When the Ice Is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth's Tumultuous History and Perilous Future

Bierman, Paul. When the Ice Is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth's Tumultuous History and Perilous Future. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9781324020677.

When the Ice Is Gone recounts author Paul Bierman's groundbreaking discovery that Greenland's massive ice sheet melted naturally 400,000 years ago, a time when Earth's temperature was comparable to present-day levels. This revelation came from analyzing long-lost frozen soil samples retrieved from the world's first deep ice core, drilled decades ago at Camp Century, a Cold War military base buried within the Greenland ice sheet. Bierman's findings challenge previous assumptions about ice sheet stability and suggest that the ice is inherently vulnerable, even without the influence of human-caused climate change.

When the Ice Is Gone explores the scientific journey behind this pivotal discovery, tracing the history of polar science and how researchers learned to interpret the information contained within ice and snow. Bierman delves into the technical aspects of the Camp Century ice core project and explains the significance of his team's analysis. He also emphasizes the alarming implications of his findings for the future, warning of potentially catastrophic consequences if climate change continues unabated. When the Ice Is Gone serves as a call to action, urging readers to recognize Greenland's crucial role in global climate and to heed the warning signs from the melting ice.

Uncertain Harvest: The Future of Food on a Warming Planet

Mosby, Ian, Sarah Rotz, and Evan Fraser. Uncertain Harvest: The Future of Food on a Warming Planet. 2020. 280p. ISBN 9780889777200.

What impact will climate change have on our agriculture? Everyday, the world needs to produce enough food to feed billions of people, and as the global population continues to grow, more food needs to be grown. Changes in temperature and precipitations are affecting the quality and the quantity of food being produced. The depletion of soils has to be counteracted with fertilizers, which requires fossil fuels to make. This fertilizer in turn polluted waterways and contributes to climate change. We already exploit too many animals for their meat consumption, and a sustainable world would require drastically altering the diet of the average American.

Eight foods that play a significant role in the world's diet are examined, and the impact of climate changes on these are explored. From rice to crickets, these food staples can provide enough caloric input, but will require a change in the mentality and the perception of what is food. Politicians, scientists, and chefs will all be confronted with this dilemma. How do you grow more food while reducing the impact on our planet? nothing short of a global discussion and international measures will help prepare for the future. 

Global Warning

Frank, Steen B. Global Warning. 2023. 272p. ISBN 9780358566175.

Young people are generally optimistic, but as the climate changes, they are the ones who will suffer the most from the planet warming. And unfortunately for them, they cannot vote and influence the policy of their countries. But what if they could make meaningful changes to improve the climate? Sam Warren is a special 6th grader. His friends and him were previously involved in a law case on homework that made it all the way to the Supreme Court. This time, they decide to tackle climate change. Their strategy is simple, yet extremely difficult: They will seek an amendment to the United States's Constitution that will save the planet from pollution.

The students set out on the trip of a lifetime across the United States and the world, bringing attention to their demands and raising awareness of their proposed constitutional amendment. Working with the children of government officials, with lawyers, with environmental activists, and with other children in the United States and beyond, they set out to change the world for the better.

A fast-paced fun story about what could be if children could organize, Global Warning offers a simplistic solution to a convoluted problem, but nevertheless illustrates a path that could be taken if only there was the political will.

New York 2140

Robinson, Kim Stanley. New York 2140. 2017. 642p. ISBN 9780316262347. Available at FIC ROB on the library shelves.

Global warming and climate change have produced irreversible changes. New York City, once the largest metropolis in the United States, finds itself partially flooded as neighborhoods disppeared underneath rising sea levels. Real-estate is so expansive, however, and investments so large that billions of private and government monies have been spent ensuring that the large buildings in Manhattan survive, turning the island into a modern Venice. Canals now replace streets, and small powerful watercrafts mix with large transport boats, while a network of enclosed aerial walkways allow walkers to travel from one side of the city to the other without getting wet. 

Residents of the Met Life Tower have adapted to the changes, and continue to live their lives. Vlade, the building manager, is in charge of ensuring that the lower levels of the building, which are submerged in water, do not flood. He maintains the equipment, the pumps, and even the farms on top of the building that provide food for the inhabitants. Charlotte, who works as a lawyer for the city, also serves on the Met's board of residents, and they must consider whether to sell their building. Franklin is a financial wizard who created an index that is used for trading futures on whether a piece of land will be worth something as waters continue to rise. Amelia is an Internet star, owns an airship, and travels the world. She's rarely here, but when she is she's the lift of the building. Stefan and Roberto are two homeless boys who are under Vlade's wing, as he has a soft spot for those two. Mr. Hexter, Stefan and Roberto's friend, remembers what the city was like before it flooded, and he has many maps and memories worth exploring. Finally, Mutt and Jeff are two coders living atop the building, keeping an eye on the farm, and attempting to crash the financial markets.

When Mutt and Jeff go missing, a cascade of events throws these residents together to defend their building and their home, and in the process they find that they are more family than they ever cared to admit before.

Fans of dystopia will appreciate this climate tragedy of a world that hints at our own not too far future. The mystery moving the plot along is well-crafted, and each character brings a unique perspective to the story.