This Is the Way the World Ends

June 25, 2018
Combating climate change and its consequences is an urgent task because humanity needs to save not the planet but itself, declares former White House staffer Nesbit (Poison Tea) in this nonpartisan call-to-arms. He quotes scientists in fields ranging from glaciology to meteorology, showing how species essential to human agriculture, like the animals that pollinate flowers, and natural structures like the ocean’s coral reefs are already reacting to climbing global temperatures. He also surveys news stories to show that rising waters and encroaching deserts are causing and will continue to cause refugee and hunger crises. With internal documents from corporations like Nestle (via WikiLeaks) revealing that many of the world’s largest businesses are already planning for climate change, Nesbit has little patience for partisan bickering and scientific naysayers. “Climate change needs to stop being a political issue,” he states. Solutions exist—in particular, he is a proponent of establishing a carbon price of $40 per ton for energy producers—but if politicians don’t wake up soon, Nesbit warns, humanity’s chance to mitigate the damage will be lost. This vital summary of dire facts offers no-nonsense proposals for a way forward.

August 1, 2018
A passionate overview of human-induced global warming whose effect on climate, agriculture, ecosystems, and extinction is approaching a point of no return.In 30 short yet detailed chapters, journalist Nesbit (Poison Tea: How Big Oil and Big Tobacco Invented the Tea Party and Captured the GOP, 2016)--a former White House communications official who is now the executive director of Climate Nexus--explains the science behind climate change, how it affects specific nations today, and the far more dismal afflictions that are just around the corner unless nations can get their acts together. The 10 hottest years in human history have occurred since the turn of the century. The major cause, atmospheric carbon dioxide, is not only rising faster than ever, but will continue to rise for decades after we stop adding to it--which we are doing at an alarming rate. Shrinking ice at the Earth's poles may be of less concern than the vanishing snowpack and glaciers at the so-called "Third Pole": the Himalayas, which serve as a source of water for over 1 billion people. Readers may find modest hope in the obligatory how-to-fix-it final chapters. Many world leaders worry about climate change, and some are trying to help. This is not the case in the United States, where, bizarrely, the subject has become politicized. Democrats accept its reality, and Nesbit praises former President Barack Obama for his warnings, neglecting to add that he took no action. Still, this is preferable to Congressional Republicans who consider it a liberal affectation. Thus, offended on discovering a CIA research project on the effect of global warming on national security, they cut off funding.An above-average example of the stream of similar books pouring off the presses. That there is a large audience for this genre is a cause for optimism--perhaps the only one.

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August 1, 2018

Nesbit (executive director, Climate Nexus) writes a sobering account of human experiences over the next few decades owing to climate changes if things do not improve. He surveys the ecosystems and the various species that are being affected; what can be expected to become commonplace, such as water scarcity, extreme heat, etc.; and highlights a number of countries that are already experiencing the effects (e.g., India, China, Somalia). Later chapters are devoted to discussions of what can be done to help mitigate the issue. With examples drawn from current issues, available data, and interviews, his blueprint for change is somewhat vague, as even he acknowledges that much depends on individual countries and their circumstances. Nesbit's clear, concise style is supported with current scientific findings that anyone will find easy to connect with and understand. VERDICT This prescient and timely book seeks to bring climate change into the realm of relatability. Recommended for all readers.--Laura Hiatt, Fort Collins, CO

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2018
Journalist and former National Science Foundation executive Nesbit (Poison Tea, 2016) acknowledges that he tells big, scary stories. His brand of stories scares more than standard tales of global warming and climate change because they are specific and immediate and foreshadow our own fate. Nesbit reports on countries that currently suffer from drought, natural-resource depletion, overpopulation, and societal destabilization, including Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Pakistan, China, North Korea, and India. Because many Americans with air conditioning and economic safety nets don't recognize these foreign stories as threats, Nesbit also covers the water depletion in California's Central Valley, where one-third of the world's food is produced, and the wildly destructive Category-6 hurricanes now hitting our Gulf and Atlantic Coasts. Nesbit's overall message is that we need to act now to lessen climate change for humans' very survival?not just to save whales and polar bears. Perhaps surprisingly, Nesbit still hopes that we can reduce global warming, because a shift to low-carbon energy can be economically and politically profitable. Mostly free of technical jargon and confusing scientific explanations, Nesbit's book should be widely read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)