Storms of My Grandchildren

The Truth about the Coming Climate Catastrophe

De: James Hansen

Narrado por: John Allen Nelson

In Storms of My Grandchildren, James Hansen - the nation's leading scientist on climate issues - speaks out for the first time with the full truth about global warming: the planet is hurtling even more rapidly than previously acknowledged to a climatic point of no return. Although Hansen was Al Gore's science adviser for the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, his recent data shows that our situation is even more dire today.

But politicians haven't made the connection between the policy and the science. Hansen shows why Gore's solution - cap and trade - won't work, why we must phase out all coal, and why 350 parts per million of carbon is a goal we must achieve in the next two decades if our children and grandchildren are to avoid global meltdown and the storms of the book's title.

This urgent manifesto bucks conventional wisdom (including the Kyoto Protocol) and is sure to stir controversy, but Hansen - whose climate predictions have come to pass again and again, beginning in the 1980s when he first warned Congress about global warming - is the single most credible voice on the subject worldwide.

Hansen paints a devastating but all-too-realistic picture of what will happen in the near future, mere years and decades from now, if we follow the course we're on. But he is also an optimist, showing that there is still time to do what we need to save the planet. Urgent, strong action is needed, and this book, released just before the Copenhagen Conference in December 2009, will be key in setting the agenda going forward to create a groundswell, a tipping point, to save humanity from a dire fate more imminent than we had supposed.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2009 James Hansen (P)2009 Tantor

Content - Excellent! Performance - Horr-i-ble!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narration. It's brutal.

How could the performance have been better?

If the...narrator would....speak in....complete sentences...without these awkward....pauses.

Do you think Storms of My Grandchildren needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Eventually, yes. Global climate change data changes and the book should be updated with the most current information.

In Depth Look at our world by

In Depth Look at our world by author who takes the view that our grandchildren are important!
Has anyone tested the current ionosphere D' and F1 layers to see if they have changed i n depth over the years. I worked for the Federal Canadian atmospheric service in the 1950s testing earth radiation protection. More carbon dioxide makes radio transmission from the 'D' layer easier due to longer and more refraction of the RF energy. More 'D' layer energy gives earth extra heat. GREAT BOOK! Thanks James

Will we be the generation that turned a blind eye?

There is a gap between what those who study the details know, and what the public know. Although this book will not reach many of the latter, it will reach many on the fringe - it is therefore up to us to carry the banner and alert the sleeping masses to the facts: when we burn carbon we are playing with fire.
James Hansen carries the best credentials you could ask for: who else can say they predicted global warming in 1980? Of course this blessing is also a curse; critics can argue he is biased, and of course he is, but he is not delusional: he admits openly that models are far from good enough for us to rely on, but argues rather that the evidence of the past (paleoclimatology) gives a pretty good cause for concern. The risks are simply too great for "business as usual". Read this book and make up your own mind - afterwards, not before.

Essential Reading for All Mankind

Understanding this issue is critical to the survival of the species.

Hansen comes with impeccable credentials and has done a brilliant job of laying out the severity of the problem in terms that are both based in solid science and yet presented in a way that is approachable by a reader not trained as a scientist. He also avoids the trap many scientists get into of appearing dispassionate about matters of grave urgency. This is an ethically complicated choice for him, but I think he makes the right call. His presentation nicely separates science from emotion, but what he does in both areas is critical to a proper understanding of the issue.

Also, drilling down into a particular bit of detail, I have to say that I agree with him about the importance of the integral fast reactor (IFR) technology, and that he offers a particularly lucid argument for the importance of that. This is a widely misunderstood technology and he does a great job of clarifying some critical points.

Overall, it's an extremely good book, with a very good reader, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who even thinks they might be interested.

The most informative narative on Climate change

If you ever want to know all about the topic of climate change - this is it. The most detailed understanding of all aspects of CC including the political forces determined to delay doing anything about it. Only critisism is that there is a lot of reference to tables and graphs which are not available as part of the download. You can get the drift, but it would have been good to see the data. A must read/listen to every human being on the planet, because it going to affect every human on the planet.