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Global warming is one of the most talked about science subjects today. Maybe you have seen pictures of polar bears or other animals stranded atop floating chunks of melting ice. Perhaps you have heard about or lived through extreme weather - hurricanes, floods, water shortages, heat waves, or electricity blackouts. Many of these events can stem from the world getting warmer. As that happens, the climate changes, too. This book helps young readers understand the sciences used to study global warming. Each chapter addresses specific questions about why the temperatures of the earth's air and oceans are rising. The information presented aligns with the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: that most of the warming observed over the last half-century is due to human activities and that the impacts of global warming will be significantly negative. Using a question-and-answer format supplemented by hands-on activities, this book fosters an understanding of the complex processes at work in global warming while also enabling youngsters to think critically about their future. McCutcheon ends his book by offering young readers productive ways to think about - and act on - changes in the environment contributing to climate change. McCutcheon taps his mastery of a complicated, highly charged topic to permit young readers to become informed consumers of sciences associated with the most urgent topic of their future - global warming. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An empowering educational effort with far-reaching impact
"What Are Global Warming and Climate Change?: Answers for Young Readers" presents updated information based on scientific observations about why the temperatures of Earth's atmosphere and oceans are rising. Presented in a question and answer format that parallels findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes, conclusions indicate that global warming trends observed in the past 50 years are due to human impact/activity, and that impact is "significantly negative." Using a variety of resources and filled with hands-on learning activities related to the phenomena of global warming, "What Are Global Warming and Climate Change?" is an empowering educational effort with far-reaching impact, also a distinguished part of the Barbara Guth Worlds of Wonder Science Series for Young Readers.

A Useful Guide for All Ages
Chuck McCutcheon has done a real service by writing this clear, brisk, easy-to-read guide to climate change. It patiently walks the reader through all of the basics, like how greenhouse gases work, and then builds naturally to how human activities are changing the planet. It's hard to explain the science in non-technical, non-boring terms, but McCutcheon makes it look like the easiest thing in the world. This book is written for middle-school students, but it's a good read for grownups who want to understand the subject better, too.

A Balanced Read
I found Mr. McCutcheon's book to be quite objective.The subject is still somewhat controversial, but he is able to make the case while acknowledging arguments from those that remain non-believers.His introduction: "What's This Book About" lays out his message. He discusses climate, weather and the greenhouse effect, and then moves on to what will eventually happen if we don't change our ways.No book on the subject would be complete without a discussion of politics, which he deftly handles.He wraps it up with a discussion of what people are doing and what we can do to reduce our contributions to Global Warming. He includes a comprehensive Glossary and presents information in both English Units (feet, degrees Fahrenheit, etc.) and Metric Units (meters, degrees Celsius, etc.). He also lists many web sites for additional information or to learn more about the subject--for example, how to calculate your carbon-footprint.There is enough material in this thin (103 pp) volume to keep the interest of parents who will be called on to discuss many of Chuck's points. I found the book educational and entertaining. It is definitely worth a read for the kids in your household. ... Read more

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The second edition presents 28 specially commissioned essays by leading geographers across the world, addressing questions about how and why the world has changed, is changing, and will continue to change. Softcover. ... Read more

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Roughly a billion people around the world continue to live in state of chronic hunger and food insecurity. Unfortunately, efforts to improve their livelihoods must now unfold in the context of a rapidly changing climate, in which warming temperatures and changing rainfall regimes could threaten the basic productivity of the agricultural systems on which most of the world’s poor directly depend. But whether climate change represents a minor impediment or an existential threat to development is an area of substantial controversy, with different conclusions wrought from different methodologies and based on different data.

This book aims to resolve some of the controversy by exploring and comparing the different methodologies and data that scientists use to understand climate’s effects on food security. In explains the nature of the climate threat, the ways in which crops and farmers might respond, and the potential role for public and private investment to help agriculture adapt to a warmer world. This broader understanding should prove useful to both scientists charged with quantifying climate threats, and policy-makers responsible for crucial decisions about how to respond. The book is especially suitable as a companion to an interdisciplinary undergraduate or graduate level class.

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How do the life and teachings of Jesus address the most critical global problems in our world today?

In Everything Must Change, you will accompany Brian around the world on a search for answers. Along the way you'll experience intrigue, alarm, challenge, insight, and hope. You'll get a fresh and provocative vision of Jesus and his teachings. And you'll see how his core message can infuse us with purpose and passion to address the economic, environmental, military, political, and social dysfunctions that have overtaken our world.

Jesus' message is more than a ticket to heaven or a formula for personal prosperity. It is an invitation to personal and global transformation. It is a radical challenge to the underlying stories that drive our suicidal systems-social, economic, and political. It invites us to imagine what would happen

-if people of faith moved beyond political polarization and a few hot-button issues to the deeper questions nobody is asking.

-if the world's leading nations spent less on weapons and more on peace-making, poverty-alleviation, and creation-care.

-if a renewed understanding of Jesus and his message sparked a profound spiritual awakening in a global movement of faith, hope, and love.

-if we believed that God's will really could be done on earth and not just in heaven.

If you are hungry for a fresh vision of what it means to be a person of faith, Everything Must Change applies the good news of Jesus to a world in need, igniting a revolution of hope that can change everything. Beginning with you. Beginning now.

Customer Reviews (59)

Author says what needs to be said!
Brian says what needs to be said, and he says it in clear, descriptive language that is without fluff and filler sentences.

::::sigh:::: Yet another sign of the (end) times
McLaren describes his purpose: "The book is a first visit to a new way of seeing the world and hearing the message of Jesus" (7)--and on the same page states, "There is much to dismantle, much to overturn, much to rebuild." In the reviewer's opinion, the latter proved more descriptive of the book's purpose than the former. McLaren paints a desperate picture of the current state of the church, "Why hasn't the Christian religion made a difference...?" (12), "it appears to be a failed religion" (33), it is part of society's overall "suicidal system" (41) and, therefore, everything must change.

The reviewer hardly knows where to begin to critique McLaren's house of cards. His book is driven by liberal agendas dressed up in a "new flavor" of Christianity attractively relabeled "emerging" and "progressive" that purports to supersede politics when in fact most of his arguments perfectly echo liberal political mantras. His overall negative view of the "conventional" church is one of oversimplification, bad logic, hyperbole, and sweeping generalizations, which almost violently throws out the baby with the bath water. His creative overreaching comes off as a cold dismissal of virtually every honorable Christian life, effort, and ministry throughout history, although at the end he tries to back paddle from this position. He also randomly blackens the eyes of orthodox beliefs. His entire premise is precariously built on faulty presuppositions (of which the reviewer counted over fifty)--hence the house of cards description. To avoid repetition, most presuppositions reflect his liberal personal politics, and each counter has an equal or greater weight of science or biblical theology, or both, behind it:

Humanity is going to run out of oil (61)--many believe there is enough for thousands of years. Global warming is a settled fact and is caused by carbon fuels (63)--many believe neither is true; the cause-and-effect is far from settled. Wealth is at the heart of virtually all man's problems, because of the "inequity" of rich vs. poor, and causes most of the violence in the world (68-70)--Scripture clearly says sin is at the heart of every evil. The wrong "framing stories" (especially "dominant conventional" Christianity) are responsible for perpetuating the problems caused by wealth, creating addictions to the problems (70-71, 208)--by dismissing sin and not wealth as the original cause of violence and addictions, the book's own "framing story" is suspect. Jesus' idea and dream for man was to fix the world, to save the planet and everything in it, which also implies no hell (72, 79), and shockingly, no heaven (296)--Scripture says the world and everything in it will be destroyed, human souls are all that Jesus came to save, and hell is real. "Conventional" messages say Jesus' Gospel is only about man's legal guilt before an angry God, most read the Bible this simplistically, i.e. salvation, heaven, period, that this is orthodoxy and all else is heresy, and because of such views, even Jesus needs saving (81-82, 90)--such a distorted, reductionistic view does not even begin to describe orthodoxy, making this one of his most flawed presuppositions. The "emerging" view of a kinder, gentler, more nuanced Jesus is a new revelation (94) and his views are fairly universal (103)--hardly, or there would be no real disciples, no one preaching love, fellowship, community, social justice, and so on, which is ridiculous on its face. He reinterprets Scriptures, from prophets to Mary to Jesus himself, to cast the kingdom of God as referring to this world, and even Jesus did not really mean "My kingdom is not of this world" but really meant it was not of the Roman world but was still in and of this world (104-5)--biblical teaching holds the kingdom of God began redemption in this world and will perfect it in eternity; it is not "of this world," as Jesus clearly stated without double-speak. Jesus learned from the woman at the well, actually "was conquered by" her (156-7), thus an implied endorsement of open theism--Jesus was God, and mankind neither surprised nor taught him anything. Humans and animals are part of the same family tree (137)--Scripture says otherwise. Along with heaven, Jesus' second coming is purely metaphorical (144-5, 153)--Scriptures, and Jesus himself, say otherwise. Space prohibits more but clearly the book is flawed to the core.

By crossing wires with so much sound biblical theology, all the while painting orthodoxy itself as the danger and opposition ("fundamentalist imposition of Christian sharia-law," 147), McLaren paints himself into an impossible corner. Did he fulfill his purpose? He may have shown "a new way to see Jesus" and may have "dismantled much" but he built his case on dozens of unbiblical presuppositions--a weak case at best to exhort the body of Christ to do better. He alienates all conservatives with his agenda-driven mantras of liberal politics (i.e. no more tax breaks for the rich, 250; global redistribution of wealth throughout). After beating up both orthodox and conservative believers, he has little credibility left to get them on board of what is actually a compelling end argument for applying personal faith in the world at large and joining forces in a revolution of practical faith. He no sooner appears altruistic and normal, than he casts universal aspersions with an anti-heaven rant, and more God's-kingdom-is-this-world ravings (chapter 34). His left politics invalidate his claimed apolitical stance (285), and it only takes a little dubious theology leaven to spoil an entire book, even one containing good truths. In the end, McLaren's grand emerging church is actually submerging itself into the world's sinful, biblically ignorant culture. It is one thing to propose radical changes; it is another to throw Scripture under the bus to get it done.

Everything Must Change
I read Brian's books assiduously and have shared this one with a small community of Emerging Church members. We have purchased several copies and everyone is struck by the way in which McLaren presents his study in a concise and direct way.

Vital Information about our ENORMOUS global problems
I am about half way through this book.It contains vital information about the global problems that we are facing and suggests we are in a suicidal downward spiral as a nation and world.First we must face our denial.The connection of these global problems and Jesus comes next beginning with the distorted beliefs we have about Jesus and his teachings.Can't wait to get back to this book daily and looking forword to all that is to come in my reading and the author's take on how we might face these problems whether we are "Christian" or not. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to look at the problems but also for anyone wanting to find out what "Jesus' followers" should really be doing (that the church has and is failing to do as they preach a distorted understanding of Him).

The Great Unveiling
History shall record that there were Revolutions brought about by military power. There were Revolutions brought about by political intrigue.

And then... there were Revolutions brought about by Brian McLaren.

Brian McLaren offers shinning hope to a dark world through the same Christianity which has brought nothing but death and destruction to our planet for the last 1,900 years. In the name of our mighty Lord and Savior, Rob Bell, I am a man who can see once again!

Humanity will be eternally grateful to McLaren for straightening out our horrendously wrong views about the Cross. To think that the church actually once believed that the cross had something to do with sin and forgiveness and stuff like that. No, no, those were the dark ages. Now we correctly understand that the Cross is all about poorer people in third world world countries have hope of a better life now.

"My chains fell off, my heart was free!" ... Read more

Product Description

Governing Climate Change provides a short and accessible introduction to how climate change is governed by an increasingly diverse range of actors, from civil society and market actors to multilateral development banks, donors and cities.

The issue of global climate change has risen to the top of the international political agenda. Despite ongoing contestation about the science informing policy, the economic costs of action and the allocation of responsibility for addressing the issue within and between nations, it is clear that climate change will continue to be one of the most pressing and challenging issues facing humanity for many years to come.

The book:

• evaluates the role of states and non-state actors in governing climate change at multiple levels of political organisation: local, national and global
• provides a discussion of theoretical debates on climate change governance, moving beyond analytical approaches focused solely on nation-states and international negotiations
• examines a range of key topical issues in the politics of climate change
• includes multiple examples from both the north and the global south.

Providing an inter-disciplinary perspective drawing on geography, politics, international relations and development studies, this book is essential reading for all those concerned not only with the climate governance but with the future of the environment in general.

Product Description
The shift from scientific materialism to a multidimensional worldview in harmony with the world’s great spiritual traditions

• Articulates humanity’s critical choice--to be the last decade of an outgoing, obsolete world, or the first of a new and viable one

• Presents a new “reality map” to guide us through the environmental, scientific, and geopolitical upheavals we are experiencing

Our world is in a Macroshift. The reality we are experiencing today is a substantially new reality--climate change, global corporations, industrialized agriculture--challenging us to change with our rapidly changing world, lest we perish.

In this book, Ervin Laszlo presents a new “reality map” to guide us through the world shifts we are experiencing--the problems, opportunities, and challenges we face individually as well as collectively--in order to help us understand what we must do during this time of great transition. Science’s cutting edge now views reality as broader, as multiple universes arising in a possibly infinite meta-universe, as well as deeper, extending into dimensions at the subatomic level. Laszlo shows that aspects of human experience that had previously been consigned to the domain of intuition and speculation are now being explored with scientific rigor and urgency. There has been a shift in the materialistic scientific view of reality toward the multidimensional worldview of multiple interconnected realities long known by the world’s great spiritual traditions. By understanding the interconnectedness of our changing world as well as our changing “map” of the world, we can navigate with insight, wisdom, and confidence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Nonsense and pseudo-science
I normally wouldn't review a book that I didn't finish. But there were so few negative reviews for this I felt I had to balance it out. If you like reading pseudo-science written by someone who has a very shallow understanding of concepts from theoretical physics and then makes all kinds of ungrounded speculations about them this is the book for you. Otherwise don't waste your money.

Do you want to open your mind or your heart to the changes?
The author stands to be criticized in the traditional way that religionists hold disrespect for "humanists" for their inability to utter the G word in any thought or word they write.
The book represents the author as a philosopher, someone who we should respect for his knowledge and careful research, but unfortunately the author has either not done adequate research or does not care to share the results of it with us in his book.

The closest he comes to even touching the subject he has decided to write about, the quantum shift and the global brain, was passing mention of the name Aurobindo, an avatar from India who wrote "The life divine" which the author does not tell us. Aurobindo was the earliest scholar/mystic short of Revelations to give serious attention to the idea that we would have a New Earth, a new human species and a new global consciousness for all of mankind that would bring DRAMATIC changes for the human race. From that point on he does not mention a single meaningful person whose writing is key to the history of the quantum shift of consciousness and he also does not ever attempt to really describe what that shift will entail. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a champion of similar early ideas to Aurobindo, he was totally ignored in the book. The energies that will bring about the changes came in waves every ten years starting in the late sixties. The Gildas communications were the first to give a detailed description in 1968 and was not mentioned. James Hurtak and Ken Carey were the next to come forward in the late seventies and neither of them were mentioned and a whole bevy of writers in the late eighties and early nineties were also totally ignored as were any other significant authors after that. In short the author appears to be totally unaware of the history of the subject he has chosen or even what the tenets are. Those people he chooses to mention are very poor examples.

The meandering tidbits that we are offered might be intellectually interesting to some but totally miss the point of the subject at hand as described by the title of the book. When making passing reference to the quantum shift he only mentions Margaret Mead--very much off the mark. Bible thumpers would probably be tempted to characterize this disinformation with a remark like "satanic sludge." It certainly doesn't appear to serve any useful purpose other than cashing in on the 2012 marketing frenzy that many publishers are currently engaged in. There are dozens of similar books flooding the market to which these remarks would equally apply.

This treatment does not honor the sacred nature of the event and honor All That Is as the source of the initiative which is more than a little disrespectful to say the least. It is also not the least bit useful in giving the population a basic information that will help them prepare for the changes physically, emotionally and spiritually.

So if you think of yourself as humanist and don't want to be offended by a religious sounding thought give this book a try, I am sure you will not be disappointed and that you will be able to fill your mind with the idle speculations of a gentleman who does not yet understand the inner workings of the dramatic changes that are upon us. Perhaps he could start with an honest title for his book and a search for the deeper meaning of humility, an understanding of the magnitude of scholarship needed and the will to do something constructive about it before he does any more damage.

But if you think of yourself as an undiminished being ready to absorb and bathe yourself in the undiluted inner teachings of a master prophet, I suggest you reread the core works of Ken Carey like Starseed Transmissions, Vision, and Third Millennium and feel your heart chakra open to the wisdom that surrounds you.

Relevant and Thought-Provoking
Quantum Shift in the Global Brain is another effort from the author of Science and the Akashic Field, one of many ideas about what David Bohm referred to as the implicate order of the universe. Ervin Laszlo's version of what some call The Matrix or the Zero Point Field is the Akashic Field. In Quantum Shift in the Global Brain Laszlo brings together multiple ideas from globalization to climate change and sets them in the context of his version of entanglement. (page 85) "Scientists now know ... that particles are entangled - nonlocally connected - with each other throughout space: they have a prior unity that is active and manifest. Living things of all kinds are nonlocally connected throughout the biosphere; theirs is a subtle connection that is likewise active and real, although we have only recently discovered it."

More accessible than Science and the Akashic Field, this book is highly thought-provoking; it brings together scientific and religious knowledge towards an idea that Laszlo dubbs (page 125) "a Holos-civilization" - "a civilization based on empathy, trust and solidarity".

At a time when atheists and theists seem increasingly to be talking past one another, Laszlo sets out some very constructive ideas for integration around the vested interest that we all have in preserving and better understanding the holistic environment that we inhabit. It is encouraging that intellectuals such as Laszlo are continuing the Bohm tradition of looking for harmony where others see conflict. A very good read.

Brain waves take on new meaning
Lazlo's writing always leaves me asking for more. He is clear but not simple. He shows connections in places where few others see them. He makes quantum science moderately comprehensible to the lay reader without simplifying things to the point that they become ideology.Lazlo describes a view of reality that makes sense to the modern person with a scientific world view and also restores an idea about the mystery and awe of the universe by moving beyond the conflict between the two. He's also written Science and the Reenchantment of the Cosmos. If you think the planet is going to Hell in a handbasket- here's another handbasket.

Lotus Guide Magazine Review
Quantum Shift in the Global Brain:

How the New Scientific Reality Can Change Us and Our World

By Ervin Laszlo

ISBN 1-59477-233-9 (Inner Traditions, 2008)

Within the symbiotic relationship of being a systems theorist, interdisciplinary scientist, and a philosopher, Ervin Laszlo brings into focus the underlying pattern within the chaos that we seemingly find ourselves in during this transformational period. It is an exciting time to be alive now, during the evolution of the next step of human consciousness, and reading this book created a safe perspective for me "to be" in the scheme of things.

Rahasya Poe, Lotus Guide magazine ... Read more

Product Description
Global climate change cannot be understood without knowing the fundamental principles of science, economics, and politics that condition our policy choices. To that end, the contributors to this volume, experts in their respective fields, take a comprehensive look at the major issues involved.

This volume is written for policymakers and informed citizenry who want to understand at a general level the complexities of global climate change without becoming enmeshed in technical minutia. The introduction emphasizes the core fact that climate change issues cut across disciplines. William Schlesinger and Gerald North explain the carbon cycle and how increased greenhouse gases impact temperature. The economics papers deal with the applicability of benefit/cost analysis and then proceed to examine the benefits of avoiding temperature change versus the costs of the various CO2 abatement options. Finally, David Victor, a Stanford political scientist, asks which policies are feasible in a world where the incentives differ dramatically among countries. The book closes with open letters to the President of the United States.

Policymakers along with academics, students and any reader interested in a broad look at the important issues in the global climate change story will find this book indispensable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Economic Analysis of Global Climate Change
"Global Climate Change - The Science, Economics, and Politics", is a collection of ten separate articles covering different aspects of global warming.The book is very strong on the economics of global warming, less strong on the politics, and weak on the science.In many ways, the book reads like a balanced, academic discussion of the pros and cons of costs and benefits between business as usual, weak mitigation efforts, and strong mitigation efforts.This attempt at balance weakens the book's message considerably, in that it leaves the reader wondering what the author's personal opinions really are on the subject.

The book was published by the Bush School of Government and Public Service, in the "New Horizons In Environmental Economics" textbook series, which explains why it's basically an economics textbook (dry reading) focused on cost/benefit analysis.

Four stars given as an economics book, but as a general book on climate change, I'd probably give it only two stars because there are so many superior books out there already covering the science and potential effects of global warming. ... Read more

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This timely volume provides an illustration of the variety of satellite-derived global data sets now available, their uses, advantages and limitations, and the range of variation that has already been observed with these data. ... Read more

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This is a compelling tract for our times (manifesto) addressed to evangelicals around the English-speaking world from the general director of the Evangelical Alliance. This umbrella group represents evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom and is part of the larger World Evangelical Alliance of 128 national and seven regional alliances including the National Association of Evangelicals in the USA. Written in an accessible style this short and readable manifesto issues a prophetic call to help set the agenda for evangelicals to:* Present Christ credibly the 21st century* Rehabilitate term 'evangelical' as good news* Engage in spiritual and social transformationThe book includes discussion questions to enable classes, groups, and teams to read and discuss the contents of the book. As the church faces challenges and opportunities, this book can serve as a catalyst to move the evangelical church forward to make a difference in the world by fostering spiritual and social transformation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Concise - Intriguing - On Target
"An Agenda For Change" is an engaging book for many reasons. It clearly and succinctly identifies how Christians have discredited the gospel in their attempt to be socially relevant. In our earnestness to "make" Jesus relevant in the 21st Century, we have transformed Jesus into a marketing tactic rather than living transformed lives to attract unbelievers. We have twisted Jesus' command to be in the world but not of the world.

Joel Edwards takes a simple 3-part approach to explaining the Christian's loss of credibility in today's society in a way that brings not defensiveness but a desire to take a self-assessment of our part in the discrediting of the gospel and evokes a desire to live transformed lives.

Jesus doesn't need flashy marketing and all the newest toys and gadgets and strategies to attract the crowds. There's plenty of mass marketing appeal for everything under the sun. What Jesus needs is for His followers to be real ... to live an unassuming, faithful, servant-oriented life that makes us stand out from the crowd. It's not how loud we can shout for Jesus - it's how quiet and transforming we can be for Jesus. It's not always about what we say - sometimes its about what we don't say!

I highly recommend An Agenda For Change ... but only if you really want to be the change!

Joel Edwards, An Agenda For Change
An Agenda for Change, by Joel Edwards, could be summed up with the statement, "It's all in the presentation. Much of our potential audience is not listening because of the way we are delivering themessage. If we want people to listen, we must change the way we deliver the message.We live in a world that celebrates differences. We have to demonstrate that what we have is not only different but better.
Edwards discusses the history of the early church in that it was in the midst of a pagan society, hated and persecuted. Why did the early church grow? Because it was sold on Jesus and the people of the early church displayed a different lifestyle that attracted others.
The pluralistic, anti-Christian society we face today as Christians is similar to what the early church faced for the first 300years.The church is much stronger when it is being challenged than when it being protected. In many ways the church ceased being different after AD 325 as it became a part of the culture, not different.
The first difference was the church's stand on Jesus. Recent surveys show that the average Christian does not believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation, but rather just one among many.
Rather than spend our time in religious bashing, we need to carrying out acts of kindness. Acts of kindness speak far louder than our loud clashing rhetoric.
If we speak for Jesus, then we need to speak to the issues Jesus addressed:
* Corruption in the religious world
* The mistreatment of children, especially infants
* The need to be servant leaders
* Jesus was a historical personality sent by God in a divine fashion--virgin birth
* Unique in forgiveness
* Concerned about the widow, orphan, and sinner
* Teaching, preaching, and discipling
* Performing of healings and exorcisms
The need to recognize the power of the Holy Spirit in our ministries
* Strange movements of the Spirit, especially as seen in the extreme in some areas of the Pentecostal movement. Edwards says miracles carry a lot of baggage with them, but we still need them (37).
* Evangelicals on the theological right who are unwilling to seriously pray even for healing.
Where the church is growing most rapidly is in Africa, South America, and Asia, and in all of these cases numerous miracles are being reported. Healing and miracles are a significant part of the ministry.Edwards says:
"The plain truth is that Christians who deny the place of miracles may wake up to find out that we are out of step with a contemporary culture growing weary with `reason', which changes nothing and no one." (39)
The problem of identifying evangelicals
The use of the term evangelical is used to cover extreme conservatives all the way to Roman Catholics and some Orthodox church leaders.Who is in and who is out?
* Establishing identity of evangelicals is difficult
* No individual evangelical group has the right to declare that it defines what an evangelical is.
* The truth should not be used to bludgeon others
* The truth should not be used to exclude others
* Evangelicals are not the final arbiters of the truth (those who make final judgments)
* Should be recognized by a commitment to the Bible and its authority in all matters of doctrine and ethics
* No single cultural interpretation should be allowed to dominate
* Orthodoxy is critical, but it is bigger than all of us. We are not appointed to be God's thought-police.
* God is not party-political
* Our evangelical status is not based on how we vote

Transformation Requires Conversation Main Theme
Joel Edwards presents an excellent case for the need for Evangelicals to engage our culture in conversation, instead of condemnation.Rather than a high-and-mighty attitude with an us vs. them mentality, Edwards states that when we "enter into dialogue, sinners are given the dignity of choice and the option not to be fully persuaded...Only a conversational church can really be a witnessing church because it can never fully understand itself unless it is in conversation with its world."

Jesus engaged His culture in conversation.He presented the truth as it related to his culture and allowed His culture to make the decision to follow.He didn't condemn the sinners, but condemned the religious leaders of His day. Edwards contends that when we "hurl advice from the safety of our pulpits and insular conferences...We end up head-butting our world in the name of love."

An excellent book for looking at the mission of Evangelicals from a heavenly perspective.The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of five:
1)I would have liked to have seen more "how-to's" 2)got hung-up on the English spelling of some words, but became used to it once I got deeper into the book.

Evangelical Change Is Good News
Joel Edwards makes a concise examination of the role of Evangelical Christians in his book, An Agenda for Change.He defines the differences that exist within the family of believers who consider themselves evangelicals and brings to the table compelling arguments to join together as one body instead of "majoring on the minors" that separate us so that we can reach those who do not know Christ and share the "Good News" with them.

He shares great background and insight in his words and expresses the need for change--to quit trying to "make Christ credible but to unveil him as such." He also expresses that we need to not just be "against things" but to "for things" making the body of Christ be his hands and feet touching a dying world rather than judges to slap them around for what they are doing wrong.

And I fully agree with Edwards' stance that no major change happens without a considerable amount of prayer and that it does not happen overnight but take diligent long-term commitments.

I walked away with the feeling I could share this book with those who may think the word "Evangelical" has somehow taken on a negative connotation and how we can step beyond the need to defend ourselves but instead become the body of believers that want to represent Christ as a loving Savior.

I wished there had been more agenda
First of all, Edwards' observations are terrific. If you are an evangelical and want to see some on target thoughts about the heritage of evangelicals and ideals of what we should be about, this is the book. I appreciated reading a perspective that was from outside America. His position of how evangelicals need to focus beyond our time like the example of the cathedral is very insightful.

That said, why only three stars? Two reasons: First, I believe entirely too much of this short book is spent debating whether to use the descriptive word "evangelical." I "are" one, and despite some cultural reasons that are lined out, would prefer to be known by my existence rather than by what label someone wants to hang on it. Second, maybe I am being too pragmatic (and he is obviously much more qualified than I am), but I wanted more of the agenda spelled out. The author spends most of a chapter describing a church that does not exists; the disappointment I felt in discovering it is not a "real" place is similar to my disappointment in not seeing more nuts and bolts.

By all means, read this thoughtful, insightful book.

... Read more

Product Description
Researchers studying the role institutions play in causing and confronting environmental change use a variety of concepts and methods that make it difficult to compare their findings. Seeking to remedy this problem, Oran Young takes the analytic themes identified in the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (IDGEC) Science Plan as cutting-edge research concerns and develops them into a common structure for conducting research. He illustrates his arguments with examples of environmental change ranging in scale from the depletion of local fish stocks to the disruption of Earth’s climate system.Young not only explores theoretical concerns such as the relative merits of collective-action and social-practice models of institutions but also addresses the IDGEC-identified problems of institutional fit, interplay, and scale. He shows how institutions interact both with one another and with the biophysical environment and assesses the extent to which we can apply lessons drawn from the study of local institutions to the study of global institutions and vice versa. He examines how research on institutions can help us to solve global problems of environmental governance. Substantive topics discussed include the institutional dimensions of carbon management, the performance of exclusive economic zones, and the political economy of boreal and tropical forests. ... Read more

Product Description

The first book to bring together both leadership and change theories, concepts, and processes, Leading Change in Multiple Contexts uses a consistent framework and the latest research to help readers understand and apply the concepts and practices of leading change.

Key Features

Brings together leadership and change concepts and practices in five distinct contexts-organizational, community, political, social change, and global

Draws from a wide range of classic and recent scholarship from multiple disciplines

Includes the perspectives of change and leadership experts

Offers real-life vignettes that provide examples of leading change in every context

Provides readers with application and reflection exercises that allow them to apply leadership and change concepts to their experiences

Leading Change in Multiple Contexts is designed for undergraduate and graduate courses in Change Management, Leadership, Organizational Behavior, Organizational Development, and Leadership and Change offered in departments of business, education, communication, and public administration, as well as programs focusing on leadership, public policy, community activism, and social change.

Product Description
For the past 4 billion years, the chemistry of the Earth's surface, where all life exists, has changed remarkably. Historically, these changes have occurred slowly enough to allow life to adapt and evolve. In more recent times, the chemistry of the Earth is being altered at a staggering rate, fueled by industrialization and an ever-growing human population. Human activities, from the rapid consumption of resources to the destruction of the rainforests and the expansion of smog-covered cities, are all leading to rapid changes in the basic chemistry of the Earth.
The Second Edition of Biogeochemistry considers the effects of life on the Earth's chemistry on a global level. This expansive text employs current technology to help students extrapolate small-scale examples to the global level, and also discusses the instrumentation being used by NASA and its role in studies of global change. With the Earth's changing chemistry as the focus, this text pulls together the many disparate fields that are encompassed by the broad reach of biogeochemistry. With extensive cross-referencing of chapters, figures, and tables, and an interdisciplinary coverage of the topic at hand, this text will provide an excellent framework for courses examining global change and environmental chemistry, and will also be a useful self-study guide.


* Emphasizes the effects of life on the basic chemistry of the atmosphere, the soils, and seawaters of the Earth
* Calculates and compares the effects of industrial emissions, land clearing, agriculture, and rising population on Earths chemistry
* Synthesizes the global cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur, and suggests the best current budgets for atmospheric gases such as ammonia, nitrous oxide, dimethyl sulfide, and carbonyl sulfide
* Includes an extensive review and up-to-date synthesis of the current literature on the Earths biogeochemistry ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Well written review
It was required reading book for my biogeochemistry class. I would say this book covers a lot of topics and is well written. It described concisely the general picture of the global biogeochemistry. So if someone is interested in reviewing general concepts and idea about global biogeochemistry, I would certainly recommend this book. Although being short was advantage of the book, it is also its drawback. Therefore sometimes someone might find that you need more information in order to fully understand mechanism behind certain process or calculation. If you are already familiar with the concept and got general idea, then this book might bore you. Otherwise, I would say, this is right book for someone who is just interested in seeing big picture and ignoring the details.

Biogeochemistry
This book, while slightly dated now, as much science has been done since it was published is still very thorough on the subject.

Solid science
I bought this book to prepare for my comprehensive exam. Book consists of two parts: first part describes the generalities of physical/chemical/biological properties of atmosphere, soils, oceans; it also contains the description of the specifics of each cycle (main biogeochemical elements) in all those environment. The second part describes the cycles on the global scale, with up-to-date references to today`s situation on carbon dioxide concentration and prospects on global climate change. Very good material andvery good explanation.

Good Overview of the Subject
I actually took Biogeochemistry from Dr. Schlesinger last fall and I do feel that the book is a good survey of alot of geochemical cycles and is presented at an undergraduate level.
However, some of the information, particularly about methane, was severely broken up throughout the text to the point where it was difficult to put together complete chemical cycles of some elements..
Nevertheless, it gives the reader the broad brush strokes necessary to get up to speed, particularly if you do not have a strong science background. For those who are very familiar to the sciences, you can get much more complete information from review papers than is presented here.

Such a good textbook
I had to buy this for a Biogeochemical Cycles class.The book is great!It's actual readable, which I was never expecting.It's interesting and understandable.The first reviewer is right that it doesn't get too complex, but references out the more difficult parts.I appreciated not having to read the way-too-hard stuff on my first introduction to this subject. ... Read more

Product Description
Booker focuses his attention on the mother of all environmental scares: global warming. This original book considers one of the most extraordinary scientific and political stories of our time: how in the 1980s a handful of scientists came to believe that mankind faced catastrophe from runaway global warming, and how today this has persuaded politicians to land us with what promises to be the biggest bill in history. Christopher Booker interweaves the science of global warming with that of its growing political consequences, showing how just when the politicians are threatening to change our Western way of life beyond recognition, the scientific evidence behind the global warming theory is being challenged like never before. The book exposes the myth that the global warming theory is supported by a 'consensus of the world's top climate scientists'. It shows how the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is run by a small group of 'global warming' zealots, who have repeatedly rigged evidence to support their theory. But the politicians, pushed by the media, have so fallen for its propaganda that, short of dramatic change, our Western world now faces an unprecedented disaster. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

One sided but with a few legitimate points
I should first lay out my bias: I believe that climate change/global warming is partially caused by humans. I disagree with a lot of what Booker says. (Example: contra Booker there is a consensus--according to the Wall Street Journal and other sources climate scientists overwhelmingly believe global warming is caused by CO2 emissions). Nevertheless,I still recommend reading the book. Booker does a good job of presenting his side, and he does make some stinging critiques of scientists like Michael Mann who fudged the data. (Go to the index and look up hockey stick).I would love to see a debate between Booker and Al Gore.

Good news on Global Warming!
This books documents the history of the global climate as a major public policy issue beginning with concerns about global cooling in the 70's and continuing on to the political concensus that the science is settled. Note this is a political and not a scientific concensus! The good news is that global warming is not a major problem and we do not need to commit mega dollars on carbon dioxide reduction. However, this good news about global warming does not reduce the need for better engergy efficiency and environmental responsibility as the world population continues to grow rapidly.

A Conspiracy Theory Among Global Change Scientists Asserted, but Not Proven
Perhaps the most systematic historically-focused book on the right of the historical debate over global climate change is Christopher Booker's "The Real Global Warming Disaster: Is the Obsession with `Climate Change' Turning Out to Be the Most Costly Scientific Blunder in History?" published in 2009. Taking as a given that climate change is neither the result of human action nor that it is as devastating as the wide majority of scientists have asserted, Booker offers an historical account of how scientists came to believe that global warming as a result of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions had brought the Earth to this point in time.

Booker questions the catastrophic nature of this global climate change, and draws a stark portrait of conspiracy among scientists to foist questionable scientific evidence on governments that are seeking to respond, some with radical changes in policies that will severely affect the status quo. The book offers an outline of the history of climate change since the 1970s that calls into question every piece of evidence offered by scientists, including that from space-based remote sensing satellites.

As journalist Philip Ball commented in "The Observer" (London, UK), November 15, 2009, "The Real Global Warming Disaster" offers "just about every criticism ever made of the majority scientific view that global warming, most probably caused by human activity, is under way" without offering any countervailing evidence despite its abundance. I agree.

Truthseeker
You'd think this would be a dry read, but it reads like a novel.I wish every world citizen could read this book.The author documents his sources at the end of each chapter so you can verify what you are being told if you so desire.He presents the facts in great detail and leaves little doubt what is really going on with global warming.What has been going on in the scientific community is nothing short of unbelievable.It will change the way you evaluate things scientists say, particularly if the subject has political ties.I've recommended this book to many friends and relatives.You NEED to read this book!I couldn't put it down.Normally it takes me six months to read a book, but I read this one in a week.The time to read it is now, before the world wastes trillions of dollars on the wrong technologies.

Long, But Good Read - Worth It
This book is a long read, but well worth it. It is very well written and very readable.It is meticulously researched.Christopher Booker is not a scientist, and makes no claims of such.Rather he is a last surviving example of a nearly extinct species in today's media world: he is an INVESTIGATIVE journalist.He digs very deep - well beyond the superficial, sensationalist hype that masquerades as "news" in much of today's shallow media.He takes no one's word for anything - pro or con.He takes the news of the day then researches it - where did it come from?Who said it, and what is their authority?What and where is their evidence?Is the evidence compelling?Who disagrees with them, and WHY?Based on WHAT?Can they demonstrate in a practical way why their viewpoint and evidence should be considered credible?What motivations might these various players have for their viewpoint - pro or con?He also recognizes the difference between science and politics.Consensus is an appropriate tool in the political arena. It has no credible place in science.Credible science depends on the discovery of what actually is and is not in the world and universe. And it must be backed up by a rigorous process of verification that allows one scientist to take the inarguable facts and analyze them with the known and proven scientific methods and arrive at substantially the same conclusion of the first scientist who makes the original claim of discovery.

Credible scientists are doubters.Unless they can prove a hypothesis to themselves, they remain in doubt until such time as they can prove the hypothesis - even when said hypothesis is their own. In fact as I learned in my days as an engineer analyzing manufacturing and quality problems with statistical analysis, you must use the techniques of experimental design.Your first step is to develop a likely hypothesis based on your observations and all facts known to you at the time.The second step is to design an experiment.And you do not design the experiment to prove your hypothesis, but rather to DISPROVE your hypothesis.After you have made exhaustive attempts to disprove your hypothesis with everything you know and every thing you can learn from working with others who are also investigating the problem and you still fail to disprove your hypothesis, you then accept it with a defined degree of confidence (expressed as a percentage) based on your experimental design and the amount of data you have analyzed.

Mr. Booker uses a similar mindset in his investigation of the science behind the global warming hoopla.The inescapable conclusion is that for every ounce of science there seems to have been a pound of sensationalism, theatrics and drama since the original theories of anthropogenic global warming emerged in the early 1980's. And this has lead many perhaps well meaning but completely technically illiterate people to propose some of the most outrageous, even comical yet highly destructive "solutions" to the perceived problem imaginable.In some cases these solutions have been akin to chopping one's arm off to prevent possible infection from a sliver in the pinkie finger.Additionally, as is always the case in such far reaching situations, there have been the swarms of parasitic opportunists swimming like hungry sharks around the masses of disinformation, confusion and ignorance looking for opportunities to "cash in" on what appears to be the most sensational scare in all of mankind's history.The result has been billions of dollars spent to discover that the fox in the hen house was only the neighbor's Chihuahua or less.

The book also is a serious slap in the face to the so called "news media" that has had access to the same information that Booker had, and they have had that access all along had they bothered to make even a modicum of effort to look.But they apparently did not want to do their job. Maybe they instead saw a better opportunity for themselves in fanning the flames of ignorant hysteria, fear and superstition.In the end, the "news media" should be the biggest loser of all in this despicable chapter of human history. They have well earned it, and are still working hard at earning it. (That is, if you can consider taking dictation from the shady operatives and opportunists as hard work.)
... Read more

Product Description
The second edition of this popular collection presents 28 specially commissioned essays by leading geographers from across the world, addressing questions about how and why the world has changed, is changing, and will continue to change. The volume provides students with a series of critical insights into the economic, political, social, cultural, and ecological dimensions of change at every geographical scale from the global to the local.For the updated edition several new topics have been added in order to keep the text contemporary. New material has been incorporated on economic changes relating to world trade and labor, on political changes in the post-Cold War era and geopolitics, on social and cultural changes relating to children, race, consumption, and cyberspace, and on changes in environmental governance. In addition, the editors have written a new essay to introduce the volume that provides a distinctive geographical take on globalization. Existing chapters have been revised or rewritten as necessary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Doorway to understanding Global Geographies.
I study Human Geography and for a long time I have been searching for a book such as this. The Geo-economic,political,social,cultural and environmental characteristics of global change are all explored andorganised into 5 doorways. I found that the chapter on Geo-Politics wasexceptionally good going deeply into the Cold War and the Welfare State. Myenthusiasm for this text is not only from what it says but how it has saidit.It is clearly written and provides a succinct commentary, making avery good book for anybody interested in Globalistation or for first yearstudents studying it. ... Read more

Product Description
Tropical forests represent the world's most biodiverse ecosystems and play a key role in hydrology, carbon storage and exchange. Many of the human-induced pressures these regions are facing, e.g. fragmentation and deforestation, have been widely reported and well documented. However, there have been surprisingly few efforts to synthesize cutting-edge science in the area of tropical forest interaction with atmospheric change. At a time when our global atmosphere is undergoing a period of rapid change, both in terms of climate and in the cycling of essential elements such as carbon and nitrogen, a thorough and up-to-date analysis is now timely. This research level text, suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers in plant ecology, tropical forestry, climate change science, and conservation biology, explores the vigorous contemporary debate as to how rapidly tropical forests may be affected by atmospheric change, and what this may mean for their future. ... Read more

Product Description
Although the world's climate has undergone many cyclical changes, the phrase 'climate change' has taken on a sinister meaning, implying catastrophe for humanity, ecology and the environment. We are told that we are responsible for this threat, and that we should act immediately to prevent it. But the apparent scientific consensus over the causes and effects of climate change is not what it appears. "Chill" is a critical survey of the subject by a committed environmentalist and scientist. Based on extensive research, it reveals a disturbing collusion of interests responsible for creating a distorted understanding of changes in global climate. Scientific institutions, basing their work on critically flawed computer simulations and models, have gained influence and funding. In return they have allowed themselves to be directed by the needs of politicians and lobbyists for simple answers, slogans and targets. The resulting policy - a 60 percent reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 - would have a huge, almost unimaginable, impact upon landscape, community and biodiversity.On the basis of his studies of satellite data, cloud cover, ocean and solar cycles, Peter Taylor concludes that the main driver of recent global warming has been an unprecedented combination of natural events. His investigations indicate that the current threat facing humanity is a period of cooling, as the cycle turns, comparable in severity to the Little Ice Age of 1400-1700 AD. The risks of such cooling are potentially greater than global warming and on a more immediate time scale, with the possibility of failing harvests leaving hundreds of millions vulnerable to famine. Drawing on his experience of energy policy and sustainability, Taylor suggests practical steps that should be taken now. He urges a shift away from mistaken policies that attempt to avert inevitable natural changes, to an adaptation to a climate that may turn significantly cooler. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Stimulating study of climate change

Ecologist and scientist Peter Taylor has written an extraordinary book on climate change. It is also full of stimulating thoughts on energy, land use, biodiversity, housing, food production, migration, etc.

The warm years 1980-2005 followed the cool years 1950-80, in a natural cycle. He contends that these unusually warm years gave rise to the theory of unstoppable global warming.

He notes, "Most of the sea-level rise to date (and all other environmental effects laid at the door of `global warming', such as the retreat of glaciers and calving ice shelves), can be accounted for by the rebound from the Little Ice Age. Indeed, the trend in sea-level rise from 1800 has been consistent, and in the last ten years, as the oceans have cooled, that trend has levelled off."

He studies satellite data, cloud cover, and ocean and solar cycles. Satellite data, particularly since 2005, has told us much that is new about the climate. Solar magnetic cycles drive cloud changes, which drive ocean temperatures. More sunlight means less cloud, warming the oceans. Cloud cover decreased 1980-2000. The consequent sunlight rise of 6 watts per square metre lifted temperatures by 0.60C, far more than the 0.8 watt rise due to carbon dioxide.

Cloud cover increased again after 2000, reducing sunlight by 2 watts per square metre. 2007 saw a sharp fall in the global surface temperature. The solar cycles are in decline, so we are more likely to face cooling.

The Arctic has heatwaves every 70 years; the previous one was in 1920-40. Another, in 2000-07, caused rapid ice loss there. But the record 2007 summer ice-melt was not repeated in 2008 (ice cover rose 30 per cent in October 2008, compared to 2007). 2007 saw record ice extent in Antarctica, in the poles' usual see-saw.

Taylor opposes our present market-driven energy policy. He proposes, "I make the startling conclusion that now is not the time to expand renewable energy supplies. A precautionary, no-regrets strategy would put all available funding into reducing consumer demand, better housing regulations and design, urban and industrial planning, heat distribution, small-scale CHP [Combined Heat and Power], micro-CHP in homes, and PV [photovoltaic] roofing."

He notes, "If all new housing were built to Scandinavian standards of energy efficiency, making use of passive solar technology, heat pumps, micro-CHP and PVroofs - there could be a net supply rather than demand from the growth in that sector."

He writes, "cities need to study the Cuban example of an economy that had to manage without cheap fossil fuel and fertilizer and yet developed effective educational and health programmes and an efficient organic agriculture." He urges us to promote cooperation and community, not competition.

Chill: A necessary expose
Taylor's central thesis is that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) process stifles informed dissent in favor of a false unanimity on global warming intended to support political and economic action. He supports this view by lucidly outlining the climate science evidence on which there is no consensus.

In his review of Taylor's book, Alister MacIntosh suggests we ignore Taylor's views because they contravene scientific consensus.On the contrary, Taylor chronicles and exemplifies the absence of consensus among climate scientists.This is as it should be in any scientific discipline, particularly one as immature as climate science.A healthy scientific process absolutely thrives on dissenting evidence to arrive at ever-better (i.e. more predictive) hypotheses.That is how a scientific discipline grows and eventually matures.

MacIntosh proposes Taylor is an unquallified messenger we should ignore in favor of an "authority" like the IPCC.Had science followed MacIntosh's advice historically, the earth would still be flat, the center of the universe, and devoid of evolution.Science based on authority, as MacIntosh implicitly advocates, is dogma; science based on evaluation of all relevant evidence, as Taylor urges explicitly and by example, is the essence of the scientific method.

Why are global warming believers like MacIntosh and many "greens" so fearful of dissenting viewpoints?I helped author the Kyoto Protocol yet treasure Taylor's carefully marshaled and reasoned evidence precisely because it provides the opportunity for advancing climate science. If there is an effective rejoinder to Taylor's contrarian climate views, the views of the greens will be correspondingly strengthened; and if not, Taylor gives the opening to modify positions to better reflect the evidence.Isn't that the aim?

If global warming is real and anthropogenic, global action is certainly justified, and that will be supported when genuine consensus emerges.In the meantime, stifling dissent, ignoring contrary evidence, and attacking the messenger, reflect the absence of consensus and cannot lead to effective and enduring change.Scientific dissent is to be treasured precisely because it is the foundation of paradigm shifts essential to effective and lasting political action.

Disclosure: Taylor is an old and dear friend.Precisely for that reason, however, I know him well, respect his astonishing breadth, and honor his eclectic process. Irrespective of your position on climate change, we should all thank Taylor for his courage, time and the intellectual effort he has invested to help us all toward a more informed position.Read this important book and decide for yourself.

Yes, but what are Taylor's credentials?
This book is well written, it raises important questions about climate science, and I very much agree with most of the author's conclusions about the need to focus primarily on building human resilience to face the future. As such it would be churlish, just because I am going to question his standpoint, not to give it 4 stars. Let me also say that I do have a lot of respect for this writer's writing on wild land and wildlife - for example, his book Beyond Conservation: A Wildland Strategy.

My problem is with how Taylor arrives at his thesis. It is the same problem that I have with climate change contrarians in general - the question of epistemology - namely, what we think it is that we know, and how we think we know it. Much of what Taylor says in this book is an attack on mainstream scientific epistemology. But what of his epistemology?

Taylor's bottom line is that "Man-made global warming is exactly what it says on the label - a fabrication! It is an illusion borne of a particular way of looking at the world" (p. 360). His Amazon product description surmises that "investigations indicate that the current threat facing humanity is a period of cooling, as the cycle turns, comparable in severity to the Little Ice Age of 1400-1700 AD." On this basis, confusing weather with climate, he told the Daily Express (6 Jan 2010), to which he is a "climate scientist" or "analyst", that the current hard winter in the UK is a harbinger of things to come.

My question is, "Who is Peter Taylor to tell us such things?" Climate science is of a complexity that demands an interdisciplinary team approach of experts who have proven themselves through rigorous peer review. Peer review means that your stuff can stand up to scrutiny with the best corresponding minds around. That is what good science does and what science culminates in the consensus of expert panels such as those behind reports of the IPCC, the Royal Society, the Hadley Centre and the UK Met Office.

I have noticed with all climate change contrarians that their arguments seem superficially persuasive ... but usually only until matched to the other side of the story. For example, Taylor's view on the role that he thinks is played by solar cycles is ostensibly persuasive. But enquire what the UK Met Office thinks of this theory, and its web site last year dismissed it as "Myth No. 1". So, if we are non-climate-change scientists, to whom do we listen? To such likes as Taylor, or to experts with an acclaimed and current credibly published track record in the field?

It would be different if Taylor was drawing most of his material from panels that represent scientific consensus. But most climate change contrarians are not so doing. There are, of course, some contrarian panels, but so far not with anything like the same credibility as mainstream scientific institutions.

Taylor reveals where he is coming from in his approach to science in an autobiographical self-published book, Shiva's Rainbow (2006) (also reviewed by this reviewer). Much of it concerns his belief that he could augment his campaigning work by occult means. He concludes that plutonium might change the world positively because of the homeopathic effects of its astrological properties. I have also reviewed it on this site giving chapter and verse. A key passage is where he says of his time with Greenpeace:

"In truth, in the scientific realms in which I worked, and gained by now, some standing, I was an imposter. I am not a scientist. Apart from my brief survey of tree-hole communities when I successfully correlated insect larvae diversity with circumference and aspect of the hole to the sun, which, in any case, had been done many times before, I have never `done' science. In my work I have relied certainly upon an understanding of scientific theory and a memory for facts and relationships, and upon an instinct for the hidden and not yet known, but fundamentally I have been a linguist and an actor. My scientific degrees were linguistic exercises in critical review. My performances on television, in public inquiries, on tribunals and commissions, those of an extremely well-briefed lawyer, the ultimate actor. Which is not to say there is no dedication to truth" (pp. 146-7).

One example from Chill that shows how easy it can be to fall into pseudoscience is his approach to what he sees as global cooling. There is nothing surprising in the theory that the Earth is slowly heading towards another "little ice age". What is surprising is that Taylor advances his version of the thesis without making reference to the peer-reviewed work by William F. Ruddiman, for example, in his book, Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of Climate (Princeton University Press, 2005, and I see he has another one out this month).

Ruddiman is a distinguished palaeoclimatologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia. He writes: "As I see it, nature would have cooled the Earth's climate, but our ancestors kept it warm by discovering agriculture..." This is because agriculture, and now industrialization, raise the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. He goes on to say that some people might see this as grounds for complacency about present-day climate change, but "others might counter that if so few humans with relatively primitive technologies were able to alter the course of climate so significantly, then we have reason to be concerned about the current rise of greenhouse gases to unparalleled concentrations at unprecedented rates ("How did Humans first alter Global Climate", Scientific American, 292:3, March 2005, 46-53).

Taylor published "Chill" not from a publishing house with a relevant scientific reputation but from, Clairview. This grew out of the Rudolph Steiner movement and its backlist includes books cognate with Taylor's concern with such notions as "psychic espionage". A recent article, presenting the appearance of being a scientific paper, was published by him in the New Age journal, Caduceus, alongside material on 2012 Hopi prophesies. Is that a problem? Not if there's also the peer-reviewed publishing to back it up, but where is it in Taylor's case in the highly scientific field of climate change?

Post Copenhagen a lot of people have decided to cancel climate change. It is an inconvenient truth, better relegated to the dustbin of untruths. Taylor cut his teeth on toxic dumping issues. "Chill", read in the context of "Shiva's Rainbow", arguably serves to keep open the dumpsite of denial.

a balanced view
Having read many of the Documents for "Policy Makers" from the IPCC it is refreshing to get an insight into the "Working Papers", which present a much more scientific view of the climate situation - that there are those who disagree with it just being CO2 that is causing warming and cooling. That is: the "concesus" talked about in the press is not what it is in the IPCC Working Groups.

Peter Taylor has good qualifications for his work; this is not an "easy read" but an depth probe into the latest research.

It should be read by all Policy Makers - and especially those directly involved with making decisions about the future.

Rob Pattison
MA Oxon, PGCE Cantab.

A DefinitiveReport on AGW Science
Peter Taylor has written two books in one - the first on the science and the second on the politics of changing Global Climate. I found his coverage of the science, the first 'Book', to be definitive - comprehensive, well considered, well written, readableand well supported by references to published papers.He leaves little ground for confidence in the IPCC's conclusions.

In the second 'Book' on the political activities of the various protagonists - the scientific establishment, governments both national and regional, NGO's and the media his background in the environmental movement rather dominates and is given afreer rein.He castigates the lot of them. It is a very interesting read, saved from a rant by his putting forward a suggested and considered way through the chaos.

Altogether a book I certainly recommend to anyone wanting to know more about the science behind climate change and/or concerned about the current path AGW proponents are taking. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook is the official companion volume to the Live Earth concerts, 24 hours of nonstop concerts broadcast from around the world on July 7, 2007. The book presents 77 essential skills for stopping climate change--and for living through it. It is a fun, compelling, and sly deconstruction of a survival guide (think Boy Scouts of America crossed with WorldChanging atop the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook) that offers equal parts tongue-in-cheek suggestions, practical advice, factual information, and bluesky dreaming of ways to save the world. Each skill is presented on a spread featuring a bright, full-color instructional illustration, a brief introduction to the skill and its core ideas, a set of instructions, spin-off ideas, and scientific and environmental facts. The book also includes a resource guide that provides useful resources for the eco-conscious reader.

More to Explore

An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It

Climate: The Force That Shapes Our World and the Future of Life on Earth

Home Enlightenment: Practical, Earth-Friendly Advice for Creating a Nurturing, Healthy, and Toxin-Free Home and Lifestyle

Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit

An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming

... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

Follow the money - Rothschild benefitting from Global warming carbox tax
This is called propaganda, mixed with cutesy easy to follow common sense green ideas.

Global warming is an agenda started by the rothschild family, the jewish banking family, to benefit immensely from carbon tax trading. Al gore, david rothschild are all front ends to this evil scheme.

It will prevent industrialization of india, africa and china and cripple US economy.

The idea is to created a carbon tax trading system, with derivatives, credit swaps etc and for the rothschild to benefit. They own the carbon trading company. Google and research the rothschild.

The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook: 77 Essential skill to stop Climate Change
I absolutely love it!! It is fun, easy to follow...I already incorporated couple of the skills in my everyday life. This is a must have book and I think it will make a huge impact if we all a least practice 10 of them in our everyday life.

Nice and easy to read
This book is very enjoyable and in a very playful form sets out the strategies that must be followed so that each of us contributes with a sand granite to diminish or to mitigate the effects of the global warming. The book was a gift for my children of 10 and 13 years old, and they think that is brilliant and funny.
It would have to be translated to Spanish and to be located for developing countries, because it is a very useful tool to include the paper that each person has in her commitment with the climatic change.
We love the part of the letter to the Congressman where you are asking him or her about what has he or she have done to prevent global warming.

F U N N Y.......C O M P E L L I N G..,,...E S S E N T I A L !.!.!.!.!
DO YOURSELF, (AND EVERYONE ELSE ON EARTH), A FAVOUR....B U Y....
T H I S....B O O K....! Utilize everything you can from and in it,
and follow, (please!), at least one, (and hopefully more!) of its
many great tips.

This is a very easy book to read.It is even, (yes!), actually FUN
TO READ, in many parts.I mean, let's face it....Global Warming is
a VERY scary subject.Scarier than any other disaster imaginable,
really.For example, take disasters depicted in movies. I mean, if
you are, really, in the midst of an equivalent to "The Towering In-
ferno", you have an admittedly big problem: getting out of the build-....but after that, you're OK.If you're in an "Earthquake" zone,
it's scary...but find a way out of the city, or earthquake area, and
you're OK!The same is true with an "Airplane!" disaster....find
SOME way to land, or get out of, the stricken airplane craft, and you
may be shaken for a while, but you'll be OK soon."The Killer Bees"?
VERY scary, indeed.But I have heard that there was an experiment
to give the killer bees a weakening disease...myasthenia gravis....so
the killer bees would be killed.Unfortunately, that didn't work --
but I have suggested to the Interior Department that they try to give
these bees an even MORE debilitating ailment...ALS, (or "Lou Gehrig's
disease.) With medication, people with Myasthenia Gravis have been
able to live long and productive lives.....but not so, (yet, anyway),
with ALS.I haven't received any message back from the Interior
Department....I'll try them again, soon.But, in any event, killer
bees haven't killed everyone in any town yet, (that I have heard), &
the possibility is always there, to just escape them, (at least tem-
porarily), by leaving town.

But what do you do when the "town" one is speaking of is the ENTIRE
PLANET?One COULD imagine going to another planet, (and just such a
possibilty is, in fact, discussed....with tongue firmly in cheek)...
by David de Rothschild, in his "IF ALL ELSE FAILS" section, at the
very back of this book -- along with such other things as "Harvest The Clouds", "Learn To Barter" Barter", "Evolve", "Buy A Camel", "Beat
The Heat", "Learn to Barter", "Start A Menagerie", and "Build A Floating House",These ideas may seem semi-humourous now -- and perhaps are intended to be,But there is always the distinct possibility that these things COULD become really necesary things to do!Humourous and chilling at the same time!Ingenuis!

Along with the rest of this book, David de Roths-
child's small, but chilling "If All Else Fails" section, at the
back of his book, (clearly marked with a red-and-white striped bord-
er), is written with a deft pen, and clever, witty words, THAT MAKE
THE READER WANT TO KEEP READING EVERYTHING IN THIS BOOK, NO MATTER
HOW AWFUL ARE THE EVENTS HE DESCRIBES!

This is definitely one big attribute of this book.Reading of things
people are now doing to increase global warming, and of other things
which we can, (and really should) be doing, to keep it at bay -- or
even reverse it -- could be pretty terrifying, or at the very least,
pretty boring stuff.Not so here!With an optimistic, (but also,
totally realistic) style, sparked with humour and enormous amounts of
common sense, this book is, as mentioned, fun (or almost fun) to read!
The illustrations by WILLIAM VAN RODEN enter into the spirit of this
book perfectly.They are realistically drawn, and the experessions of
the people depicted are rarely actually smiling, but rarely actually
unhappy, either.I guess most people depicted have a PURPOSEFUL ex-
pression on their faces.They seem to KNOW they are doing sometimes
difficult things, but the RIGHT things. People of all ages, genders,
racial and political groups are also depicted -- from the older black
gentleman, in shirt and tie, blissfully riding a bike (backwards????),
on page 75, to a young white hippie, complete with Mohawk hairdo,
jeans and tatoo, shown thoughtfully looking at his collection of organ-
ic labels.Global warming is obviously EVERYONE's problem, since we
all live on Planet Earth!

More immediate, (and practical) solutions, such as "Say No To Styrofoam", "Replace A Lightbulb", "Bank Online", "Convince A Skeptic", "Ride A Bike", and many others, are presented in the front section of this book.Each topic is not only discussed in detail, but is given ratings for the amounts of 'Cost', 'Time', 'Impact', and
'Effort', they will require and/or give.

IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE OF THIS BOOK:On the bottom of most pages, (and also within the text of a few of the
pages), are internet links to the topic on that page. Nice to be able to find more info on the topics you are interested in the most!

There is also a nice section, in the back of the book, entitled "RESOURCES", with even more web addresses, for specific subjects.The Introduction, (in the
front of the book, of course!), gives a concise description of what
global warming is, and what it is doing to the planet we all, at present, live on.The FORWARD, by ROB REINER, (yes, THAT Rob Reiner),
introduces the organization LIVE EARTH, (whose offical handbook, this
book is), and also S.O.S., (SAVE OUR SELVES)...an allied organization,
as well as giving a broad outline of what the book itself is about.



There are 87 suggested activities in this book, to help stop or turn
back, global warming. 10 of these are near the very beginning of the book, in a short list entitled, "10 Easy Steps To Help Stop Global
Warming", (adapted from Adventure Ecology's Top 10 For The Planet) These are easy, common-sense things, like "Bring Your Own Mug", and "Shop
Locally."Common sense pervades this book -- and it's no wonder that
David de Rothschild, author of this book, is the founder of Adventure
Ecology!

The main section, consisting of 67 other ideas, some difficult to do,some quite simple and easy to do.The remaining 10, in the back, highlighted "If All Else Fails" section, range from the difficult ("Mine A Landfill"), to the the ridiculous, (but at the same time, practical), such as "Evolve", (a neat trick if you can do it....but I have yet to hear of anyone who could evolve voluntairilly.It usually takes millions of years....)

Well, make that, the PHYSICAL evolution of living things takes years and years. The MENTAL evolution of people on this planet need not take so long. Our ATTITUDES towards this planet, and our ability to continue to live on it, as we have done, needs to change. Above all, we have GOT to realize there IS such a problem as GLOBAL WARMING....and that it is happening NOW.Also, we must realize that it is NOT necessarily fatal for life on this planet, as we know it...IF we recognize it, and IF we ALL do something ...or as many things, as we can, to stop it.THE LIVE EARTH GLOBAL WARMING SURVIVAL HANDBOOK, by DAVID DE ROTHSCHILD shows 87 ways to help save the planet....surely, everyone can pick out at LEAST one or two, (and hopefully more), to practice?

"SAVE OUR SELVES" (SOS), is NOT a selfish motto.It is a motto of SURVIVAL FOR EVERYBODY ON THIS PLANET, AND FOR GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE, WHO WANT TO LIVE ON THIS PLANET, TO COME......

I someomehow think back, now, on an early disaster movie, "On The Beach".
It's interesting for me to think back now, that when our family first saw it, my father -- in a jovial mood -- decided that we should see it on January 1st!I couldn't understand why he would want to see such a movie on January 1st, but later discovered why... I thought he knew, (as I did), that it was about the aftermath of a nuclear war.But, from the title, "On The Beach", he assertained that it was a sort of Annette Funicello/Frankie Avalon type movie, only with the older actors of Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner!Well, seeing the movie was, I guess, a shock to him. (If I had known what he believed the movie to be, I would have corrected it....but I thought he knew....)The interesting thing is, there were some other people in the movie theatre too.Surely, ALL of them couldn't have expected a "beach" movie?Were they there as sort of tempting fate?Was it a sort of
"sticking out their tongues" at the possible reality, then, of nuclear war (In 2008, are WE doing the same thing now, by ignoring ideas such as those presented in David de Rothschild's engrossing book?)

Nuclear war really COULD have happened. But brave people fought it, and no nuclear war occurred.It can be the same with the present danger of global warming: the worst need not happen, if we all do SOMETHING, OR THINGS, to stop it.
You need no other book, in my opinion, than this one by David de Rothschild, to get you started, and involved.Buy one copy for yourself, and buy others as gifts!

In "ON THE BEACH", the very last frames of the movie are unforgettable.All the people are gone, but a sign remains.It reads:

'......THERE___IS___STILL___TIME___BROTHER.....'

Nonsense book
A really nonsense book that tries to shove the myth of global warming down our throats.. ... Read more

Product Description
The political organization of the world has changed a great deal over the last two centuries. This book examines how these global changes arise out of developments in the internal politics of states. It explores how states react to changes in their international environment and how domestic and international events together affect the stability of the political systems of states.
In Domestic Sources of Global Change Zeev Maoz looks at the relationship between domestic and international political processes at various stages of the life cycles of states. It examines the relationship between the ways in which states acquire independence and their involvement in international conflict. It explores the relationship between domestic political change and a state's involvement in international conflicts. Maoz discusses how changes in the international environment of states affect their strategic behavior. Finally the book considers both the internal and international determinants of domestic regime change. The study combines explanations using systemic, regional and national factors to explain international behavior.
Maoz argues that there exist intimate links between domestic political processes and international processes. By comparing three perspectives on global change--the systemic, which focuses on aspects of the international system which are beyond the control of states; the regional which looks at the impact of characteristics of the region in which a state is located; and the national which focuses on domestic political forces--the study shows how each of these perspectives offers important insights into the evolution of international relations.
This book focuses on major issues in international relations theory. It should be of interest to students of comparative politics, international politics, and international conflict.
Zeev Maoz is a Professor of Political Science, University of Tel Aviv, and head of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies.
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Product Description
Examines the importance of climate as one of the major forcing functions in the global environmental change process.Emphasizes both humaninduced climatic change and natural climatic change.Provides a comprehensive historical context and important projection for the future. Softcover. ... Read more