An accessible, informative, and alarming look at imminent, likely inevitable environmental catastrophes on a global scale.
A sober warning that climate change will become impossible to deny or ignore in the coming decades as mass population centers are rendered uninhabitable and the relocation of millions of people becomes inevitable.
Relocation due to climate change is already a reality. Hirsch looks at the examples of Native Alaskan villages in Alaska, the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, and the Sahel region in central Africa. Droughts, desertification, rising sea levels, severe storms, and melting permafrost, all directly caused by climate change, are threatening communities of all sizes as well as entire nations. By 2050, at least 25 million people will be driven from their homes. Hirsch examines the immense logistical challenges and economic costs of relocating so many people, the consequences for communities whose cultural identities are geographically linked, and further environmental damage that will result from these mass migrations. She acknowledges that climate change cannot be stopped altogether but stresses that the consequences can be less catastrophic if nations take immediate steps to curb carbon dioxide emissions and initiate changes enabling communities to withstand climate-related damages and stresses.
An accessible, informative, and alarming look at imminent, likely inevitable environmental catastrophes on a global scale. (maps, photos, glossary, source notes, bibliography, further information) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4677-9341-4
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
Unhappy teens in need of a lecture on thinking positively and being more in touch with one’s emotions need look no further.
Mangan presents in as many chapters a 20-point strategy that ranges from “Have a Positive Attitude” and “Cut Your Problems Into Pieces” to “Practice Being Patient” and “Appreciate the Value of Your Hard Work.” She blends private exercises like visualizing forgiveness with comments on selective attention, “problematic procrastination” and other bad habits, reframing situations to put them in different lights, “changing shoes” to understand others better and subjecting feelings to rational analysis. Though the author has a graduate degree and years of practice in clinical psychology, she offers generalities and generic situations rather than specific cases from her experience, and the book is devoid of references to further resources or even an index. Superficial advice (“If you are unsafe or are around kids that you know are bullies, just walk away”) combines with techniques that are unlikely to interest readers (“Make a song verse out of your list of helpful thoughts”). The author also makes questionable claims about the mind-body connection (“When you smile, your body sends a signal to your brain that you are happy”) and fails to make a case for regarding side forays into food habits and environmental concerns as relevant to her topic. Obvious issues and common-sense advice, unpersuasively presented. (Self-help. 12-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4338-1040-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
Just in time for Earth Day comes this wide-ranging look at global climate change, which answers common questions and introduces people and organizations from around the world who are doing something about it. The first section defines the problem, explains how we know it’s happening and responds to common arguments. Complex ideas are conveyed in a light, conversational manner, and the narrative is punctuated with interesting, appropriate quotations as well as interviews with a wide variety of scientists. The second section describes specific “Gaia Warriors”—individuals and groups working to change our ways. Davies describes a wide variety of campaigns—many by young people—especially in the areas of transportation, food, homes, clothing, deforestation and the intersection of climate change and human rights. She addresses some controversies, including the use of biofuels and nuclear power and the utility of carbon dioxide offsets. The trendy, magazine-like design of this English import will appeal to younger teen readers, who are encouraged throughout the book to visit specific websites for further information. First published in England in 2009, the information about world negotiations has been updated to include the results of the Copenhagen meeting that spring. One could quibble with the weight given various topics, but overall this is an enjoyable and comprehensive summary marred only by its complete lack of documentation. (afterword, more resources, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4808-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
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