Waubonsee Community College

The parrot and the igloo, climate and the science of denial, David Lipsky

eng

no index present

non fiction

The parrot and the igloo

1385398234

David Lipsky

climate and the science of denial

"In 1956, the New York Times prophesied that once global warming really kicked in, we could see parrots in the Antarctic. In 2010, when science deniers had control of the climate story, Senator James Inhofe and his family built an igloo on the Washington Mall and plunked a sign on top: AL GORE'S NEW HOME: HONK IF YOU LOVE CLIMATE CHANGE. In The Parrot and the Igloo, best-selling author David Lipsky tells the astonishing story of how we moved from one extreme (the correct one) to the other. With narrative sweep and a superb eye for character, Lipsky unfolds the dramatic narrative of the long, strange march of climate science. The story begins with a tale of three inventors—Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla—who made our technological world, not knowing what they had set into motion. Then there are the scientists who sounded the alarm once they identified carbon dioxide as the culprit of our warming planet. And we meet the hucksters, zealots, and crackpots who lied about that science and misled the public in ever more outrageous ways. Lipsky masterfully traces the evolution of climate denial, exposing how it grew out of early efforts to build a network of untruth about products like aspirin and cigarettes. Featuring an indelible cast of heroes and villains, mavericks and swindlers, The Parrot and the Igloo delivers a real-life tragicomedy—one that captures the extraordinary dance of science, money, and the American character."--, Provided by publisher

Preface -- Part one: Inventors. The message -- The hustler -- The promise -- The electrician -- The jubilee -- Part two: Scientists. The wayward wind -- The soda machine -- The tire prints and the smoke menace -- The geophysical experiment -- The overwhelming desire -- The fine noses -- The moles -- The brakes and the Indian -- The Yamal and the fence -- The global computer model -- The wood chips and the malaise -- The frog -- The unwarranted and alarmist report -- The undoing of Thomas Midgley -- The undoing II--red days -- The home of Donna Reed -- The pirate -- The pilot lights and somebody's wind -- Mark Mills -- Part three: Deniers. Old judge, or tobacco killed a cat -- Stocking and chairs -- Genetics -- A scientific gymnastic feat -- Wall of flesh -- Simple annihilation -- >First class -- Philosophers and priests -- Counterblaste -- A czarina enjoys the corporate Christmas party -- S. -- Emperor of the universe -- Who digested the scientists? -- Millions of guinea pigs -- Dinosaurs -- Committee on the care of children -- An exceptional case -- "Arthur Robinson is a good scientist"--Arthur Robinson -- Arthur and the world -- Jason Bourne's crestfallen itinerary -- Editing turns the mild into weather gods -- ASS and chair -- Glengarry Glen Monckton -- The business cards and the straight noodle -- Epilogue: The parrot and the igloo

adult