Thursday 13 January 2011

Tip of the iceberg


If Marshall Ganz is correct, we must not only present the science behind nature but also the story in order to best empower individuals to take conservation action. When it comes to climate change, I have yet to find a more compelling storyteller than Elizabeth Kolbert.

Kolbert's three-part Climate of Man series for the New Yorker illustrates myriad scientific, social and political dimensions of our changing climate; presenting individuals occupying different poles of the issue without suggesting the absence of a consensus on key tenets: carbon dioxide is increasing in our atmosphere, and increased emissions are human-induced.

The series, masterfully organized into three discreet segments, weaves together: the nexus of archaeology and paleoclimatology (with respect to links between societal collapse and droughts), early snapshots of Alaskan climate change refugees, a window into climate modeling, and political opportunities and misdirection circa 2005, in addition to other topics.

For those with a casual interest in the topic and looking for a place to start: start here. For the rest of us with an interest in climate change, Kolbert's series is a model for presenting facts in a way that captivates audiences and carries them on a global odyssey, complete with foreign scripts, seascapes and siren song.

As for Kolbert's Field Notes from a Catastrophe, my copy is in the mail... more on that to come.
"...global warming might be thought of as the tragedy of the commons writ very, very large." - Elizabeth Kolbert

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