Preview

Field Notes from a Catastrophe

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1667 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Field Notes from a Catastrophe
Part 1: Summary

In this book, Kolbert travels to many places to find out what is happening with global warming. Quite often she ran into the same fear at the places she went, the fear for loss before the next generation. When she went to Alaska, many people were fleeing from their homes because the sea ice surrounding them, creating a buffer zone for storms, was melting and that was causing houses to just be swept away.

A man in Iceland who has monitored glaciers predicted that by the end of the century, Iceland will be ice free. Not something you would expect from a land that has had glaciers for over two million years. On the tips of glacier in Greenland, researchers found water in places there had not been water in maybe thousands of years.

When she went to the Netherlands, she found that the rising sea level was expected to take up a large portion of the country. However, in areas where there is already periodic flood, they have already started construction on amphibious home and buoyant roads.

Other then the trips to these places she also gathers up data on the situation of global warming. The United States is the single largest country to put carbon in our atmosphere. We alone account for one quarter of the world's total. An average of 12,000 pounds of carbon is released by each American. However, the Chinese are expected to pass us up within a short period if they do not build new plants with low-emission technology. Mr. Hoffert, who is a professor in physics, believes we can overcome this global warming situation. He has many ideas to avoid carbon sources of energy; Satellites with photovoltaic arrays, solar collectors on the moon, and turbines suspended in the jet stream.

Part 2: Chapter 5

Claims

I think the most obvious factual claim would be global warming. The whole time she is looking for evidence and proof of the global warming. She talked to a man named Hansen, who "Decided that a planet whose atmosphere could

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the book, Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization by Lester R. Brown, he talks about a plan to move energy away from coal to a cleaner form of energy such as wind, solar, and geothermal energy (Brown 125-132). Mr. Brown then talks about how if Plan B is put into action, then by the year 2020, the world’s carbon footprint would be down by 80 percent (23). Mr. Brown then goes on to talk about how much energy that the world could save by the year 2020 (80). Then in chapter 5, Brown talks about the different ways that people can make energy through either the usage of solar cells and thermal collectors or even using an alternate fuel source like using plants to power our vehicles (113-135). Next, Brown talks about educating people who are…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edward J. Larson is the author of the book, “A Magnificent Catastrophe”. Which discloses all of the drama leading up to the 1800 Presidential Election. A magnificent catastrophe is exactly what the 1800 Presidential Election was. It was the start of many of today's outrageous and vile campaign tactics. Along with the dismantle of a political friendship, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unit 5 Assignment 2

    • 343 Words
    • 1 Page

    The author did a great deal of research on these topics, each of them being debunked soon after being publicized. By writing about this, he shows his experiences in his life and how many people have changed their lives to avoid these “fears” that don’t even exist. Some events, like Y2K, even caused people to sell their houses and take all their money out of the banks in order to avoid the disasters that would soon consume the world. He also talks about the fear of global freezing in the 1960s, which soon turned into a fear of global warming.…

    • 343 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kolbert talked about Global warming with great interest in chapter eight. Global warming is the increase of Earth’s average surface temperature due to effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuel or from deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth (nmsea.org). Kolbert explained how global warming was a serious threat to species that rely on cold weather for there survival. Basically, as the average surface temperature increases, the North and South poles will melt and any living species that depend on the ice will be faced with massive pressure to either adapt to these changes or be faced with the possible ending of extinction. In addition, Kolbert talks about the other diverse regions that are affected by global warming because they have “higher latitudinal diversity gradients.” She used the work of there scientists who used measures of a species-area relationship to present the possible negative effects of global warming. The most probable reason for species extinction in the future is by the mobility of species trying to relocate to new areas as a response to the shifting climate conditions. The chapter ended with Kolbert explaining how it was very hard for scientists to understand how long ecological communities can tolerate climate change. After reading this chapter, I really understood how much global warming is impacting me. Firstly,…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Magnificent Catastrophe The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America’s First Presidential Campaign With the recent election of 2016, I have began to wonder if the political process of electing the nation’s president has always been so divided, ugly, and absolutely chaotic. I wondered if politicians have always been so corrupt and belligerent, and I wondered if there have been more elections where our nation has been forced to pick the lesser of two evils (unless, of course, you felt strongly for one candidate or the other which can be very troubling to imagine when presented with the character and decisions of the last two candidates). Author of A Magnificent Catastrophe, Edward J. Larson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, wildly illustrates…

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    State of Fear

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages

    3. The message of the book is that there are always two sides to global warming. There are the skeptics and believers. Kenner did not really believe that global warming was happening because he was giving hard facts to Evans stating so. Crichton also had the hardcore environmentalists become the antagonists.…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He is directly targeting the readers emotions allowing them to view climate change at the velocity that he believes it should be. At 11 degrees of warming more than half of the world's population would die of direct heat. Even 4 degrees of warming would make the deadly European heat wave of 2003, that killed over 2,000 people, a normal summer. Unbearable heat coupled with extreme drought causes dehydration across the world; that often times ends in kidney failure, leaving patients with weeks to live without the treatments that they simply cannot afford. Wallace-Wells presents a great point of diseases that arise from planet warming, a conclusion that most would not come to by themselves.…

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jack London is a fine observer of nature and the processes therein taken for granted. Humanity is a part of the cycle of life but industrialization and urbanization have left a great many of us ignorant of this. The survival instinct has been dulled by the immediacy and convenience of modern life. The man in his story is half way between this modern world and that of more primitive man, eking out an existence in the rough outback of Alaska. He doesn’t heed the warnings of the seasoned old man - that he should be very wary of the cold. Denial of man’s vulnerability is an all-too-present fallacy. We build our civilizations to as great a height as they will go, but there is always a check. We mostly compete with ourselves, but Mother Nature still greatly impinges upon us as we see New Orleans deluged and Haiti in crumbles. The man in the wild is overcome by his own disregard, simply dying in the cold and unmoved snow. Mother is misunderstood and disrespected, and we distance ourselves physically and psychologically while Mother Nature blankets us - comforting sometimes,…

    • 1024 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Berry is really good at objectively looking at situations in this article.Everything he said makes sense. Though Berry used no facts his statements about problems was enough for the reader to sit down and think about what they can change to prepare for the morrow which in relativity is pointless. Berry also makes a good point on other environmental issues other than climate change. It is very apparent that Berry has a good understanding of the environment. The article could use much more cold hard facts to back up his points,But other than that the article was a very persuasive and informing and makes the reader think very critically about the problems of our…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This Changes Everything is a book that was created to disprove what people have chosen to believe in regards to climate change and their involvement in it. Naomi Klein forces people to remember climate change and disallow from being swept under the rug by climate change deniers. In this book, Klein attempts to accomplish the nearly impossible task of making everyone reflect on how much harm they have done to the environment. She debunks arguments against climate change in an attempt to get people to change their detrimental habits and cease the worsening of the quality of the earth.…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prince Hall

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Did you know that by our everyday habits and choices, the average American puts out 22 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year? Experts studying the recent climate history of the earth agree now that global warming is occurring at a precipitous rate, and human activities are the dominant force driving the trend. Our smokestacks, tailpipes, and burning forests emit CO2 and other gasses that add to the planet’s natural greenhouse effect, allowing sunlight in, but preventing some of the resulting heat from radiating back to space. Many climate experts say that without big curbs in greenhouse gas emissions, the 21st century could see temperatures rise 3 to 8 degrees, weather patterns sharply shift, ice sheets shrink, and seas rise several feet. The problem of global warming seems overwhelming, but there is a lot you can do to help. Reducing your personal share of global warming emissions is easier than you think.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I agree with you DaVonte’ in regards to utilizing the military for some of the catastrophic disasters that our nation has faced. We need to remember that our first responders are there to assist initially and if matters have escalated out of control then the military should step up to the plate. I believe that we have other resources that we should reach out to first and if other help is needed the state and federal government will assist when needed.…

    • 173 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The sea level has been rising globally for the past 10,000 years before anthropologic influence, but due to large amounts of CO2 release the sea level is now rising rapidly. The warming of global temperatures over the past century that continues to grow with time causes this rise in sea level. Because of this growing global temperature, the ice caps are melting rapidly and will continue to melt at a faster rate. “…Even if we could stabilize concentrations of GHGs, we are already committed to significant warming and sea level rise no matter what scenario we follow (Gerald A. Meehl et al).” At this point, it would be impossible to avoid increased sea levels due to this melting. This melting means that many areas of low elevation will experience major flooding. Sea levels could rise by several meters in the next 100 years, leading to major land loss. Flooding can also lead to declines or shifts to local fisheries, leading to possible protein shortages in poorer populations, leading to famine. This could put many lives in jeopardy and could alter many coastal ecosystems, leading to loss of coastal infrastructure, coastal erosion, loss of human life, and the extinction of several species unable to adapt or move to another adequate…

    • 2140 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Recently, many crises have occurred and it is difficult to choose among them but I will focus on…

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nunavut Climate Change

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages

    When a force as strong as gravity strikes, can one truly be prepared to face its wrath? Unfortunately, Mother Nature is unpredictable in her many forms, and climate change is another embodiment. People around the world are ignorant of the subtly approaching climate change and its dangers, while the vulnerable indigenous people of the north have fallen victim to its threats. Health in Nunavut, Canada has been a rising concern in recent years. The reading, “Community perspectives on the impact of climate change on health in Nunavut, Canada,” written by Healey et al, states that the consequences of climate change will result in environment assault, rapidly deteriorating health and loss of identity that will one day lead to an international crisis.…

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays