Reason in a Dark Time: Why the Struggle Against Climate Change Failed--And What It Means for our Future

After reading just the first chapter of this book, I was stunned at how long the heat storage properties of carbon dioxide have been on the world’s radar. What would you guess? Twenty? Forty? Fifty years? How about 150 plus.

Back in 1863, John Tyndall, an Irish scientist measured the absorption of infrared radiation by carbon dioxide and showed that slight changes in the atmosphere’s composition can affect our planet's temperature.

Guy Callendar discovered in the 1930s that carbon dioxide levels were rising and causing an increase in temperatures. He said that there had already been a 10% increase in carbon dioxide levels. Other scientists mocked him. But even then he predicted a 2-4 C temperature raise in the 21st century.

In this wide-ranging book, Dale Jamieson, a philosopher, presents a richly detailed account of many issues connected to climate change. He covers various ramifications from the moral and ethical to the economic, political and scientific.