Taxing Air

When you think about it, it's rather surprising that nobody has ever put together a good layman's explanation of the weaknesses in global warming science. It's only with Bob Carter and John Spooner's Taxing Air that this gap in the market has been filled.

And they have filled it with considerable style in my humble opinion. This is a hugely readable book, with short accessible summaries of each subject addressed, crisp direct prose and enlivened throughout with Spooner's cartoons. The publishers have splashed out on a colour interior, so the friendly effect is maintained throughout.

With its focus very much on the global warming newbie, the book is unlikely to bring anything new to many BH readers, but those who come here without scientific backgrounds will probably find it useful. And it should form the backbone of everybody's Christmas present lists.

Excellent stuff and congratulations are due to the authors.

Buy direct here or from Amazon here.

Comments

[Richard Drake]

I think that can only be called warm praise. :)

[jamesp]

How long before a 1-star (unread) review from the Team?

[Old Goat]

Just ordered for my Kindle.

[michel]

I see Joe Fone;s book is also on Amazon -Climate Change Natural or Manmade? (Independent Minds)

And so is the very well reviewed book by Rupert Darwall 'The age of Global Warmig'.

There is a real proliferation of skeptical titles and articles now. One even notices that the egregious Dana appears to have fallen silent on the Guardian. Richard Tol's pursuit of the 97% is continuing and looks like forcing some serious disclosure.

We look forward to the IPCC release. Should be an interesting read.

[Richard Drake]

michel:

There is a real proliferation of skeptical titles and articles now. One even notices that the egregious Dana appears to have fallen silent on the Guardian. Richard Tol's pursuit of the 97% is continuing and looks like forcing some serious disclosure.

Got a link on Tol's pursuit of the 97%? Great title for a thriller that. Dana may perhaps be on holiday. But I agree there is a change in the tide of intellectual opinion. And I think shale is a major cause of that.

Why so? Because in climate science there is a corrupt consensus that when you look into it has a vacuous object but that nevertheless dresses itself up with sciency-sounding complexification. Thus a brilliant historian like Michael Burleigh has never, as far as I know, seen fit to criticise climate science but two days ago in The Times he nailed his colours firmly to the mast on shale, as I pointed to at the time.

This habit of radically disagreeing with greens is bound to tend towards questioning their other learned - or perhaps fatuous - nostrums. The timing of Carter et al's book, therefore, could not be better.

[michel]

http://joannenova.com.au/2013/08/richard-tol-half-cooks-data-still-hidden-rest-shows-result-is-incorrect-invalid-unrepresentative/

[Hoi Polloi]

Richard Drake: https://mobile.twitter.com/RichardTol

[Richard Drake]

Brilliant, thanks.

[Snotrocket]

Thanks. Bob Carter's presentations were what got me started so many years ago....

Now on my Kindle! (10 seconds from order to download!!! I still get a kick from that technology even after half a lifetime in computers and computer networks!!)

[Col Andrews]

The Russians just evicted Greendummies from the North West Passage because the IDIOTS went in without a permit!!
The best part wast the reporters final paragraph:-
"Greenpeace really thought it would be business as usual for them in the Arctic, but there is a lesson to be learned for them here, all countries are not governed by an albeit dwindling band of Green Liberal politicians like those in Europe and currently in Australia, some countries are governed by real politicians that put the needs of their country and their people ahead of pandering to a noisy micro minority with an irrational fear of a trace gas that is essential to all life on earth."
I wonder if the reporter would like to migrate to Australia (shortcut via boat from Indonesia - only $15,000 a seat!).

[Richard Drake]

Snotrocket: Me too. The blessings of silicon. Always gets me thinking about the sand on the seashore and how much goodness there is meant to be for every human being. (The context being a frankly disturbing story which is nevertheless a foundation for the rest of the book. And thus our civilisation.)

Of course it won't always be silicon. Semiconducting polymer materials (or plastics) were already being touted back in 2007. Liquid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance is something else I don't understand - but you can see who to ask about that. :)

[Robin Guenier]

Aug 28, 2013 at 10:16 AM | Col Andrews

Thanks for drawing our attention to the Greenpeace/Russia story. The link is here. BTW the Russian Northern Sea Route is not, as you suggest, the North West Passage.

To my mind, the most significant paragraph in the article is this:

Post COP18 Russia has been as obstructive as possible to the stupidities of the UNFCCC climate process and any apparent Green posturing by Putin on Shale Gas is nothing to do with being Green, it is quite simply to do with economics and foreign power.

Yet another reason why things aren't looking good for the comprehensive post Kyoto agreement that the greenies hope/expect will be signed at COP 21 in Paris in 2015: see, for example, paragraph 10.1 of the recently published LibDem energy/climate policy paper.

[Richard Drake]

Even the headline - Today’s Scores From The Arctic – Russian Coastguard 1 Greenpeace 0 - is great. Putin's hatred of shale, in which he agrees with the unelected bullshit merchants in Brussels - is another sure sign that we have to get fracking.

[LevelGaze]

I've had Taxing Air for about a month now.

It's value in my opinion is that it brings together in a brutally factual manner all the arguments against anthropogenic global warming in a concise and confronting manner. This is a very useful synthesis for people like me who are well enough versed in some particular aspects of science , but not climate science, although I've spent about 6 years delving into it.

For debating warmists, this is an excellent vade mecum and I commend it strongly.

[steve ta]

Superb review of the book, giving it one star, on Amazon:

I have not read it but..., July 12, 2013
By BigKev

Although I have not read the book I feel that I should review it to save Peter Gleick the time and effort.

Since the author is a known sceptic it is clear that all his arguments will therefore be wrong and even when he quotes known facts or results of other people, because HE says them then they are wrong.

Although he may state simple logical arguments and build a chain of reasoning using steps that nobody can refute by putting those steps together and forming a conclusion which I do not like it is clear that he is wrong.

I do not need to discuss any of the points in any detail because 197% of all scientists agree with me and those few crackpots who do not are all right wingers in the pay of Big Oil and Tobacco.

Even reinsurance companies and double glazing salesmen agree with me and in any case HadCRUT is not peer reviewed.

Amazingly, many comments on this review completely missed the humour.

[Richard Drake]

steveta: Ha. It went through my mind to do the parody version but I couldn't have pulled it off better than that. 197% to that man.

[jferguson]

That is a wonderful review.

[Niff]

The reviews are interesting because they expose exactly the kind of dogma parodied by BigKev.

Taxing Air added to my education and is a very readable, compelling and logical exploration of the topic. And the cartoons are priceless.

[J-Cl Michel from Belgium]

Just ordered for my Kindle on PC.