Kolbert, Elizabeth. Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. New York: Bloomsbury, 2006 (ISBN: 978-1-59691-125-3). Journalist Elizabeth Kolbert traveled all over the world to learn about the effects of global warming, from melting permafrost in Alaska and Greenland to changing butterfly habitats in the United Kingdom. She interviewed scientists and government officials worldwide to create an overview of the climate crisis, from where we are now to where we are headed. For academic and public libraries.
Lovelock, James E. The Revenge of Gaia: Earth’s Climate Crisis and the Fate of Humanity. New York: Basic Books, 2007 (ISBN: 978-0-465-04169-5). This is the most recent book by radical British scientist and public intellectual James Lovelock. Since the 1970s, Lovelock has been writing about his Gaia Hypothesis, which describes the Earth as an inter-connected, self-regulating system. While elements of his theory have become widely accepted over the years (“Gaia hypothesis” is now a Library of Congress Subject Heading), some of his views (such as his belief that only nuclear power can save our civilization) may alienate readers. For academic and public libraries.
Lynas, Mark. Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2008 (ISBN: 9781-4262-0213-1). Science writer Mark Lynas (author of High Tide: The Truth about our Climate Crisis, 2004) synthesized the results of hundreds of scholarly climate science studies (which he cites) to create this nightmare-inducing book. Each chapter describes what the Earth is predicted to be like with an additional degree (Celsius) of average global temperature up to 6 degrees warmer. For academic and public libraries.
McKibbin, Warwick J. and Peter J. Wilcoxen. Climate Change Policy after Kyoto: A Blueprint for a Realistic Approach. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2002 (ISBN: 978-08157-0608-3). In this book, economists Warwick McKibben and Peter Wilcoxen propose a hybrid type of national carbon emissions trading for the United States, which they feel is more realistic than some other approaches. Unfortunately it does not guarantee a specific level of emissions reduction. The book provides an in-depth analysis of the pros and cons of various carbon trading systems. For academic libraries.
Pahl, Greg. Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy. White River Junction, Vt.: Chelsea Green, 2008 (ISBN: 978-1933392-96-7). This is a comprehensive overview of the biodiesel industry worldwide, for general audiences. Biodiesel offers a combination of benefits to society—reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, agricultural jobs, energy security, and the opportunity to recycle wastes such as used food oils. Pahl describes the significant progress that Europe and Asia have made with biodiesels, then goes on to discuss a variety of recent American initiatives, including activists who make biodiesel in their backyards. For academic and public libraries.
Pearce, Fred. With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change. Boston: Beacon, 2007 (ISBN: 978-0-8070-8576-9). Based on interviews with many of the key scientists studying global warming today, environmental journalist Fred Pearce describes growing evidence of the potential for dangerous and abrupt climate changes. Data being collected in the Arctic, Antarctic, and rain forest regions indicate the possibility of climate tipping points beyond which rapid and irreversible change could occur. For academic and public libraries.
Robinson, Kim Stanley. Sixty Days and Counting. New York: Bantam, 2007 (ISBN: 978-0-553-80313-6). The third novel in a trilogy of “eco-thrillers” by science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson (author of the Blue Mars trilogy), Sixty Days and Counting must be one of the first books to be cataloged as “Global Warming Fiction.” Describes the first 60 days of a fictional U.S. presidential administration (set in the near future) that is elected with a mandate to take global warming seriously, and does so by means of several large scale engineering projects. The heroes of this novel are all federal government scientists. The previous volumes in the trilogy, which are also excellent, are Forty Signs of Rain and Fifty Degrees Below. For public libraries.
Romm, Joseph J. Hell and High Water: Global Warming—the Solution and the Politics—and What We Should Do. New York: HarperCollins, 2007 (ISBN: 978-0-06-117212-0). Joseph Romm, Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy in the Clinton administration, shares his views on the urgency of taking action on global warming and exposes the way in which climate science has been manipulated by various political interest groups in the United States. Romm produces considerable evidence of cover-ups, lies, and misinformation promulgated by corporate lobbyists and government officials, which indicates a deliberate plan to prevent Americans from taking global warming seriously. For public libraries.
Ruddiman, William F. Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of Climate. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Pr., 2007 (ISBN: 978-0-691-13398-0). Ruddiman, a retired climate scientist, describes in this fascinating book his theory that humans have actually been affecting the climate significantly over the past eight thousand years (primarily because of deforestation and farming), not just in the last two hundred years. The book is footnoted with references to many peer-reviewed publications but written in a very accessible style. It is sure to become a classic. For academic and public libraries.
Sweet, William. Kicking the Carbon Habit: Global Warming and the Case for Renewable and Nuclear Energy. New York: Columbia Univ. Pr., 2006 (ISBN: 978-0-231-13710-2). This book takes the pragmatic approach one would expect of a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum (the news magazine of the professional association of U.S. electrical engineers). After a review of what climate scientists have learned about global warming, as well as some background on the coal industry, Sweet discusses the economic, political, and technical factors that make various types of low-carbon or zero-carbon technologies better or worse bets for stabilizing Earth’s climate. For academic libraries.
Victor, David G. The Collapse of the Kyoto Protocol and the Struggle to Slow Global Warming. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Pr., 2004 (ISBN: 978-0-691-12026-3). This in-depth discussion of the economic realities behind the Kyoto Protocol is now dated, but contains important background for those who want to understand the issues around worldwide carbon emissions trading from its origins. For academic libraries.
Weart, Spencer R. The Discovery of Global Warming. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Pr., 2008 (ISBN: 978-0-67403189-0). This history of the scientific study of climate change traces the evolution of the field from its origins in the geophysical study of the causes of ice ages to the present focus on human-induced global warming. Historian Spencer Weart also includes insights from personal interviews with climate scientists, and discusses changing public perceptions of the reality and seriousness of climate change. It is widely cited as the best historical overview of the subject. Weart, director of the Center for the History of Physics, maintains a website with updates for this book at www.aip.org/history/exhibits/ climate/index.html#contents. For academic libraries.
Films
An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It. Dir. by Davis Guggenheim. Hollywood, Calif.: Paramount, 2006. This documentary on global warming, narrated by former vice president Al Gore, provides an overview of what scientists now know about global warming and makes the case for immediate action. It won the 2007 Academy Award for best documentary film. For all libraries.
The Big Chill: A Looming Ice Age? Ed. Paul Carlin. Princeton, N.J.: Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2005. Produced by BBC to explain global warming and its potential effect to the British public, the “looming ice age” refers to the scenario in which melting of Arctic glaciers results in shutdown of the Gulf Stream, which could bring Alaska-like conditions to the temperate United Kingdom. This particular danger is somewhat overplayed for dramatic effect, but the documentary does provide a good multimedia overview of the state of climate warming for those who might not pick up a book on the subject. For academic libraries.
The Day After Tomorrow. Dir. by Roland Emmerich, Mark Gordon, and others. Hollywood, Calif.: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2004. The best-known popular motion picture about global warming is the 2004 film The Day After Tomorrow, which imagines the catastrophic consequences of abrupt climate change resulting from the shutdown of the Gulf Stream. For public libraries.