Heatstroke: Nature in an Age of Global Warming
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Book Overview
In 2006, one of the hottest years on record, a "pizzly" was discovered near the top of the world. Half polar bear, half grizzly, this never-before-seen animal might be dismissed as a fluke of nature. Anthony Barnosky instead sees it as a harbinger of things to come.
In Heatstroke, the renowned paleoecologist shows how global warming is fundamentally changing the natural world and its creatures. While melting ice may have helped produce the pizzly, climate change is more likely to wipe out species than to create them. Plants and animals that have followed the same rhythms for millennia are suddenly being confronted with a world they're unprepared for--and adaptation usually isn't an option.
This is not the first time climate change has dramatically transformed Earth. Barnosky draws connections between the coming centuries and the end of the last ice age, when mass extinctions swept the planet. The differences now are that climate change is faster and hotter than past changes, and for the first time humanity is driving it. Which means this time we can work to stop it.
No one knows exactly what nature will come to look like in this new age of global warming. But Heatstroke gives us a haunting portrait of what we stand to lose and the vitality of what can be saved.
In Heatstroke, the renowned paleoecologist shows how global warming is fundamentally changing the natural world and its creatures. While melting ice may have helped produce the pizzly, climate change is more likely to wipe out species than to create them. Plants and animals that have followed the same rhythms for millennia are suddenly being confronted with a world they're unprepared for--and adaptation usually isn't an option.
This is not the first time climate change has dramatically transformed Earth. Barnosky draws connections between the coming centuries and the end of the last ice age, when mass extinctions swept the planet. The differences now are that climate change is faster and hotter than past changes, and for the first time humanity is driving it. Which means this time we can work to stop it.
No one knows exactly what nature will come to look like in this new age of global warming. But Heatstroke gives us a haunting portrait of what we stand to lose and the vitality of what can be saved.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1597268178
ISBN13:9781597268172
Release Date:September 2010
Publisher:Shearwater Books
Length:288 Pages
Weight:0.94 lbs.
Dimensions:0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
Heatstoke is a great read!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
Heatstroke reveals in very understandable terms the impacts of change on the natural world. It was a compelling read that was both very personal, based on Dr. Barnusky's research, and global, the author presents climate changes in the context of planet Earth. I learned a great deal and appreciated the author's science-based findings. Dr. Barnusky stays on message, and without being alarmist or speculative, he lays out the status of the world in which we find ourselves. I've ordered the book for friends and family and would urge those who are interested in the evolution of the planet and climate change through the ages to read this book.
Compelling.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
This book kept me engaged throughout. Gives a very thorough explanation of why the warming we are experiencing now is different from other global warming events in the past. Instead of just throwing scary statistics at you, this book does a great job of describing the painstaking processes used to come up with those statistics, without making it too complicated for someone, like me, who does not have a strong science background.
Eye and Mind opening reading
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
This was an engaging and compelling book. Dr. Barnoski describes the impacts that global warming are having on plants and animals around us and in places far from human activity. I never realized that the human-accelerated warming is too fast for nature to adjust and that many species will be unable to cope. While other books address CO2 and global warming, this book talks about the effects on nature and the large-scale consequences we need to be prepared for.
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