Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

The Encyclopedia of Global Warming Science and Technology. Bruce E. Johansen. 2 vols. 738p. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2009. 978-0-313-37702-0; 2009-5295. $175.

For decades, experts have debated questions of climate change. Rising levels of greenhouse gases, disappearing glaciers and shrinking polar ice caps are perhaps the most frequently cited evidence of global warming. However, scientists have also documented changes in ocean temperatures, forest life, agricultural productivity, disease vectors, air quality and a host of other factors. Yet while the mounting evidence for global warming has convinced the majority of the scientific community, the general public remains largely uninformed of the dangers that global warming presents for both the present and the future. This failure of communications on the part of the scientific community is part of Bruce Johansen’s attraction to the topic of global warming. A scholar of both communications and Native American studies, he has written widely on environmental issues and global warming. In this encyclopedia, he marshals disparate scientific research to demonstrate the case for global warming. Many of the 264 entries of his encyclopedia describe the affects of climate change on particular species, from jellyfish, polar bears and alligators to phytoplankton, spruce and pines. Other articles explore the links of cold spells, hay fever, drought cycles, fish kills and hurricane intensity to global warming. Surprising examinations of everything from the taste of wine to the quality of wood available for baseball bats illustrate the ubiquitous ways in which global warming is affecting us. From carbon cycles and feedback loops to greenhouse gases and tipping points, Johansen explains scientific issues in layman’s terms. In keeping with his goal of making these issues understandable to the general public, his heavily documented entries avoid citing technical publications. Instead the majority of his suggestions for further reading are usually drawn from mainstream media or general science publications like Nature and Science. The scope of this investigation is world-wide, but climatically sensitive areas like the oceans, polar caps and mountain regions get extra attention. The distortions of the public debate, politics and international diplomacy of global warming also are described. So too are many potential solutions for correcting human contributions to climatic change. The result is a highly accessible review of perhaps the key issue of our lifetime and succeeding generations. This set is recommended for academic and public libraries.