Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: climate

  • Weather: An Illustrated History: From Cloud Atlases to Climate Change

    Weather: An Illustrated History: From Cloud Atlases to Climate Change

    From the very beginning there has been weather: it is a simple fact that every planet that sustains life needs to have atmosphere, and to get atmosphere there has to be weather!

    Self-explanatory indeed, but the effect weather has on this our planet, the effect that we as residents on this planet have on the weather, is perhaps not as self-explanatory as we may all like to think, as the debate about carbon emissions and Climate Change rage on global portions.

    The formation of the earth as a planet is a formidable exercise in many sciences, beginning some 4.567 billion years ago; and then there was the moon, which is also a fascinating combination of sciences, believed to have contributed to the formation of a dry, sterile planet, that lightens the night sky.

    But onto the history of Weather which Revkin and Mechaley have presented in chronological order, as the miscellany of facts and accompanying pictures needs to be dealt with in fitting style, as it has such a massive effect on our daily existence and on the future of the planet.

    Beginning with 4.567 billion bce when the earth got an atmosphere, followed by 4.3 billion bce, when Water World arrived, and proceeding from there, they have filled each page with a myriad of facts and figures that remain as fascinating and amazing today, as they were when they were first discovered and recorded.

    Each of the pages is accompanied by a few lines notated as See Also which offers further reading to be had on that subject. Informative captions provide detailed information on each of the accompanying pictures.

    Suitable for a wide range of ages, this is a wonderfully informative collection of things you always wanted to know about weather and history but did not realise until you read the book.

    Weather – an illustrated history is great tool for projects, school research and anyone who loves all those little fact and figures about the planet, that make it a truly fascinating place to live.

  • Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution

    Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution

    For many the two words Climate Change have been enough to have them blocking their ears and offering to all around them a huge, ‘what the……..’ moment.  In this very practical look at making change from an environmental perspective, Peter Kalmus would agree that those two words have been done to death by politicians, spin doctors, advertising mediums and many others.

    But this man, who has a PhD in physics and is an atmospheric scientist at NASA, says that that in spite of the dire predictions forecast, there is hope for the future by merging science with practical applications which will create a way forward.

    During 2006 he became a convert to the principal that ‘global warming’ was a reality, not a piece of fiction and set about attempting to discover ways to try to rectify, in some small way, this dire situation. As a scientist, during the course of his work, he realised that global warming, in many forms was definitely making changes in all aspects of human life and most importantly to the planet; changes that scientists had spoken of for some years, changes which had been discussed at the highest global levels, but without any lasting major effect.

    In this book, written from a very personal perspective, he takes the reader through his journey to becoming not completely self-sufficient in his and his family’s lifestyle, but certainly changing his way of living; to cycling instead of driving the car, growing his own fruit and vegetables and so much more: and this from a man who had always lived in apartments and either caught public transport, or driven his car everywhere he or the family needed to go, purchasing their every need from chain stores and markets.

    His core message, backed up with scientific evidence, which would indicate that in the not too distant future, there will be a massive need to be able to be self-sufficient, as the reliance on fossil fuels will, of necessity, need to decrease. He has, in his lifestyle change, managed to achieve this aim and in doing so has reduced his impact to ‘under a tenth of the US average, become happier in the process’ and discovered life has become ‘awesome’.

    As discussed throughout the book, gradually the terrible havoc being caused by the lavish use of fossil fuels in every aspect of modern life is becoming very apparent and finally, after several decades of talking, scientist are being listened too, as the evidence of this practice is becoming undeniable.

    Kalmus has stated over and over again in this work, that unfortunately much of the damage to the planet will not be able to be reversed in any significant manner, but by people taking on a collective responsibility for living their lives in a far more basic and in a sustainable manner, something everyone can do, that change will occur, little by little.

    He is filled with optimism that people value their very existence and with the right incentives, the right information, will work towards a world, a lifestyle, that could be free of fossil fuels; that as fossil fuels dependence could be considered a drug of modern society, weaning away and becoming ‘clean’ is definitely possible and realistic.

    Written from a scientific, spiritual and personal perspective, backed up by global research, along with undeniable facts and figures, this work will make you take stock, encourage the implementation of some small or large changes your lifestyle, offering or ushering in a fresh, new future that is filled with the things we have, as a society all but forgotten; a sense of community, a sense of well-being and a sense of mastery over our own destinations.

    Anyone who is serious about changing their lifestyle permanently or even just a little should consider this work by Peter Kalmus as a guidebook, a mantra for change and a support for underpinning all the many reason why change is of immediate, almost dire, necessity.