Saturday, September 17, 2016

2 Degrees


Isn’t this interesting – this story has been out there since April 21, 2015.
The most important number you've never heard of
By John D. Sutter, CNN
If the world warms more than 2 degrees Celsius, we're all in a lot of trouble.

This was a follow-up article on May 21, 2015 by the same author.

(CNN)Climate change is all about degrees.
Six degrees Celsius of warming may not sound like much -- probably because "temperatures can swing by 6 degrees within an hour if a warm front passes, and it doesn't mean the end of the world," said Mark Lynas, author of a book called "Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet."
But if we raise global average surface temperatures by just 6 degrees above pre-industrial levels, Lynas told me, we'll create "a scenario which is so extreme it's almost unimaginable."
You'll find Lynas' "Six Degrees" on a list of 12 climate change must-reads below. It includes a Pulitzer Prize winner, Elizabeth Kolbert's "The Sixth Extinction," as well as an illustrated account of an artist's dive into climate science, titled "Climate Changed."
You readers suggested all these, and I've included some of your comments about them.
Sign up for the "2 degrees" newsletter if you want to join our freewheeling book club.
We'll tackle "Six Degrees" first, since it's a great primer.

Here are his 12 must-read climate change books.  Do you recognize any? 


1. "Six Degrees," by Mark Lynas

Chapter by chapter, Lynas explores what the world would look like if it warms 1 degree, 2 degrees, 3, degrees Celsius, etc. He's great at distilling the science and maintaining a sense of optimism amid some very gloomy predictions about the future. Suggested by Lance Olsen.

2. "This Changes Everything," by Naomi Klein

"Well researched, compelling arguments, hits home for multiple audiences, and is a realistic call to action." -- Laura S. Lynes, from Canmore, Alberta

3. "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight," by Thom Hartmann

"It's all-encompassing -- it delves into the various feedback systems in a climate change context, and also the underlying cultural philosophy or stories we tell ourselves that continue to create the situation we're in. Fascinating stuff!" -- Trevor, from Los Angeles

4. "The Age of Sustainable Development," by Jeffrey D. Sachs

"Comprehensive and positive summary of the steps required for sustainable development with good overviews of the problems causing climate change." -- Dan Fowler, from Austin, Texas

5. "Comfortably Unaware," by Richard A. Oppenlander

"People don't realize the devastating impact that our food choices have on the planet. This book explains how animal agriculture is the single biggest cause of global warming." -- Wendy Horowitz, from New Haven, Connecticut

6. "The Sixth Extinction," by Elizabeth Kolbert

"An amazingly well written narrative on the effect our species has had on the planet. As our population continues to grow and our demand on our very limited resources escalates, the negative impact we have had and continue to have is well explained." -- Sharon Lynch, from Benicia, California

7. "The End of the Long Summer," by Dianne Dumanoski

"A really thoughtful, wise and balanced appraisal of fact that, going on past changes to the climate, we are likely to reach a sudden tipping point and experience huge climate changes over just a few years, BUT that humans are incredibly resilient and adaptable and rather than go extinct, will likely rise to the challenge.
"This book gave me hope while presenting the facts." -- Persephone Maywald, from Australia

8. "Climate Wars," by Gwynne Dyer

"Waves of climate refugees. Dozens of failed states. All-out war. From one of the world's great geopolitical analysts comes a terrifying glimpse of the strategic realities of the near future, when climate change drives the world's powers towards the cut-throat politics of survival," the publisher's description says.

9. "Merchants of Doubt," by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway

Here's an endorsement from John Horgan, of Scientific American: "The book, which packages rigorous research in fiery rhetoric, inspired a documentary, 'Merchants of Doubt' ... I highly recommend the book and documentary, which reveal how disturbingly easy it can be for unscrupulous spin-meisters to dupe journalists and the public." The book was suggested by Aaron Thierry, a reader from Edinburgh, Scotland

10. "Don't Even Think About It," by George Marshall

A Twitter user -- @timreckmeyer -- suggested this one as part of a discussion on whether we at CNN should be leading climate change stories with images of sad polar bears on ice sheets. (He thinks we shouldn't. You can see from the gallery below that we still are, from time to time.) George Marshall, the book's author, explores how our brains shape (and warp) perceptions about climate change. I'm hoping this book will help me understand how to better explain this subject -- and will settle the polar bear debate.

11. "Climate Changed," by Philippe Squarzoni

"It's an amazing book. It's an illustrated nonfiction book (graphic novel format) that is built on Squarzoni's interviews with IPCC scientists. The science is well explained, but the power comes from watching Squarzoni absorb the information and struggle to fit it into his life, just like a reader, over the six years it took him to put the book together. So the intangible social aspect of climate, which is probably more important to solutions than climate science itself, is explored with candor." -- Richard Reiss, from New York

12. "The Great Transition," by Lester Brown

"Right away, book club or no, this book must be read: 'The Great Transition,' by Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute," a reader, Elizabeth McCommon, wrote in an e-mail. A friend "put it in my hands this last weekend, saying it would help me regain optimism about the future," she said.
Sounds like it worked.
Email questions to: climate [at] cnn.com.

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