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A Brief History of Climate Folly

Brief Description
What to do about the climate? If emissions reduction is too hard and too slow, maybe science can engineer a solution? It turns out this line of thinking is as old as humanity. From shamanism to cloud-seeding to Cold-War plans to nuke the Arctic ice cap,... Read More
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An outrageous history of dreamers and schemers who wanted to change the climate, from one of Australia's most recognised names in nature writing

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What to do about the climate? If emissions reduction is too hard and too slow, maybe science can engineer a solution?

It turns out this line of thinking is as old as humanity. From shamanism to cloud-seeding to Cold-War plans to nuke the Arctic ice cap, humans have been trying – or claiming – to influence the weather for millennia.

In this entertaining overview of history’s grandest and silliest attempts at climate change, Tim and Emma Flannery address a very serious question: can we do better in the Anthropocene?

After all, our lives depend on it.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781923058965

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 June 2026

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 192

About the Author

Tim Flannery is a paleontologist, an explorer, a conservationist and a leading writer on climate change. His books include the award-winning international bestseller The Weather Makers, and Here on Earth, Atmosphere of Hope and Europe: The First 100 Million Years, as well as his previous collaboration with his daughter, Emma Flannery, Big Meg.

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  • An Explorer's Notebook
    An Explorer's Notebook is a fascinating and exhilarating selection of Tim Flannery's essays and articles written over two decades. In them, we see his evolution from the young scientist conducting fieldwork in remote locations to the influential commentator on climate change. His bestselling book The Weather Makers has inspired readers around the world. Flannery celebrates the wonders of the natural...
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    A decade after his internationally bestselling The Weather Makers, acclaimed scientist and author Tim Flannery argues that Earth's climate system is approaching a crisis. Catastrophe is not inevitable, but time is fast running out. Atmosphere of Hope provides both a snapshot of the trouble we are in and an up-to-the-minute analysis of some of the new possibilities for mitigating climate...
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    It is hard to overstate just how unusual Europe was towards the end of the age of the dinosaurs. It was a dynamic island arc whose individual landmasses were made up of diverse geological types, including ancient continental fragments, raised segments of oceanic crust, and land newly minted by volcanic activity. Yet even at this early stage, Europe was exerting...
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