The Last Generation - How Nature will take her revenge for climate change" by Fred Pearce, published by Transworld, reviewed by Fiona Archer
This book makes sobering reading. Fred Pearce is a respected scientific writer, who has written for the New Scientist magazine, and The Ecologist, and has had articles published in The Independent, Times Higher Educational Supplement and with the World Wide Fund for Nature.
He takes us on his visits to research stations at the sharp end of global warming in the Arctic, Antarctic, measuring the Gulf Stream, in the rainforest, Siberia, Greenland, and the Amazon.
Pearce warns us that when change kicks in, it will be sudden, brutal and violent, powered by unstoppable planetary forces. Without scaremongering, Pearce paints a bleak picture of the world our children will inherit, with erratic and unpredictable climatic events, and rapidly rising sea levels. Pearce labels the current climatic phase the Anthopocene, to reflect the fact that the climate is now being shaped by mankind.
The prognosis for our planet is truly terrifying and the science totally convincing. There is none of the misanthropic tendency and idolotry of nuclear power in Lovelock's "The Revenge of Gaia". Pearce offer solutions and points us towards the necessary action. As quoted from James Hansen, Nasa Director:
"We are on the precipice of climate system tipping points beyond which there is no redemption".
There really is no time or place for the sceptics on the margins of the climate debate. We have to act radically and act soon.
Pearce does not make definite predictions about the future climate, as there are so many variables. The shutting down of the Atlantic Conveyor that is usually termed the Gulf Stream means that Northern Europe could paradoxically enter a colder phase as the rest of the world warms up. Other scenarios are thrown into the melting pot, such as the increasing acidity of the oceans due to increased absorption of carbon dioxide to create carbonic acid.
One of the things I liked about this book was that it talks serious science but in a way that is accessible to a reader from a non-scientific background. Having said that a few graphs might have helped illustrate some of the trends without being too technical. The choice of title reflects Pearce's view that we are the last generation who will have lived with any sense of predictability about the climate. We are about to enter uncharted territory as far as the climate is concerned.
It is not a book for the faint-hearted, but if you want to read a well-researched book that makes the science accessible and exciting, “The Last Generation” is an ideal choice.
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