Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years
Encyclopedia
Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years is a book about climate change, written by Siegfried Fred Singer
and Dennis T. Avery, which asserts that natural changes, and not CO2 emissions
, are the cause of Global Warming
. Published by Rowman & Littlefield
in 2006, the book sold well and was reprinted in an updated edition in 2007.
The title refers to the hypothesis of 1,500-year climate cycles in the Holocene
first postulated by Gerard C. Bond
, mainly based on petrologic tracers of drift ice in the North Atlantic.
emissions.
The book begins with the earth's climate time-line, starting from the formation of the earth 4.5 billion years ago, and leading up to the Modern Warm Period
.
The book ends with a chapter entitled "The ultimate failure of The Kyoto Protocol", which predicts that the Protocol will be unsuccessful in curtailing emissions. It covers the localised plummeting emissions associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union and what the book says is Russia's excess amount of Carbon Credits
which, the book argues, will be purchased by European nations to offset
their rising emissions.
, which is known for its skepticism regarding global warming, arranged for the distribution of free copies to elected officials. Jay Lehr, the Heartland Institute's science director, wrote a favorable review in News Weekly
, the newsletter of the Australian political movement National Civic Council, saying "The book is truly amazing! It meticulously supports, with hundreds of detailed, published references, the clear facts and conclusions that the Earth's climate has been travelling a well-defined roller-coaster path of temperature change for at least 900,000 years".
Climatologist Mike Hulme
writing for The Guardian
said, "Deploying the machinery of scientific method allows us to filter out hypotheses - such as those presented by Singer and Avery - as being plain wrong" and that the book "can be understood in a different way: as a challenge to the process of climate change science, or to the values they believe to be implicit in the science, rather than as a direct challenge to scientific knowledge".
Economist Richard W. Rahn
in The Washington Times
welcomed it as "a wonderful new book". According to Rahn, the authors "provide overwhelming evidence" that warming would occur with or without mankind increasing CO2 emissions or doing anything else.
Fred Singer
Siegfried Fred Singer is an Austrian-born American physicist and emeritus professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia...
and Dennis T. Avery, which asserts that natural changes, and not CO2 emissions
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
, are the cause of Global Warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. Published by Rowman & Littlefield
Rowman & Littlefield
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books and journals for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns a book distributor, National Book Network...
in 2006, the book sold well and was reprinted in an updated edition in 2007.
The title refers to the hypothesis of 1,500-year climate cycles in the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
first postulated by Gerard C. Bond
Gerard C. Bond
Gerard Clark Bond was a widely and highly respected American geologist. Bond received his Bachelor of Science degree at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, where his father Ralph Bond was a Professor of Geology...
, mainly based on petrologic tracers of drift ice in the North Atlantic.
Synopsis
Over sixteen chapters the authors present their view of the natural cycles in the earth's climate and argue that the current warming period is not caused by man-made greenhouse gasGreenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions.
The book begins with the earth's climate time-line, starting from the formation of the earth 4.5 billion years ago, and leading up to the Modern Warm Period
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
.
The book ends with a chapter entitled "The ultimate failure of The Kyoto Protocol", which predicts that the Protocol will be unsuccessful in curtailing emissions. It covers the localised plummeting emissions associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union and what the book says is Russia's excess amount of Carbon Credits
Assigned amount units
An Assigned Amount Unit is a tradable 'Kyoto unit' or 'carbon credit' representing an allowance to emit greenhouse gases comprising one metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents calculated using their Global Warming Potential....
which, the book argues, will be purchased by European nations to offset
Carbon offset
A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere....
their rising emissions.
Reception
The book has attracted polarized reactions. The Heartland InstituteHeartland Institute
The Heartland Institute is a libertarian, American public policy think tank based in Chicago, Illinois which advocates free market policies. The Institute is designated as a 501 non-profit by the Internal Revenue Service and advised by a 15 member board of directors, which meets quarterly. As of...
, which is known for its skepticism regarding global warming, arranged for the distribution of free copies to elected officials. Jay Lehr, the Heartland Institute's science director, wrote a favorable review in News Weekly
News Weekly
News Weekly is an Australian current affairs magazine, published by the National Civic Council. It was founded by B. A. Santamaria in 1941 under the name Freedom. News Weekly provides analysis of current cultural, social, political and economic trends in the Australia. It has a focus on ethics.The...
, the newsletter of the Australian political movement National Civic Council, saying "The book is truly amazing! It meticulously supports, with hundreds of detailed, published references, the clear facts and conclusions that the Earth's climate has been travelling a well-defined roller-coaster path of temperature change for at least 900,000 years".
Climatologist Mike Hulme
Mike Hulme
Mike Hulme is a professor of Climate Change in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia . He was educated at Madras College, St.Andrews, and at the universities of Durham and Wales...
writing for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
said, "Deploying the machinery of scientific method allows us to filter out hypotheses - such as those presented by Singer and Avery - as being plain wrong" and that the book "can be understood in a different way: as a challenge to the process of climate change science, or to the values they believe to be implicit in the science, rather than as a direct challenge to scientific knowledge".
Economist Richard W. Rahn
Richard W. Rahn
Richard W. Rahn is an American economist who frequently writes for The Washington Times. He was the Vice President and Chief Economist of the United States Chamber of Commerce during the Reagan Administration and remains a staunch advocate of Supply-side economics, Small government, and Classical...
in The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
welcomed it as "a wonderful new book". According to Rahn, the authors "provide overwhelming evidence" that warming would occur with or without mankind increasing CO2 emissions or doing anything else.