![]() The discovery of ice ages in the distant past proved that climate could change radically over the entire globe, which seemed vastly beyond anything mere humans could provoke. But there were larger shifts of climate that happened all by themselves. For example, ancient Greeks and 19th-century Americans debated how cutting down forests might bring more rainfall to a region, or perhaps less. ![]() People had long suspected that human activity could change the local climate. In the end they did win their goal, which was simply knowledge. A few took the battle into the public arena, often getting more blame than praise most labored to the end of their lives in obscurity. Even as they stretched their minds to the limit on intellectual problems that often proved insoluble, their attention was diverted into grueling administrative struggles to win minimal support for the great work. They gambled decades of arduous effort on the chance of a useful discovery, and staked their reputations on what they claimed to have found. The rest needed more subtle forms of courage. For some, the work required actual physical courage, a risk to life and limb in icy wastes or on the high seas. It is an epic story: the struggle of thousands of men and women over the course of a century for very high stakes. This excerpt is from The Discovery of Global Warming, by Spencer R. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |