Field Notes
The "currently reading" section of my blog hasn't changed much over the last couple of months. I've simply been too busy to keep up with all of my readings -- academic and otherwise. As the semester is winding down, I treated myself with some reading time today. I finally finished Field Notes from a Catastrophe. This book was selected for the UAlbany Reading Project this year. It's a really compelling look at the scientific evidence supporting the argument that we are experiencing human-made global warming that will have serious geological and social consequences. It's a less entertaining, but more rigorous, take on the issues than Gore's Inconvenient Truth (the movie, at least, since I haven't read the book).
As part of the Reading Project the author is invited to campus for a lecture and Q&A with students. Unfortunately, I missed Elizabeth Kolbert's first appearance on campus, but I hope to hear her speak at graduation. One of the students at the Q&A described her book as "a downer," and I have to concur. The breadth of evidence that Kolbert collected is quite impressive, but the message is ultimately quite bleak. One of the reasons why it took me so long to read this book was that I had to do it in small doses.
One piece of the book stuck with me more than the others. After the U.S. failed to sign the Kyoto Protocol, in support of mandatory emissions regulations, Kolbert interviewed the Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Paula Dobriansky, who has the unfortunate job of explaining President Bush's global warming policy, or lack thereof. She summarized the current administration's policy as "we act, we learn, and we act again." This statement was repeated numerous times during the 15-minute interview. In my mind it so clearly summarizes the problem with the current position on this issue -- learning comes after acting, rather than before. The U.S. seems to be content to ignore, and sometimes unrealistically challenge, the evidence supporting global warming. However, Kolbert very eloquently shows how the evidence is overwhelming. If we were willing to learn first, and then act, our course of action might be more effective.
As part of the Reading Project the author is invited to campus for a lecture and Q&A with students. Unfortunately, I missed Elizabeth Kolbert's first appearance on campus, but I hope to hear her speak at graduation. One of the students at the Q&A described her book as "a downer," and I have to concur. The breadth of evidence that Kolbert collected is quite impressive, but the message is ultimately quite bleak. One of the reasons why it took me so long to read this book was that I had to do it in small doses.
One piece of the book stuck with me more than the others. After the U.S. failed to sign the Kyoto Protocol, in support of mandatory emissions regulations, Kolbert interviewed the Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Paula Dobriansky, who has the unfortunate job of explaining President Bush's global warming policy, or lack thereof. She summarized the current administration's policy as "we act, we learn, and we act again." This statement was repeated numerous times during the 15-minute interview. In my mind it so clearly summarizes the problem with the current position on this issue -- learning comes after acting, rather than before. The U.S. seems to be content to ignore, and sometimes unrealistically challenge, the evidence supporting global warming. However, Kolbert very eloquently shows how the evidence is overwhelming. If we were willing to learn first, and then act, our course of action might be more effective.
posted by Janet | 10:16 PM
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