NOTES FROM A DYING PLANET, 2004-2006

A neuroscientist unearths the causes of climate change in a well-researched but discursive essay collection.

In 2004, physiology professor Brown launched a broad-based quest to discover the sources of global warming, hosting a blog in which he shared his findings with the public. Compiled and re-organized into this volume, the resulting essays track climate change from multiple angles. Some topics, like aerosol sprays, CFCs and population explosions, tread well-worn territory, but in others, such as the author’s discussion of the transition from hunting and gathering to agricultural societies, he breaks newer ground. In the introduction, Brown promises to filter his exhaustive research into accessible prose. He does so by employing a conversational tone and organizing his entries into 11 topics, which are further subdivided into two-to-three page chapters (covering subjects as widely diverse as "Language and the Brain," "Paleolithic Hunter Gatherers"and "Neolithic Mythology"). Each chapter also includes at least one suggestion for further reading and highlights from the week’s relevant news stories. A significant number of chapters explore the complex factors that lead to overpopulation, and the author’s analysis delves deeper than simply linking the problem to per capita income and a nation’s relative degree of development. On the whole, however, Brown imparts a numbing level of detail, more reminiscent of liner notes than popular nonfiction. Moreover, his biases at times devolve into a blatant bashing of "Dubya and his cronies," which erodes the scientific grounding he strives to establish. The author ends with recommendations; many, such as ending world hunger and misogyny to inspire the voluntary limiting of families to one child per couple, are a bit far-fetched, but some importantly recognize that while individuals can do their part to stave off global warming, without significant changes at the policy level, we’re all going to be in hot water.

Solid research, but overlong to the point of rambling–probably better left online.