The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth

The first half or so of Flannery's book offers one of the clearest and most comprehensive accounts of global warming I have read. He gathers measurements, he explains how the various gases behave in the atmosphere, he documents the effects of climate change. Flannery's strong suit is zoology; his explication of the effects of global warming on animal and plant species is excellent. It is clear that he is not a meteorologist, yet his explication of atmospheric effects is very readable. I should praise his attempts to offer solutions, rather than note that those latter pages of the book are significantly weaker than the earlier ones -- the mix of generalities and wishful thinking just doesn't seem enough. That is not to say I would have any idea of what is 'enough,' or of any solution that would be accepted by a sufficient portion of our human-crowded, energy-hungry planet. Again, a first rate overview of the issue, one that gives the reader a sense of understanding and perspective.

Tim Flannery's account of man made changes in our climate is a book which will appeal to a wide audience. Scientists, meteorologists, and others with a professional interest in climate and the weather will appreciate the broad range of expertise Flannery demonstrates throughout this work. A scientist and conservationist himself, Flannery obviously knows what he is talking about. Readers without such a scientific background will enjoy this work because Flannery, like Jared Diamond, is able to write about what could be mind-numbingly complex issues with a wit and clarity that holds one's interest. As an Australian, Flannery writes from the perspective of a citizen of one of the nations which is most heavily environmentally stressed. And it is vital for humanity in Australia and elsewhere to become more conversant with the issues Flannery covers so well. The Weather Makers describes the many effects human activities have had on our planetary climate, beginning with the development of agriculture and proceeding on to the most recent headlines. Flannery analyzes the probabilities of catastrophic climate changes, stressing that this is not really a question of "If" but "When." He is alarming but not alarmist, not stooping to the level of "The Day After Tomorrow" for example, but also making it clear that even though drastic weather changes will not happen tomorrow, they certainly will within our life times and those of our children unless action is taken. Flannery is clear about what action needs to be taken. Although not overly enthusiastic about the Kyoto Accord, for example, he does herald it as a good first step. He provides suggestions for individual actions in a "green checklist" at the end of the book, and describes exciting possibilities, including those already well known such as hybrid cars and nuclear or geothermal power sources and intriguing new ones like the mini-cats: compressed air vehicles being developed in Europe. Its encouraging to see Tony Blair's name, among others in the chorus of enthusiastic responses to The Weather Makers on its back cover blurb. Perhaps Blair and others intelligent enough to recognize that Flannery knows what he is talking about can make some headway against other "leaders" more obtuse than they!

I picked this book up in the Sydney airport in November while on vacation. Upon return home, I learned that it was not yet published in the US, so ordered 10 copies from Australia. I have given copies to friends and family, colleagues and elected officials. Without wanting to seem excessively dramatic, this book has changed my life. I had always considered global climate change (GCC) to be one of several important environmental issues. What Flannery does more than anything is synthesize the dramatic developments that have occured in climate science, just in the past few years. He points out that most of us think about GCC in the same terms and from the same limited understanding that we had many years ago when the issue first entered public consciousness. In the meantime, the science has evolved significantly, and with that evolution of understanding, the news has become worse. Since reading the book, I have embarked on a crash reading program on GCC issues and now share Flannery's view that this is not only THE environmental issue, it is THE issue. Many issues are important, but how we deal with them will likely not matter much if we do not seriously address the threat of climate change. This book is well-written and reads easily. It is accessible and informative to scientists and non-scientists alike (I am a mere lawyer, in fact), and would make a terrific contribution to high school or college level syllabi. Buy a copy, but you may want to buy two, since you will undoubtedly want to pass it on when you are finished.

"Not another book on climate change!", you lament. Readers may feel surfeited by the rash of books on "global warming" appearing in the past few years. The feeling is understandable. The situation should be considered an indication of how serious the problem is for all humanity. In this case, the author introduces a little-considered aspect. Tim Flannery, whose keen eye and bountiful wit always offers something new presented in a easily readable way, will not leave you jaded nor have your head nodding in ennui. Although Flannery does address some questions dealt with elsewhere, he adds the most significant topic of all - the future of life. As a zoologist, Flannery has extensive field experience in the forests of New Guinea and elsewhere. He's written of human impact on large animals in North America and Australia. Here, he writes of human impact on all life. Instead of hunting animals to extinction, humans are modifying the entire biosphere through pollutants and gases. This indirect imposition has already killed off at least one species, he demonstrates. In explaining how the Golden Toad went extinct, Flannery sets the scene expansively. The Toad wasn't just a local phenomenon, but died out due to wide-ranging changes in ocean temperature, air mass movements and changes in rainfall. This combination of influences resulted in what appeared to us as a minimal change in habitat. To the Golden Toad, that "minimal change" proved catastrophic. The object lesson is clear. How much change will the species humans rely on for survival tolerate? Flannery, citing James Lovelock's "Gaia" hypothesis of the biosphere as a tightly woven "system", argues that the tolerance for change is meagre. And human-induced change is squeezing the tolerance downward. Up to 30% of all major species are under threat of extinction during this century. Flannery notes how much needs to be learnt about our impact on the biosphere. Only a generation ago we had identified half of the "greenhouse gases" and scientists still contested whether their influence would warm or cool the planet. Now, he stresses, the warming effect is clearly dominant. The result of that warming is unfolding before us right now. More significantly, the consequences of today's conditions will not be fully realised for a generation. When they become apparent they will be far too severe to reverse. The time to take preventive action is now, not in a decade or more. The reason for prompt action refutes the "climate sceptics" who argue that climate change is "natural" and requires adaptability, not severe crisis-preventing action. Flannery explains how this view is mistaken and misleading. The rate of change today far exceeds any past natural process, and its effects may last many millennia. All examples of past climate change show cascading processes, where one small change induces later, more complex or far-reaching results. With today's rate of change so rapid, Flannery argues, the cumulative effects are u

I had the opportunity to read a bound galley of this book. I've read Tim Flannery's other books and was looking forward to more of his really brilliant writing and anecdotes. But I wasn't prepared for the breadth and depth of Weather Makers. This book is extraordinary in every way and deserves as much public discussion as possible. It's the Silent Spring of this generation and one of the best books I've read in years! It's an alarm to all of us sharing this fragile and endangered planet. You should buy two copies and send one to a friend. It should be required reading in Washington and perhaps someone could read this out loud to our president.