in animal processing.

As agribusiness is the prime culprit behind the loss of the forests needed to absorb greenhouse gas, we can do something today, literally, by changing to a plant-based cooking style. (I've co-authored a recent book, available elsewhere on this site, which can be of benefit in this way -- I derive no personal benefit from this non-profit project -- called Dining With Friends: The Art of North American Vegan Cuisine.) Truly, if its message is taken to heart, Kolbert's book should be sold together with a vegetarian cookbook.

Kolbert's work also suggests that China will overtake the U.S. as the carbon-emitting leader in just two decades. Yes, China should ensure future reliance on low-emission technology. But again, a big part of this is lifestyle. Ironically, the case of China presents a situation where ideas of western affluence are resulting in the heavy promotion of more and more animal products.

Readers are advised to put two and two together, and not wait for the commander-in-chief to see the light from a Texas ranch. As for global disaster, that would definitely "bring it on."

The University of Washington has selected this book as its "Common Book" for the 2007-2008 academic year. That means each of the UW's 10,000+ incoming freshman this year have received a copy of the book and are reading it.

About what I expected. Unfortunately, the book was extremely biased looking only at science that supported her hypothesis. It is an interesting read, written in an easily readable style but rather shallow in content.

Elizabeth Kolbert is a NYTimes writer and she relates her experiences as she explores the effects of global warming from how it effects humans to animals and what step are being done or not done to prevent global warming. Over all a very informative text for anyone interested in global warming.

E. Kolbert was nervous on recent Colbert program. She is quite serious about being taken seriously. This book is not much different than several others by other authors but it seems relatively reliable. However, there are others such as ,recently,a Utah senator who also make points, such as why worry about changing weather/climate,that's just business as usual. I mean, intertidal sea level keeps on moving up & down every single day for billions of years. What is the fuss? Should someone peak over the senator's back fence to see if he's hatching dinosaurs?

Readable approachable intro to climate change. Book is now 9 years old; alas the accelerating warming and feed backs confirm the accuracy of her anecdotes. The 2009 postscript is even grimmer. Now to read the sequel" the Sixth Extinction". I hope she makes the case for taxing carbon.

As the climate change hysteria begins to unravel this book continues to lose its legitimacy and credibility. The book does give evidence for global warming but the evidence that it is manmade is lacking. Surprisingly, the author does not resort to political hysterics til the end.

The book is well written. The author writes in a captivating way that kept my attention and sympathies throughout. It is divided into chapters that possess different 'evidences' for the 'inevitable' climate catastrophe. Some of these chapters are interesting.

The author does write with an air that the 'science is settled' which I always find disturbing and disingenuous. The truth is, is that climate is a vastly complex phenomenon that we understand very poorly as do our feeble attempts of modeling it.

My recommendation is to read it, but also read a book critical of reality of manmade climate change.

If you are looking for a discussion of the issues or the forces that cause climate change you won't find it in this book. The author writes well but brings no debate or science to the fore. Sorry but it is mostly just a rehash of the alarmist camp. The author quotes two graphs and data that have already been debunked and proven incorrect but she has done no investigation of her own to determine their validity... ergo no science. For readers really interested in learning about climate change and what causes it I would suggest any of the following titles: Unstoppable Global Warming by singer and Avery; The politically incorrect Guide to Global Warming by C. Horner; or any of the books by Bjorn Lomborg.

Required reading daughter's college class...she liked it

Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change