Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet
| Author | Mark Lynas |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science, Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Fourth Estate |
Publication date | 2007 |
| Publication place | Great Britain |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 358p. |
| ISBN | ISBN 9780007209057 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| OCLC | 76359874 |
Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet (358 pages), ISBN 9780007209057 is a 2007 (2008 in USA) non-fiction book by author Mark Lynas.
Themes
The book is a meta-analysis that details the science of climate change. The first chapter describes the expected effects of climate change with one degree increase in average global temperature since pre-industrial times. The second chapter describes the effects of two degrees average temperature and so forth until Chapter 6 which shows the expected effects of six degrees average global temperature. The effects are also compare to paleoclimatic studies, with six degrees of warming compared back to the Cretaceous.
Contents
Special coverage is given to the positive feedback mechanisms that could dramatically accelerate climate change. The book explains how the release of methane hydrate and the release of methane from melting permafrost could unleash a major extinction event. Carbon cycle feedbacks, the demise of coral, the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest, and extreme desertification are also described, with five or six degrees of warming potentially leading to the complete uninhabitability of the tropics and subtropics, as well as extreme water and food shortages, possibly leading to mass migration of billions of people.
Related prize
A National Geographic TV programme,"Six Degrees Could Change The World" was based after the book. It also won a General Prize from the Royal Society.[1]
References
External links
- What will climate change do to our planet?, The Sunday Times, March 11, 2007. Summary of some of the book's key scenarios.
- Six steps to hell, The Guardian, 23 April 2007. Summary article by the book's author.
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