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Language: English
The award winning climate scientist Michael E. Mann and the Pulitzer Prize–winning political cartoonist Tom Toles have fought at the frontlines of climate denialism for most of their careers. They have witnessed the manipulation of the media by business and political interests and the unconscionable play to partisanship on issues that affect the well-being of millions. The lessons they have learned have been invaluable, inspiring this brilliant, colourful escape hatch from the madhouse of the climate wars.
Through satire, The Madhouse Effect portrays the intellectual pretzels into which denialists must twist logic to explain away the clear evidence that man-made activity has changed our climate. Toles's cartoons collapse counter-scientific strategies into their biased components, helping readers see how to best strike at these fallacies. Mann's expert skills at science communication aim to restore sanity to a debate that continues to rage against widely acknowledged scientific consensus. The synergy of these two commonsense crusaders enlivens the gloom and doom of so many climate-themed books – and may even convert a few of the faithful to the right side of science.
Preface: Why We Wrote This Book
Acknowledgments
1. Science: How It Works
2. Climate Change: The Basics
3. Why Should I Give a Damn?
4. The Stages of Denial
5. The War on Climate Science
6. Hypocrisy—Thy Name Is Climate Change Denial
7. Geoengineering, or "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?"
8. A Path Forward
Notes
Index
Michael E. Mann is Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science and director of the Earth Systems Science Center at Penn State University. He is the author of The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines (2012) and a fellow of the American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Tom Toles is the Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist of the Washington Post. He has a particular interest in climate-change science and has worked consistently to advance understanding on this subject, including its political context, since the 1980s.
"For centuries, powerful forces of greed have tried to hide the truth, but that doesn't change reality – the earth is round and climate change is very real. The Madhouse Effect brilliantly dissects the climate denial industry, empowering all of us to see the facts and take action before it's too late."
– Leonardo DiCaprio
"Michael Mann is one of the planet's great climate scientists, and Tom Toles may be the great climate communicator – together they are a Category 5 storm of information and indignation, wreaking humorous havoc on those who would deny the greatest challenge humans have ever faced."
– Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org
"Mann and Toles are uniquely qualified to lampoon the disconnect between our national politics and how reasonable people at the local, state and regional level – as well as their counterparts in other countries – are rolling their sleeves up and actually dealing with climate change."
– Aaron Huertas, Senior Washington Director, Cater Communications; ScienceCommunicationMedia.com
"If you are not concerned about climate change yet, please read this book. If you are unaware of the hard-core deniers among us, read this book. If you are a climate change denier, doubter, techno-fixer, or luke-warmer, read this book. Mann and Toles have written some words and drawn some pictures for you, so maybe you'll get it this time."
– Bill Nye, "the Science Guy"
"When giving public talks, I am often asked, "What do I do about my Uncle Joe, who doesn't believe in climate change?" Now I finally have an answer: Buy him a copy of The Madhouse Effect and tell him you won't talk to him until he has read it. Even if he doesn't read it, he'll look at the pictures, and that might just be enough."
– Naomi Oreskes, Harvard University
"Brilliant, insightful, and fresh! Two gifted experts – one a scientist, the other an editorial cartoonist – invite you to be entertained and outraged, inspired and motivated to escape the madhouse that characterizes climate dialogue and politics today. New and hilarious insights into climate change. I loved it!"
– Jane Lubchenco, former administrator of NOAA and undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere
"Concise and fiercely illustrated."
– Scientific American
"A breezy, engaging read [...] If tackling climate change is indeed a war, then Mann and Toles have certainly earned their stripes."
– Nature
"[A] brilliant, colorful escape hatch form the madhouse of the climate wars [...] [The Madhouse Effect] may even convert die-hard doubters to the side of sound science."
– Yale Climate Connections
"The best of both worlds: an illustrated compendium of horrifying science that also provides a few laughs."
– Lit / Rant
" Recommended."
– Choice
"It is a good primer for high school students on climate change and why we should care about it, and the "whys," "hows," and "whos" of the denial industry."
– Green Teacher
