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The parrot and the igloo : climate and the science of denial
2023
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Explores how "anti-science" became so virulent in American life through a history of climate denial and its consequences. - (Baker & Taylor)

Starring heroes, villains, pioneers and con artists, this dramatic narrative of the long, strange march of climate science masterfully traces the evolution of climate denial, which grew out of early efforts to build a network of untruth about products like aspirin and cigarettes. - (Baker & Taylor)

New York TimesThe Parrot and the IglooWith narrative sweep and a superb eye for character, Lipsky unfolds the dramatic narrative of the long, strange march of climate science. The story begins with a tale of three inventors—Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla—who made our technological world, not knowing what they had set into motion. Then there are the scientists who sounded the alarm once they identified carbon dioxide as the culprit of our warming planet. And we meet the hucksters, zealots, and crackpots who lied about that science and misled the public in ever more outrageous ways. Lipsky masterfully traces the evolution of climate denial, exposing how it grew out of early efforts to build a network of untruth about products like aspirin and cigarettes.The Parrot and the Igloo - (WW Norton)

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Although Of Course You End Up Becoming YourselfTimeSalon— Michael Schaub, National Public RadioNew YorkNewsweekWall Street Journal— Rachel Syme, National Public Radio (Best Books of the Year)Absolutely AmericanNew York Times Book Review— Tom BrokawNewsweekTimeWashington Post Book WorldEntertainment Weekly - (WW Norton)

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Booklist Reviews

This tome by award-winning author Lipsky takes the reader on a journey through the evolution of climate-change denial—including how cancer-denial strategies and lobbying by tobacco companies paved the way for its brand of scientific obfuscation—and how it has prevented legislative action. Lipsky covers the science of climate change itself, starting with the discovery of the greenhouse effect in 1824. In 1956, scientist Roger Revelle wrote a piece for Time magazine that confirmed that burning fossil fuel increases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the results over time cause climate change. Sadly, even in 1965, the Washington Post postulated why no action on climate change would occur when it stated that it is not owing to lack of knowledge but inability to turn knowledge into effective public action." The major deniers would ultimately fall by the wayside, but the lack of response persists. With the amount of research that went into this book, this can be considered the historical record to date on climate action and inaction. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.

Library Journal Reviews

A National Magazine Award—winning, New York Times best-selling author, Lipsky explains how antiscience sentiment became so strong in the United States by focusing on climate change denial. He lays bare the science of climate change, understood decades ago, then shows how fake news about products like aspirin created the tools for denier ideas to take hold.

Copyright 2022 Library Journal.

Table of Contents

Preface xiii
PART ONE INVENTORS
The Message
3(9)
The Hustler
12(12)
The Promise
24(8)
The Electrician
32(8)
The Jubilee
40(13)
PART TWO SCIENTISTS
The Wayward Wind
53(10)
The Soda Machine
63(7)
The Tire Prints and the Smoke Menace
70(3)
The Geophysical Experiment
73(7)
The Overwhelming Desire
80(6)
The Fine Noses
86(9)
The Moles
95(5)
The Brakes and the Indian
100(8)
The Yamal and the Fence--Come North with Me
108(9)
The Global Computer Model
117(4)
The Wood Chips and the Malaise
121(8)
The Frog
129(5)
The Unwarranted and Alarmist Report
134(5)
The Undoing of Thomas Midgley
139(8)
The Undoing II--Red Days
147(5)
The Home of Donna Reed
152(7)
The Pirate
159(10)
The Pilot Lights and Somebody's World
169(8)
Mark Mills
177(18)
PART THREE DENIERS
Old Judge, or Tobacco Killed a Cat
195(6)
Stockings and Chairs
201(3)
Genetics
204(5)
A Scientific Gymnastic Feat
209(5)
Wall of Flesh
214(4)
Simple Annihilation
218(8)
First Class
226(7)
Philosophers and Priests
233(3)
Counterblaste
236(7)
A Czarina Enjoys the Corporate Christmas Party
243(7)
S
250(5)
Emperor of the Universe
255(7)
Who Digested the Scientists?
262(9)
Millions of Guinea Pigs
271(8)
Dinosaurs
279(5)
Committee on the Care of Children
284(8)
An Exceptional Case
292(5)
"Arthur Robinson Is a Good Scientist"--Arthur Robinson
297(9)
Arthur and the World
306(7)
Jason Bourne's Crestfallen Itinerary
313(9)
An Unexpected Gift
322(8)
Editing Turns the Mild into Weather Gods
330(11)
ASS and Chair
341(13)
Glengarry Glen Monckton
354(15)
The Business Cards and the Straight Noodle
369(36)
EPILOGUE: THE PARROT AND THE IGLOO
The Igloo
405(46)
The Parrot
451(22)
Acknowledgments 473(6)
A Note on the Sources 479

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