Firor, John. The changing atmosphere - A global challenge, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1990, 145 pages.
The author, John Firor, is a leading meteorologist and environmentalist. Through this book, he has presented to the general audience, a highly readable explanation and interpretation of his research and his thoughts about the "Big three" atmospheric issues of today - acid rain, ozone depletion and climatic heating. He has streamlined his analysis through a generic and a non-technical point of view on the subject of climate change and has addressed one question concerning a public request for judgment on - "Are we in trouble or not?"
The main concerns of the world and various environmentalist groups today are the growing qualms and fears about the slow and deadly changes in the climate due to various human activities. The scientists have gone far and beyond their ability to tap into the various innovative technologies of today to understand the intensity and the nature of this change, and have frequently quoted in the press and media that they believe that we do have a serious problem arising from our careless treatment of the atmosphere. Therefore, my review of this book is going to discuss essentials on how well the author has tried to reveal facts so that the audience of this book is not hard-pressed to figure out why these scientists hold such views but accept the reality through true factual information. Through his expertise and a clear understanding of the fact that many authors hold much stronger, more definite views on this subject, Firor has tried to understand the public anxiety and fear about the question stated above and has made amends to fill the gap between official reports presented on media and the unofficial worries of the general public. In this book, he has proposed an agenda for resolving the various problems caused by the slowly decaying environment. The book starts off on a very calm note, growing towards being reasonably readable and ends on a very challenging and a thought provoking note making us realize that the simplest and the smallest things in nature can prove to be very significant and make a great difference to our daily life and our planet. Firor does an admirable and an effective job of bringing to light, the major driving forces behind the drastic global climatic changes. He discusses the issues and their fundamental aspects at a national and a global level and the various courses of desirable actions to address them. A solution in terms of a human approach and a choice of future path has been illustrated and conveyed to us very pragmatically by Firor.
Over the years, scientists have, of course, spotted other activities that needed to be reduced such as emission of gases causing acid rain, for example, and the use of chlorofluorocarbons that damage the protective ozone layer in the stratosphere. In those instances, however, after a period of scientific controversy about the reality and seriousness of the problem, a period of industry claims that the science was defective, a later period of industry whining about how much it would cost to do anything and a period of governmental hesitation for reducing the felonious activities was achieved. Through a general cause-effect analysis, the author takes a very interesting yet a simple approach on this matter through illustrations of straightforward graphs to explain the relationships between acid rains, ozone depletion and global warming by identifying the underlying primary details. This book astonishingly yet plainly suggests that the growing human intelligence has lead to reach this dilemma where in the era of self gratification has ended and it is time for us to start thinking about saving ourselves from this ongoing crisis. Firor's language is down to earth, and easy to understand. He has a well-balanced approach to certain ideas that is understandable by a reader, and his theory should appeal to academics as well as the general public. He has given us a simple, frightening picture of the dramatic consequences of climate change, then pulls apart our lifestyle and looks at the practical possibilities of doing things differently.
In an accessible language, Firor has discussed the major changes in the earth's atmosphere that is facing severe challenges from acid rain, ozone depletion, and global warming. He suggests that the sulphur and nitrogen emissions into the atmosphere have lead to acid rain; the release of chlorofluorocarbons into the air has lead to the destruction of ozone, and the emissions of GHG have trapped infrared gases that have restricted a substantial amount of radiation loss from the earth's atmosphere leading to global warming. Firor also describes energy systems that are both inexpensive and free of greenhouse gas emissions. He also gives advice on personal steps that can be taken to reduce emissions and offers tips on lobbying for emission reduction policies. The atmosphere has always been fluctuating. However, in the last few years the tribulations of atmospheric change have been fatally worsened by pollution. In this book, an extensive research conducted on the atmospheric conditions by Firor, describes the causes of acid rain, ozone depletion, and global warming and the evidence for the rate at which these issues have accelerated in the past few decades. He presents some feasible and long-term suggestions for controlling these and other forms of atmospheric deterioration. These suggestions are very valid and make the reader understand the intensity of the natural damages that have been done. This initiates contemplation amongst the various readers as to how they can improve their day to day activity.
Firor has then provided an intelligent step-by-step explanation on how the rise in human activities since centuries has given rise to the current environmental conditions. He talks about the origin of the "big three" issues. In the second chapter, Firor has mentioned "Angus Smith", an author who published a book in 1872 called Air and Rain: The Beginnings of a Chemical Climatology, in which he described twenty years of field observations and research on the problem to which he gave the name "acid rain". Example of how the infamous Copper Hill in Tennessee came into being where all the surrounding environment and ecosystem was destroyed due to sulphur fumes generated from the smelter when copper was discovered in the area has been cleverly brought to light. The reader may know about the barren land near Tennessee but after reading about the Copper Hill, they will also know how it all started. The various examples used in the book give the reader a gist of how the environmental damage has slowly increased over time. The author doesn't impose his thoughts on us, but clearly points out that when the humans discover an opportunity to grow economically, we rush to it without giving much thought to the initial damage that we do in our very lives. Firor argues that we cannot completely halt the various activities to stop the release of chemicals into the atmosphere, but suggests certain economical and viable options to control air pollution. He describes these strategies, cautioning that they must be coordinated with a larger goal of lessening the total impact human activities have on the earth. According to Firor, we can work toward this goal by attempting to bring about a stabilization of the human population in the developed as well as the developing world, in order to protect forests. We should encourage the use of modern energy-efficient technology in Third World countries and the Western countries, and reduce poverty worldwide.
John Firor, has done an excellent job in determining all the non-technical aspects of the deteriorating environment and has gone ahead and answered the one question that has been lingering on for decades - "Are we in trouble or not?" This book will help the reader develop a good judgment and understanding of the human actions that have led to this fatal environmental condition. Firor has gone ahead to make us realize that there is an answer to that question; however, it becomes difficult over the years to truly understand the intensity of the initial damage that was already done. Hence, at this point, we as individuals need not look for an answer from the scientists and the researchers, but re-evaluate our actions on a day to day basis and develop a symbiotic relationship with our surrounding environment to protect it. Overall, this book can be highly recommended, either as a contribution to public understanding of the current status of climate change science or as a helpful description of the current ongoing international negotiations and debates that are searching for a consensus on how and on what time scale should the world begin the process of reducing emissions of climate-changing gases which could ultimately lead to our end.
