How to Change Minds About Our Changing Climate

by Seth B. Darling, Douglas L. Sisterson

Overview

The book to spark action on the defining challenge of our time

In our post-truth world, there’s only one place to turn to if we want to live in reality: science. And the research on climate change is clear: It’s real, it threatens us all, and human activity is the primary cause. This essential handbook dismantles all the most pernicious misunderstandings spread by deniers and replaces them with the truth. Faced with an imperiled planet that we must urgently work to save, we don’t have time for anything else.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615192236
Publisher:	The Experiment, LLC
Publication date:	07/29/2014
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,102,406
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Douglas L. Sisterson is a senior manager at Argonne National Laboratory for the US Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility.

Seth B. Darling is the director of the Institute for Molecular Engineering at Argonne National Laboratory and a senior scientist at the University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Prologue: The Basics xiii

Part 1 Misdirection

1 There is no consensus 3

2 It's a conspiracy 15

Part 2 We Don't Need to Worry

3 Who says climate change is such a bad thing? 31

4 We're heading toward an Ice Age, so why worry about warming? 45

5 There's no link between warming and extreme weather 51

Part 3 Climate Change Isn't Happening

6 Feels pretty cold… where's your global warming? 61

7 The planet isn't getting warmer 69

8 Glaciers are growing, Antarctica is gaining ice 83

9 Climate is too complex to model or predict 93

Part 4 It's Not Our Fault

10 There is no link between carbon dioxide and global temperature 105

11 It's just a natural cycle 119

12 More carbon dioxide won't make a difference 131

13 What about… 145

Part 5 There's Nothing We Can Do About It

14 Carbon taxes or cap-and-trade systems will destroy the economy, kill jobs, and hurt the poor 161

15 Renewable energy is too expensive or too variable 171

Epilogue: Outlook 185

Acknowledgments 189

Index 191

About the Authors 199

Editorial Reviews

"Everyone—including climate skeptics!—ought to read this book. With wit and verve, it explains why every arguments in the climate skeptics’ handbook is—to put it politely—wrong."

Elizabeth Kolbert

"Darling and Sisterson meticulously pick apart the logical fallacies of the major arguments advanced by climate skeptics. Readily accessible to non-experts and indispensible for those awkward family meals or bar discussions with skeptical friends."

Peter Thorne

"How to Change Minds About our Changing Climate—credible, convincing, and eminently comprehensible—takes on and methodically refutes the oft-heard myths put forth by those who question climate change. Equally illuminating is its expert guidance on renewable fuels and strategies for reducing the greenhouse gas we release into the atmosphere—critical to helping avoid an ominous future. This should be on everyone’s reading list!"

Tom Skilling

"This is the most important conversation you can have—the birds and the bees for a whole planet."

Bill McKibben

"Books for a Better Life Award—Green category finalist

"The book is written in a conversational style and is highly readable, all the more so because the detailed technical points are illustrated with leavening humour and hand-drawn illustrations in appropriate places."

Chemistry World

"Systematically shreds every argument advance to deny climate change is real . . . Explains the complex science behind climate change in a clear and simple way that almost anyone can understand."

Haverford magazine

"With humor and copious research, the authors . . . take 15 of the most common arguments against climate change and turn them upside down. For those who want a more thorough grasp of the situation or need facts and figures to help sway others, this book is right on target."

Shelf Awareness

"Darling and Sisterson show us how to convince all skeptics in this excellent piece of work presenting the state of climate knowledge in a framework of what’s wrong with the denier arguments. It’s presented in a easy-to-read and humorous way, appealing to non-experts and experts alike."

Peter Doran

Books For A Better Life Award—Green category finalist

“The book is written in a conversational style and is highly readable, all the more so because the detailed technical points are illustrated with leavening humour and hand-drawn illustrations in appropriate places.”—Chemistry World

“With humor and copious research, the authors . . . take 15 of the most common arguments against climate change and turn them upside down. For those who want a more thorough grasp of the situation or need facts and figures to help sway others, this book is right on target.”—Shelf Awareness

“Systematically shreds every argument advance to deny climate change is real . . . Explains the complex science behind climate change in a clear and simple way that almost anyone can understand.”—Haverford magazine

“Everyone—including climate skeptics!—ought to read this book. With wit and verve, it explains why every arguments in the climate skeptics’ handbook is—to put it politely—wrong.”
—Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction

“This is the most important conversation you can have—the birds and the bees for a whole planet.”
—Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth

“How to Change Minds About our Changing Climate—credible, convincing, and eminently comprehensible—takes on and methodically refutes the oft-heard myths put forth by those who question climate change. Equally illuminating is its expert guidance on renewable fuels and strategies for reducing the greenhouse gas we release into the atmosphere—critical to helping avoid an ominous future. This should be on everyone’s reading list!”
—Tom Skilling, chief meteorologist, WGN-TV

“Darling and Sisterson show us how to convince all skeptics in this excellent piece of work presenting the state of climate knowledge in a framework of what’s wrong with the denier arguments. It’s presented in a easy-to-read and humorous way, appealing to non-experts and experts alike.”
—Peter Doran, Distinguished Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago

“Darling and Sisterson meticulously pick apart the logical fallacies of the major arguments advanced by climate skeptics. Readily accessible to non-experts and indispensible for those awkward family meals or bar discussions with skeptical friends.”
—Peter Thorne, Senior Researcher, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center

From the Publisher