The forecast for Earth is in, and it’s not
good. So writes Cullen, a climatologist
formerly of the Weather Channel, in
her new book subtitled Heat Waves,
Extreme Storms, and Other Scenes from
a Climate-Changed Planet. If trends
continue, she says, by the middle of
this century — a mere 40 years from
now — no place on Earth will experience
the same weather that it does today.
In the first part of this provocative
book, Cullen recounts the near century-long history of weather prediction and
how that science serves as the foundation for modern climate projections.
Climate simulations, she points out,
rely on the same laws of physics used in
weather forecasts and give scientists the
closest tool they have to a crystal ball.
Cullen then draws on recent research
to conjure an image of future climate
for seven locales that could be especially
hard-hit. Models suggest that in densely
populated, low-lying Bangladesh, for
example, rising sea levels will boost
storm surges and flood coasts, submerging as much as a quarter of the nation
and driving millions to become climate
refugees. And in Australia, warmer
water temperatures and acidifying seas
could kill corals in large parts of the
Great Barrier Reef, which attracts more
feedback
Music on the mind
Common experience confirms that
music serves language (“A mind for
music,” SN: 8/14/10, p. 17). A person
unfamiliar with, say, the musical South
Pacific has only to listen to its songs a
few times to sing the lyrics from memory. Another who tries to memorize
the lyrics by just hearing them recited
a few times will not succeed nearly as
well. Now, why?
H. Charles Romesburg, Logan, Utah
Thanks for the special issue on music.
Does music soothe the savage breast?
I can’t say, but I’m pretty sure it has
played a large role in keeping me (a life-
than 2 million tourists and boosts local
economies by about $6.9 billion a year.
Much of the blame for these changes
can be pinned on humans, Cullen
argues. No climate model that includes
only natural influences like solar vari-
ability and volcanic eruptions — not a
single one — yields results that match
actual temperature trends of the past
century. Only if heat-
trapping carbon
dioxide emissions
are included can the
observed climate be
reproduced.
For people to avoid
a dismal climate
future, Cullen’s pre-
scription is to trust climate forecasts
and substantially trim carbon dioxide
emissions, beginning soon. In the mean-
time, places that will be most affected by
climate change would do well to begin
adapting to a new and warmer climate.
If you don’t start sandbagging until flood
waters are up to your waist, she warns,
it’s already too late. — Sid Perkins
Harper, 2010, 329 p., $25.99.
How to Order To order these books or others,
visit www.sciencenews.org/bookshelf. A click on
a book’s title will transfer you to Amazon.com.
Sales generated through these links contribute
to Society for Science & the Public’s programs
to build interest in and understanding of science.
long musician) sane for the last 25 years
of incarceration, and it serves the entire
prison community by keeping dozens
of creative, purpose-lacking minds
occupied with an activity that keeps us
largely out of further trouble. As Ian
Cross mentioned (“Whatever music
is, it’s a basic part of being human,”
SN: 8/14/10, p. 36), music programs in
schools often get the ax when money’s
tight. Angered parents sometimes look
for an opportunity to pass along the
misfortune. Here in Pennsylvania state
prisons, the authorities recently decided
to end all music programs, even though
funding came exclusively from profits
earned by selling inmates munchies and
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cosmetics. Luckily, inmates may still
buy and keep personal guitars and keyboards, purchase radios and borrow cassette tapes from the library. It might be
interesting for some sociologist to study
the difference a lack of formal music
programming has on the correctional
environment that used to have band
room access. Keep up the great work.
Not only do I love your magazine, but so
do the uncounted guys to whom it gets
passed when I’m done.
Paul Schlueter III, Dallas, Pa.
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