Poles Apart: Beyond the Shouting, Who's Right About Climate Change?

by Gareth Morgan, John McCrystal

Gareth Morgan couldn't decide whether he believed in climate change or not, so he hired the best international scientists to answer his questions and these are his findings. Combined with anecdotes from his own recent trips to Antarctica and the Arctic this is something completely unique in books about climate change - somebody who has approached the topic with an open mind, somebody who has the resources to explore such a topic and somebody who has personally investigated all of the issues. So what was his conclusion? Read the book to find out. In conjunction with excellent researcher and writer Dr John McCrystal, this is an accessible and fascinating exploration of one of the biggest topics of the 21st century. This book defines climate change, explains the science of taking the earth's temperature, looks at the respective cases of the alarmists and the sceptics, examines the anecdotal evidence and the politics of this dialogue, and then comes to a conclusion based on all this research.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Environment, Climate Change

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 2009

About the author

Gareth Morgan is a New Zealand businessman, economist, investment manager, motor cycle adventurer, author, public commentator and philanthropist.

Gareth and his wife Jo are passionate motorcycle travellers and have written 5 titles on their various trips which have taken them around the world. The first, "Silk riders" which took them from Europe to Asia following in the footsteps of Marco Polo, also resulted in a documentary. Gareth and Jo blog about their travel at http://worldbybike.com

Gareth is also the author of a series of books that scrutinise the spending of public money on various public services, including health, tax and welfare, and sustainability issues like fishing and climate change. Gareth publishes a blog on these topics at http://garethsworld.com

Gareth and Jo are UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors.

Reviews

[Stein Til]

I read this to understand why anyone in their right mind would doubt or deny climate-change. Basically the book is a description of how the authors convert themselves from deniers to approvers. Not a fascinating read, a bit outdated, but certainly has a place in the history of people's thought processes around the topic in New Zealand and elsewhere.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aimed at 'the general public' this is an excellent & relentlessly open-minded evaluation of climate science on the issue of human-caused climate change (based on the balance of evidence as at end 2008). And yes, the evaluation concludes we should be concerned. Gareth Morgan is an economist noted for forming his views independently and skeptically, and if he's convinced we need to take the issue of climate change seriously...well then we all should be - with due awareness of the inherent uncertainties of the evolving science, and the challenges of developing the best policies in the face of that uncertainty (though it is worth noting that most of the risk seems to be on the - scary - up-side, suggesting a precautionary approach is sensible).

[Lindsay Eaton]

I really liked the concept of this book and was looking forward to discovering Gareth's conclusion. He has a lot of kudos in NZ, and I figured that if his analysis of the research showed that climate change was for real, then I'd be pretty convinced as well. But I found the book a really hard read - too much science for me - and actually gave up about 2/3 of the way through. I was on holiday, supposed to be enjoying myself, and didn' t find the book an enjoyable experience. Life is too short...!! So I didn't read chapter 8 where all is revealed and so will probably never know what conclusion he came to.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gareth Morgan gives an in depth and unbiased look at the arguments of 'the deniers' 'the sceptics' and 'the alarmists'. What I now understand is that there are many unanswered questions about 'climate'. After reading this book, I have now shifted my view from being somewhere between a sceptic and a denier to somewhere between a sceptic and an alarmist. I recommend that you read it, (Michael).

[Malvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good and easy read on anthropogenic global warming with facts and theories from the alarmists and sceptics, and how the debate is inevitably linked to politics.