Is the Temperature Rising?: The Uncertain Science of Global Warning

by S. George Philander

Book Overview

Most of us have heard the dire predictions about global warming. Some experts insist that warming has already started, and they warn of such impending disasters as the sea level rising to flood coastal cities. Others, however, have issued loud counterclaims, assuring us that global warming is a myth based on misleading data. How can we tell who is right, and how we should respond? And why is there no scientific consensus on a matter of such vital...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691050341
• ISBN13: 9780691050348
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A "risky business"

If you retain any doubts about whether the atmosphere around us is warming, this book will dispel them. George Philander has produced the most complete study yet of climate mechanics and trends. His theme is the complexity of the global weather systems. With three decades of experience teaching the subject, he understands these intricate systems. He knows each part must be dealt with individually. Although derived from a series of lectures, he rises above a purely pedantic approach in presenting the issues. He's fully aware that human-induced factors in climate change can be modified only by those same humans. Although containing a wealth of detail, the book is directed at the general reader. It's an indispensable starting point in learning about climate and global warming.In coping with the many interacting elements that must be addressed in assessing global warming, he begins at the fundamental level. Once any form of atmosphere is in place, what does light do in generating change? No atmosphere merely sits in place - light drives chemical and temperature changes. What changes take place, and how severe, great or minimal, can they be? This is the "uncertain science" Philander uses to subtitle the book. Because interactions of light, water vapour and various molecules react differently, he cautions the reader and his fellow scientists not to arrive at conclusions without making fully comprehensive assessments. It is too easy, he cautions, to draw conclusions through focussing on one or a few players in the climate drama. Ignored or dismissed factors are likely to hold surprises. The biggest surprise, of course, is a scenario that proves false. With global warming universally accepted, with only the pace and impact in dispute, Philander's book is a welcome summary of the science. His style is neither alarmist nor overly detached from the issues. The balance keeps the book readable. He even banishes most of the mathematical explanations to Appendices at the back of the book. The text is enhanced by highly effective graphics. The theme of uncertainty is introduced early in the book with an image of a skier's wallet skidding down a slope. "Moguls" of heaped snow make the wallet's track unpredictable - a point referred to frequently in the narrative. He images the way mountains affect rain patterns, how globe-girdling oceanic currents move and what happens in the deep seas as fresh, salt, cold and warm waters interact. Anyone still thinking the oceans are simply beds of salty water should look here.Although Philander's style is understated, he leaves no doubt as to the seriousness of the problem. The atmosphere is warming. Whether humanity initiated the current cycle is irrelevant. We are aggravating it and only we can reduce our impact. We are unlikely to curb the El Nino cycles, but we can learn to better cope with them. We can also reduce the likelihood of their growing more intense. Philander cites the case of fluor

Not an easy read but worthwhile

In his book "Is The Temperature Rising?: The Uncertain Science of Global Warming", S. George Philander provides an excellent overview of the various geological, climatic, atmospheric and oceanic forces that bear on the debate over global warming. In contrast to other groups who have taken sides on this issue, Philander's book reflects a basically moderate view which seeks to bridge the chasm between the overly-simplistic or just plain hysterical rhetoric that too often characterizes the debate over global warming.The primary focus of the book is a tour of the science that bears on the ultimate climatic question: is the temperature rising? Philander dives into a detailed review the energy inputs and forces that shape the earth's temperature balance and discusses what is happening now that will affect those forces, in particular, the impact of man-made greenhouse gasses. No doubt this survey is a necessary foundation for understanding the problem, however it comprises the bulk of the book and required some dedication on my part to get through it. In other words, it's not a quick and dirty read and you may find yourself, like me, putting it down frequently.This review gives the reader the understanding of the many factors that will impact the outcome of current trends in fossil fuel gas buildup - factors which are not unidirectional. For instance, models of global warming generally predict that increased temperature will lead to more water moisture in the air, which in turn acts to reflect sunlight and helps cool the atmosphere. What is not fully understood is how the opposing forces interact and which trend will prevail. Unfortunately, the complexity of the issue - as exemplified by this interaction - greatly clouds the debate, leaving ample room for sophistical arguments from those who both accept and reject the global warming hypothesis.According to Philander (and essentially everybody else), what is indisputable is that the concentration of so-called greenhouse gasses is rising dramatically, and that alone should be enough to engender caution and attention to this issue. The author lands with those who believe that the earth will continue to warm but implicitly acknowledges that he doesn't know the answer either. Nor can we be sure, but the debate is not likely to go away, so those interested in participating in it could do worse than to read this book. Other reviewers appear to have been disappointed that the book chose to concentrate so heavily on the science behind the global warming debate, but to them my reply is that the science is the crux of that debate - if you're interested in the topic don't let them dissuade you from reading Philander's book. It could be a bit more readable - but it couldn't really be any more on-topic.

He indeed has built a house, but on the foundation of facts

'Is the temperature rising?' is an amazing book. It's perfect for anyone who really wants to get the facts straight on the issue. It states that to make a proper judgement, one must be familiar with the way the earth works. The way light interacts with molecules, heat, albedo, the weather, air, carbon dioxide, etc. Without a basic knowledge of the way the planet functions, it's hard to undestand what Global warming really does. Philander explains all of this in great detail so it's not exactly light reading but well worth the time. Best of all, it's writen from an unbiased point of view.

an excellent mistitled book

This book should really be called _How the Temperature Rises: the Fundamentals of Global Warming_. In concise readable prose Philander outlines all the physics, chemistry, biology and geology that you will need to understand to truly follow the debate about global warming. This is no mean feat. We are talking about GLOBAL warming here, i.e. the science of how everything works. He methodically proceeds component by component through the environment and explains basic scientific principles that govern, among other things, how the wind works, how ocean currents move, how heat is transported through the atmosphere and in the oceans, how the atmosphere is heated from below and why, and how mathematical models represent climate. He is determined to make his readers into informed participants in a discussion that he makes clear that he believes is very important. He does not hector, but he does take an unambiguous position: we should do something about this. It is a pleasure to read a book that reaches a passionate conclusion through reasoning. I withhold one star because I thought that the summary chapter that actually does address global warming directly could have been more detailed.

It's really about climate

It's hard to imagine a more relevant, timely, and important book for our day than Philander's book on global warming. Though I say the book is about global warming, I really must elaborate. You see, this is really a book on earth's climate. Global warming is just a part of the book - a relatively short chapter at the end. The rest of the book consists of background information about climate that enables the reader to understand (at least in concept) the scientific arguments and issues related to global warming. Whether you believe that human intervention in the composition of the atmosphere will alter earth's climate or not (and I'm personally hoping you have the sense to do so) this is a first-rate book on climate issues in general. The book is broken into three "parts." The first part is really just an introduction and discusses things at a pretty high level. The second part deals with weather (variations in day to day atmospheric conditions). There is an introduction to ideas related to absorption and radiation of heat, atmospheric pressure and temperature gradients (what causes them), the hydrological cycle, winds, and how the ocean and atmosphere couple together. I particularly found the discussion about the ocean currents interesting. There is an unusually good discussion of El Nino and how it forms. There is also some good discussion about why ice ages have appeared over the earth's history. [For a more directed discussion about ice ages, I suggest "Ice Ages, Solving the mystery," by John Imbrie and Katherine Palmer Imbrie. The main text of the book is non-mathematical and has plenty of diagrams and illustrations to help convey concepts. The book also comes equipped with 13 appendixes that go into more quantitative detail. These appendixes use numerous equations, but require no skills in mathematics beyond high-school trigonometry and algebra. [For a more rigorous and advanced text I suggest "The physics of atmospheres," by John T. Houghton."]The last (third) part of the book gets down to business regarding the subject of global warming. It also discusses the ozone hole and provides an illuminating discussion about why it appears over the southern polar cap.I thought that one major piece of missing information is a breakdown by country and source of the types of pollution that can lead to global warming. It would be nice, for example, to see a chart that shows how much each country contributes, the individual contributions in each country, and the types of fuels that are the most damaging. [This information is available from sources in the bibliography, however.] If I could summarize the author's main premise it would be this: The atmosphere is an incredibly complicated system that illustrates sometimes-chaotic behavior. Globally it is probably stable - we most likely will not cause runaway global warming and life will survive. Locally, however, the weather can and does behave cha