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| 0063028050
| 9780063028050
| 0063028050
| 3.83
| 17,935
| Oct 27, 2021
| Nov 16, 2021
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really liked it
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This is a fun book about a plan to combat global warming in the near future. All sorts of climate catastrophes are happening, so a small group of peop
This is a fun book about a plan to combat global warming in the near future. All sorts of climate catastrophes are happening, so a small group of people (vigilantes?) have decided to take it upon themselves to fix the problem. Their approach? Climate engineering. This is a rambling, happy-go-lucky sort of story. Like many of Neal Stephenson's fiction, the best part isnotnecessarily the overall plot, or even the characters. The best part is the arrangement of a few scenes. In these remarkable scenes, crazy things happen that border on the absurd, practically surreal. It's almost like a long, drawn-out joke that is calculated to have an amazing punch line. Stephenson takes his time to build up the background behind these scenes, and then unleashes them into a spectacular trajectory. I love it! And, what is "Termination Shock"? That is a potential downside of climate engineering. What happens if people perform climate engineering for a while, successfully counteract the greenhouse effect -- and then pull the plug? That is called "Termination Shock". ...more |
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May 18, 2022
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May 28, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1846688914
| 9781846688911
| 1846688914
| 3.92
| 2,641
| May 13, 2010
| May 13, 2010
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really liked it
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If you are concerned about climate change, and your contribution to the production of greenhouses gasses--then this is the book for you. Just about ev
If you are concerned about climate change, and your contribution to the production of greenhouses gasses--then this is the book for you. Just about every product, every behavior, every activity, is put into perspective. The author estimates, to the best of his ability, how big the contribution is, to one's carbon footprint. Of course, some things contribute toward other greenhouse gasses--like methane, for instance--and these are converted into equivalent carbon footprints. What sorts of activities are included in the estimates? Things like spam email, regular mail, drying ones hands with a paper towel, with a Dyson Airblade, or a standard electric dryer. There are some surprises here; disposal diapers are no worse than reusable diapers! Estimating a carbon footprint is far from an exact science. Many assumptions are made, in the face of a great range of diversity. The book is very helpful in converting carbon footprints into perspective, like driving a certain number of miles in a car. For example, two people bicycling a mile while powered by cheeseburgers is equivalent to two people driving a mile in an efficient car. But if the bicyclists are powered by bananas or a breakfast cereal, then a bicycle is ten times more carbon efficient than the most efficient gas-powered car! A dishwasher beats washing dishes by hand. The book emphasizes that a carbon footprint should not be the only factoer in one's life decisions. Other values are also important. For example, plastic bags contribute negligibly to one's carbon footrint, but can be bad for the environment. Another example is traveling by train. A car fully loaded with passengers is more carbon efficient (on a per-person basis) than a fully-loaded train. However, trains are faster and much safer. Then there is the rebound effect. When somethiong becomes cheaper to do, we do more of it so that it doesn't really become cheaper. (An example of this is computers vs. paper.) So, when some product becomes more carbon efficient, we might tend to use more of it, more than making up for dropping a less efficient product. I was impressed by the categorization of carbon footprints by sectors of the economy. For the UK, domestic energy contributes 22%; cars are 15%; food and drink 20%; air travel 17%; construction 6%, and public administration, defense, education and health care 11! toward the total national carbon footprint. The book is already 12 years old (published in 2010), so that many estimates are probably out of date. However, I am not aware of any other publication that so nicely puts all these estimates together, in a convenient reference. The book is fun to read, and describes many surprising aspects of carbon footprints. Highly recommended for all climate activists. ...more |
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2
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Jan 10, 2022
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Jan 20, 2022
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Paperback
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| 0691166838
| 9780691166834
| 0691166838
| 4.21
| 1,725
| Oct 02, 2017
| Oct 24, 2017
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really liked it
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Rome was once the biggest empire in the world. Why did it end? I had always been under the impression that the root cause was insurrections, revolts,
Rome was once the biggest empire in the world. Why did it end? I had always been under the impression that the root cause was insurrections, revolts, and invasions by surrounding tribes. Well, yes, but why were these enemies so successful, against the biggest, baddest armies of the Roman empire? The answer is that the Roman defeats did not occur overnight. They occurred over the course of centuries. Kyle Harper, the book's author, makes a very good case that the Roman empire was battered by pandemics and climate change. Hmmm... sound familiar? Rome is well known for building then-state-of-the-art roads over long distances. After all, we have the well-known saying, "All roads lead to Rome". Rome's bread-basket was Egypt, along the Nile River. Long-distance transportation and communication across the vast empire was unprecedented in history. But there were consequences. Local outbreaks of epidemics in the outskirts of the empire soon spread as pandemics across huge swaths. These pandemics sometimes decimated the population, including the Roman legions. On top of the pandemics were droughts. At the beginning of the Roman empire, the Mediterranean region was more humid and cooler than it is today. Climate change induced aridification, and the result was occasional droughts that lasted years. These changes also affected the Rome's ability to field enormous armies across its entire empire. The author notes that the real wonder, is how Rome lasted as long as it did. Multiple pandemics and droughts took their tolls, but the empire was amazingly robust. Towards the end, some really incompetent (and evil) emperors did their part, too, in ending the reign of Rome. The book is also very interesting, due to the science that Kyle Harper adds. The details of the climate changes are deeply interwoven with the science of climate. This applies also to the pandemics and diseases. The book dives deeply into the science of medicine and the germs and medical practices of Rome. So, while this is primarily a history book, it is also quite immersed in science. The author is a professor and professional historian. While the book is fascinating, the style of writing is EXTREMELY dry. It is a history book for historians and science historians, probably not for the general public. ...more |
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1
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Sep 02, 2021
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Sep 19, 2021
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Hardcover
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| 1538719983
| 9781538719985
| 1538719983
| 4.51
| 30,342
| Oct 01, 2020
| Oct 06, 2020
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it was amazing
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David Attenborough is a natural historian and a broadcaster. He produced a large number of films about life on earth, ecology, and natural history. Hi
David Attenborough is a natural historian and a broadcaster. He produced a large number of films about life on earth, ecology, and natural history. His book"A Life on our Planet"is a summary of what he has seen around the world. It is not a biography or even a memoir. The book summarizes the various ecological problems faced by the human population. The first half of the book is--depressing. It lists the numerous problems, and tries to quantify the seriousness of each. A group ofEarth Systemscientists developed a model of planetary boundaries. They classified the ecological problems into nine categories: 1) Climate change* 2) Ocean acidification 3) Chemical pollution 4) Fertilizer use* 5) Freshwater withdrawals 6) Land conversion* 7) Biodiversity loss* 8) Air pollution 9) Ozone layer depletion The four categories marked by an asterisk are the most serious; they are currently beyond the boundary of a "safe operating space". Attenborough goes into some detail about the most pressing of these environmental problems. Reading the first two parts of the book, I got very depressed. It is a pessimistic outlook, showing how serious these problems are, and how difficult they will be to overcome. The third part of the book is more optimistic. It describes the efforts currently underway to mitigate the ecological problems. These include reduction of the carbon footprint, changes toward renewable energy, re-wilding of farms, developed lands and the oceans, and putting human population growth into a sustainable trajectory. The book begins and ends with a description of Pripyat in the Ukraine. This model city was evacuated after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The city is now abandoned, and is being "re-wilded". Buildings sag under the weight of new vegetation, as the city has become the home to foxes, elk, deer, wild boar, bison, brown bear and racoon dogs. This is a depressing vision of what the world could become, were humans to become extinct due to our self-induced environmental catastrophes. [image] This book is short, and is an easy read. I highly recommend it to everyone who lives on Earth. ...more |
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Jul 28, 2021
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Jul 28, 2021
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Hardcover
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| 0544192222
| 9780544192225
| 0544192222
| 3.97
| 2,289
| Jun 07, 2016
| Jun 07, 2016
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it was amazing
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This fascinating book describes how parasites may change our reasoning, behavioral patterns, social behaviors, and even our politics. These parsites r
This fascinating book describes how parasites may change our reasoning, behavioral patterns, social behaviors, and even our politics. These parsites range from single-celled organisms to larger ones like worms. The book shows a multitude of ways that harmful microbes can change insect behavior, sometimes resulting in infecting humans and causing severe illness. There is an amazing anecdote about a French biologist who tried desperately to get enough grant money to travel, at great expense, to New Zealand. He went there to find a parasite work that drives crickets to jump into water (they can't swim). He went there and came up almost empty handed. Then he found out that about 80 miles from where he lived, hundreds of crickets every night were driven into a swimming pool by that same parasite! It is amazing how a certain wasp injects venom into a roach and pacifies it. Then the wasp walks the roach to its burrow, like a dog! The roach is much bigger than the wasp, and the wasp doesn't have to waste energy dragging it. A cat parasite named T. gondii can also infect people. People can catch it by contact with cats, cat litter, unwashed vegetables, gardening, and undercooked meat. It infects the brain, and can cause subtle behavioral changes. It may even trigger schizophrenia in some genetically-sensitive people. Infected people are more prone to traffic and industrial accidents. In rats, the microbe induces "fatal feline attraction." Anti-psychotic medication given to rats can prevent this condition! People given flu vaccinations may become more social. This may be true for other virus infections, as well. This does not bode well for Covid-19 infections, for which, before symptoms arise, may draw people to become more social and spread the virus further. Experiments with young mice in a sterile environment suggest that microbiota in the gut shape the wiring of the brain, and strongly suggest an influence on personality. Bacteria in the gut seem to do this by stimulating the vagus nerve, which connects the digestive system and the brain. There is evidence that probiotics--fermented foods--can be helpful in many ways. In a chapter called "The Forgotten Emotion", there is a fascinating discussion about disgust. It is so interesting to learn the reasonswhywe are disgusted by certain things. Why are earthworms, rats, cockroaches, acne, and even seaweed are considered disgusting. Why is vomiting contagious? Many of these disgusts are influenced by evolution. Our aversions to parasites and disgusting things translate into everyday behaviors, including bigotry and political views. Ancient Mosaic Law "correctly identifies the main sources of infection as vermin, insects, corpses, bodily fluids, food (especially meat), sexual behaviors, sick people, and other contaminated people or things. It implies that the underlying source of infection is usually invisible and can be spread by the slightest physical contact. And it prescribes effective methods of disinfection, such as hand washing, bathing, sterilization by fire, boiling soap, and quarantining." In the book's last chapter, there is an interesting hypothesis that explains a correlation between collectivism with levels of infectious diseases and parasites. This correlation exists on an international level, and also within the US on a regional level. This hypothesis explains regional levels of religiosity, intermarriage, political persuasions, and certain personality traits. Obviously, the book's title is taken from the once-famous commercial against drug use. A man holds up an egg and says "This is your brain". Then he points to a frying pan and says "This is drugs." He cracks the egg into the hot frying pan and says "This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?" This is a short book that shows a multitude of ways in which parasites can alter our thinking and our behavior. Some of these behaviors are actually helpful, while many are harmful. I enjoyed reading the book, as it gives a lot of insight into the reasons for some types of behaviors--and how to avoid the harmful behaviors. ...more |
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not set
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Dec 11, 2020
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Dec 11, 2020
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Hardcover
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| 0374280002
| 9780374280000
| 0374280002
| 3.69
| 16,309
| Aug 26, 2019
| Sep 17, 2019
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it was amazing
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This short book by Jonathan Safran Foer is a very personal look at the strategies for mitigating climate change. He lists the various human activities
This short book by Jonathan Safran Foer is a very personal look at the strategies for mitigating climate change. He lists the various human activities that contribute to climate change. He then comes up with the single-most important item on the list, that everybody can immediately help with. That factor is switching from an omnivorous diet to a plant-based diet. It is easy, cheap, and does not require politicians to get off their collective ass to solve the problem. Foer argues compellingly, all the ways that raising and eating meat, poultry and dairy products contribute to climate change. It's not just that meat and dairy products consume much more energy and water resources. It is also the vast amount of methane produced by cattle; Methane is an order-of-magnitude more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, in contributing to global warming. I strongly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in immediately reducing the problem of climate change. It is not particularly well-written, in that Foer goes off on tangents about his personal soul-searching. Nevertheless, I give it a 5-star rating because the message is extremely important. I didn't read this book--I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author. Foer is okay as a reader, and he gives the book a nice personal touch, as it is written in the first person. ...more |
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Jul 19, 2020
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Jul 30, 2020
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Hardcover
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| 0241009413
| 9780241009413
| 0241009413
| 4.33
| 299
| May 24, 2016
| Feb 28, 2017
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it was amazing
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This is a marvelous, short book by the leading expert on the Arctic. Peter Wadhams interleaves his own participation in research experiments with his
This is a marvelous, short book by the leading expert on the Arctic. Peter Wadhams interleaves his own participation in research experiments with his narrative on climate change. He shows his own private viewpoint, and is extremely troubled by the impending catastrophes that climate change will bring. The climate record shows periodicities every 100,000 years or so. Temperature, carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) concentrations show a sawtooth pattern. Each period shows a sharp upswing followed by a gradual decay. The reason for this is that it is far easier to melt away an ice sheet than to grow a new one. Some people argue that human-caused warming will prevent the next ice age, and that is good. The problem is, we are on track to overshoot, and exceed the fastest warming in the Earth's history. When CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere rose from 180 to 250 ppm between glacial and interlacial ages, temperatures rose by 6 degrees Centigrade. Extrapolating to a doubling in CO2 concentration, equilibrium temperatures should increase by 7.8 degrees C. This hasn't happened yet, because the ocean absorbs much of the heat. So warming is slow, but even if CO2 stabilizes, temperatures would continue to rise for a while. While global temperatures have risen by about 0.8 degrees C in the last 100 years, temperatures in the Arctic have risen 2.4 degrees C. The Arctic is a bellweather for the future of the planet. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projected a sea level rise to the year 2100, but underestimated the rise from several mechanisms. They did not include glacier melt, and their linear extrapolation into the future ignored various feedback loops that will lead to a nonlinear increase in sea level. Sea and land ice are melting at an exponential rate. One of the greatest immediate risks to the human race is the release of Arctic seabed methane. Before 2005, Arctic shelf waters were shielded by year-round ice cover. Now these waters are ice-free in the summer, and the water is warming up above the melting point. This is an entirely new situation. This is observed to coincide with a sudden release of methane, which 23 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas! Ironically, the oil industry could ameliorate this problem by drilling a network of wells covering the East Siberian Sea. The thawing of terrestrial permafrost will release even more methane, but more slowly. Wadhams explains why climate change brings more extreme weather events. He discusses various approaches to ameliorate the impending catastrophes; carbon extraction from the atmosphere, the use of thorium nuclear reactors, and geo-engineering approaches. And he talks about the motivations for climate change deniers. This is an important book on the subject of climate change. It is a complicated subject, but Wadhams explains the physical mechanisms very well, but the narration remains throughout at the level of an informed, non-scientific reader. My only criticism concerns a short digression into his radical view of international politics. ...more |
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Dec 16, 2019
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Dec 17, 2019
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Hardcover
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| 0525576703
| 9780525576709
| 0525576703
| 4.01
| 28,091
| Feb 19, 2019
| Feb 19, 2019
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it was amazing
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This is an exceptional, must-read book about the prognosis for our planet Earth. The prognosis is not a happy one--it is truly depressing. If things c
This is an exceptional, must-read book about the prognosis for our planet Earth. The prognosis is not a happy one--it is truly depressing. If things continue at the present pace, by 2100, temperatures will rise by more than 4C. Large parts of Africa, Australia, the United States, South America, and Asia will become uninhabitable. The U.N.Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a very conservative group, and considers only the most recent, inarguable research. They state that if we act very soon, and immediately implement all of the agreements made in Paris, we will likely get 3.2C of warming. The planet's ice sheets will collapse. A hundred major cities around the world will be flooded. To date, not a single industrial nation has achieved the pledges made in the Paris climate treaty. To get us down to 2C of warming requires that nations over-shoot their pledges. President Trump's withdrawal from the treaty may be perversely productive-- "it seems to have mobilized China--giving Xi Jinping an opportunity and an enticement to adopt a much more aggressive posture toward climate." Of course, China is all talk so far; of all countries, it now has the largest carbon footprint. It has half of the planet's coal power capacity, and its emissions increased 4% in the first three months of 2018. Globally, coal power has nearly doubled since 2000. As carbon dioxide levels rise, so too does it make plants grow bigger, containing more sugars. But nutrients in plants do not increase proportionately. So, it dilutes nutrients in our food supply. Since 1950, the good nutrients in plants--such as protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin C--have declined by one third. Everything becomes more like junk food. The last time the earth was 4C warmer, there was no ice at either pole, sea level was 260 feet higher, and there were palm trees in the Arctic. Near the equator; not pleasant. Peter Wadhams (a scientist I have had the pleasure of working with!) estimated that the reduction of the albedo effect (ice reflects sunlight back into space) could generate the equivalent to 25 years of global carbon emissions. Wildfires in California are increasing in number and intensity. American wildfires now burn twice as much land as in 1970. Fires are even increasing in northern regions, like Greenland, Sweden, and Finland. Globally, deforestation accounts for 12% of carbon emissions, and forest fires, 25%. So it seems to me, that fires are a powerful and significant feedback mechanism; the hotter it gets, the more wildfires burn, releasing yet more carbon into the atmosphere, causing temperatures to increase yet more, and so on. Coal burning increases air pollution, which is an especially big problem in some countries. If China were to improve its pollution to EPA standards, the country's verbal test scores would increase by 13% and math scores by 8%. I am just speculating here; perhaps this implies that as long as pollution is such a problem in China, it will not become a technology innovator, despite its immense population. As further evidence of the problem of air pollution, the introduction of EZ-Pass in American cities hasreducedpremature births and low-birth-weight by 11% near toll booths, where car exhaust is higher as cars slow down! Perversely, aerosol pollution reflects sunlight back into space, reducing the rate of global warming. Geo-engineering would purposely inject aerosols into the upper atmosphere to reduce global warming--and simultaneously degrade air quality. And, once we begin geo-engineering we could never stop. But because it is relatively cheap, it is perhaps inevitable. A study in 2016 found that 23% of conflict in the world's ethnically diverse countries began during months of weather disaster. Thirty-two countries face extreme risk of conflict and civil unrest from climate disruptions over the next thirty years. The world's least-developed countries will suffer from climate change the most, while the most-developed countries will suffer the least. Environmental disasters have been found to promote disease and mental illness. Climate change is inarguable. There are some skeptics who say that it is due to natural cycles. But that should concern us even more, because it implies that climate change is beyond our control. The belief that climate change is due to human activity should be a comfort because that means we have some control over it. Solving the problem will be difficult. To some, ending the trillions of dollars in fossil fuel subsidies seems more difficult than deploying technologies to suck carbon out of the air. But carbon capture and storage plants are presently just a pipe dream. Rapid technology change has not improved economic well-being. And, although the green energy revolution has yielded productivity gains in energy and in cost reduction, it hasn't reduced carbon emissions. The reason is that dirty energy sources have not been replaced with clean ones; the clean energy sources have simply been added to the same system. As an aside, I thought it interesting to note that creating Bitcoin cryptocurrency now produces as much carbon dioxide each year as a million transatlantic flights! The reasons for inactivity to counter climate change arise from politics. Russia might actually be one of the only countries togainfrom climate change. The United States will be hit second-worst of all countries. China may bear most of the responsibility, since its population is the biggest, along with its carbon emissions. The book cites many other books about impending doom and apathy about climate change. The so-called "Drake Equation" helps us to estimate how many civilizations of intelligent beings there might be in the universe. Fermi's Paradox asks the question; if there are so many civilizations, where is everybody? This book speculates that the answer might be that civilization might self-destruct by destroying their own climate. This is a short book, easily readable in a day or two. The book addresses more than just the consequences of climate change--which are truly disastrous. The book also addresses why we seem to be so apathetic. What I would really like to see, though, are some suggestions for getting ourselves out of this rut, into a realistic action plan. Four of the five mass extinctions on Earth were caused by climate change due to greenhouse gases. The worst occurred 250 million years ago, when temperatures increased by more than 10C. ...more |
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Apr 30, 2019
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Apr 30, 2019
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Hardcover
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| 0316381640
| 9780316381642
| 0316381640
| 4.25
| 4,308
| Jul 18, 2017
| Jul 18, 2017
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really liked it
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Like Sam Kean's previous books, this one is a fascinating look at chemistry. Its emphasis is on gaseous elements, but not exclusively. This is not a c
Like Sam Kean's previous books, this one is a fascinating look at chemistry. Its emphasis is on gaseous elements, but not exclusively. This is not a comprehensive treatise--it is what I would call "pop-chemistry" (as analogous to pop-psychology). Sam Kean writes in a popular, friendly style that borders on cutesy. Here are a few quotes as an example: "boiled our frickin' oceans" "To say that geologists didn't embrace Wegener's theory is a bit like saying that General Sherman didn't receive the warmest welcome in Atlanta. "Heck, mucking around down there might even backfire and trigger another outburst."This type of language simply sounds ingratiating to me, and really irritates me. However, I can look beyond this silliness, and find a lot to like in this book. For example, there is an interesting story about how Carl Scheele and Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen, but it wasn't truly understood until Lavoisier investigated its significance, its role in chemistry, and gave the element its name. There is a retelling of a fascinating myth about Lavoisier's final science experiment as he was about to be beheaded at the guillotine. This is then followed by another fascinating story, this one about the "Priestley riot", the only riot named after a scientist! The riot took place in Birmingham, in the aftermath of his writing"History of the Corruptions of Christianity"and also because of his cheering of the French Revolution. His house and neighboring houses were burned down in the riot. During the 19th century, it was believed that spontaneous combustion could occur. And this is recounted in stories by Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Herman Melville, and Washington Irving. There is a fascinating story about William Morton, a con-man who was only interested in making a quick buck. He re-discovered that ether would be useful as an anesthetic during surgery. He arranged to use the "mystery gas" in a surgery by Dr. John Warren at Mass General Hospital. Everybody who got to know William Morton lived to regret it. However, his efforts to popularize the anesthetic did more "to benefit humankind that almost anyone who ever lived." The gases that make up the atmosphere are emphasized in this book. And, as in many other science books these days, there is a considerable amount of discussion about climate change. This is a very accessible book, full of interesting stories and anecdotes. You might think that Sam Kean chose topics carefully, in order to pack in the most interesting, and sometimes hilarious stories. You would be right. ...more |
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Jul 05, 2018
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Jul 13, 2018
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Hardcover
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| 0307961699
| 9780307961693
| 0307961699
| 4.23
| 4,131
| Jan 23, 2018
| Jan 23, 2018
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it was amazing
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Charles Mann has written some wonderful books. I read two of them,1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbusand1493: Uncovering the New
Charles Mann has written some wonderful books. I read two of them,1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbusand1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created,and they are both excellent. And, this book follows in the same vein; while it is about a completely different subject (the twentieth century rise of environmentalism), it is equal in quality to his previous books. Humans grab between 25% and 40% of the entire world's output of land plants and animals. All other species rise and eventually die out. Are humans special? Is there any evidence that humans might be a magical exception? This is a major theme of the book; are humans headed for extinction, or can some strategy save our species? This is the story of two opposite visions of how to set right the problems of our environment. The stories are told of two scientists who were early advocates of these two opposing visions. William Vogt held the view that our problems are due to overuse of our environment. Our populations are too big, our land is over-used for farming and left poor in nutrients, and our water supplies are over-used. We pollute the environment, causing all sorts of problems like climate change, and depletion of our natural resources. Vogt's answer was to cut back on consumerism, over-farming, and over-population. Norman Borlaug saw the same problems, but offered a different solution; technology and human invention can overcome these problems. People need to work smarter, not grow less food for fewer people. It could be said that Borlaug was personally responsible for saving millions of people from starvation. Vogt was an amateur bird-watcher. In 1933 he observed an over-abundance of black ducks at Jones Beach. The reason was the suburbanization of Long Island, which displaced the ducks. Later, Vogt was hired by a Peruvian guano company to discover why cormorants were decreasing in numbers in the islands off Peru. After Pearl Harbor, Vogt was hired by the U.S. State Department to travel through South America, to report on the level of support for Germany and Japan. In 1943 he headed the Conservation Section of the Pan American Union. He visited cities in all of the countries in North, Central, and South America. Outside the cities, he discovered environmental nightmares. He found that over-consumption was stripping nature bare. Vogt wrote, "Unless humanknid controlled its appetites for procreation and consumption, there can be no peace." In the early 20th century, ecological issues were seen as a right-wing conspiracy. It was seen as an outcome of a belief in racial superiority. Vogt and others transformed conservation into a liberal cause. He wrote the bookRoad to Survival,which was a big success. The book stated that the problem is an inter-connected world-wide issue, not something merely local or national. The book became a blueprint for today's environmental movement. It helped inspire the writing of the booksSilent Springby Rachel Carson andThe Population Bombby Paul Erlich. The Rockefeller Foundation sent Norman Borlaug to Mexico in 1944 to breed disease-resistant wheat in the central highlands. He encountered destitute farmers who had been mistreated by authorities, and kept in the stone ages by superstitions planted by those in power. Here, Borlaug acquired a sense of mission. While Vogt saw the carrying capacity of the land as the central issue, Borlaug saw farmers as being central. To Borlaug, the problem was not the land, but the lack of tools and knowledge. Borlaug labored for years and years, cross breeding varieties of wheat using an unorthodox method known as shuttle breeding across different climates. His thought was that he did not want to breed a variety of wheat that could be grown in just a single Mexican climate; he wanted a variety that could be grown everywhere in the country. He made many attempts to develop wheat that could resist many types of rust, produce good grain with good milling quality. By 1962 Borlaug had bred an all-purpose wheat that could be grown anywhere in Mexico. It was short, fecund, disease-resistant, and grown in rich or poor soil. The only requirement was that it needed to be watered well and fertilized. His wheat tripled the per-acre yield in Mexico, and then in India and Pakistan. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. The book goes on to describe the history of the movement for organic farming, the development of better rice, activism against genetic engineering, enormous water projects in Israel, the problem of carbon dioxide's role in the progression of climate change, pollution due to burning coal, and the green revolution. It is a remarkable book in terms of its depth, and comprehensive history of all of these different aspects of environmentalism, conservation, and the future needs for water, food, and energy. Charles Mann captures the controversies between prophets--who demand reduction in the use of resources--and wizards, who rely on technology to increase the supply of these resources. I recommend this book to everyone who is interested in these issues, and how we came to this point in history. ...more |
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Mar 28, 2018
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Feb 04, 2018
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Hardcover
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| 0143130447
| 9780143130444
| 0143130447
| 4.41
| 4,082
| Apr 18, 2017
| Apr 18, 2017
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it was amazing
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This book is a catalog of the hundred or so technologies that could potentially draw down the carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) from the atm
This book is a catalog of the hundred or so technologies that could potentially draw down the carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) from the atmosphere. The book was written by a couple hundred expert researchers in all walks of life. Each technology is very well presented, in a manner that is easy to understand by a non-expert. The book is very attractive, flush with color photographs appropriate for each topic covered. Each technology is rated in terms of the amount of carbon that could potentially be removed from the atmosphere, the net cost of the technology, and the net savings. When these numbers are too speculative for an educated guess, that is mentioned. The technologies are all ranked in terms of their potential for sequestering carbon. Also, since some of the technologies are inter-related, there is an effort made to prevent double-counting the impact. Some of the technologies are well known to most people, while others are novel. I was most interested in some of the agricultural topics. Most surprising to me was "silopasture". This entails allowing animals--mostly cattle, but other domesticated animals, also--to feed in meadows with trees. Silvopastures yield more livestock per acre than grass pastures, and sequesters five to ten times more carbon than treeless pastures. [image] A related technology is the managed grazing of pastures by cattle. This technique vastly improves conditions of the pastures, protects organic matter, and the soil becomes more porous and better able to absorb intense rainfalls. As a result, herbicides, pesticides, fuel and fertilizers can be reduced, as well as veterinary costs. And yet another agricultural technique is known as agro-forestry, which is becoming widespread. It is positively transforming the Sahel Desert. I was astounded by the statistic that there are 18,500 miles of high-speed rails in the world. But, only 28 of these rail-miles are in the United States. On the one hand, high-speed rails are very expensive, and on the other hand, they actually do not reduce carbon emissions very much. [image] The emphasis in most of the book, is that these are practical, economical technologies ready to be implemented. There are net savings from most of these technologies; sequestering carbon can be cost-effective and help the atmosphere, at the same time. At the end of the book, there are a handful of future technologies that have not yet reached the stage of practicality, each of which has a bright potential for the future. While I read the book end-to-end, it is actually more of a reference book--a very fascinating reference book! After reading the introductory sections, each topic is self-contained and can be read in isolation without losing the meaning. ...more |
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not set
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Dec 20, 2017
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Dec 23, 2017
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Paperback
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| 038535066X
| 9780385350662
| 038535066X
| 4.31
| 26,280
| Sep 2015
| Jan 01, 2015
|
it was amazing
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This is a wonderful biography of a man about whom I knew very little. Today, in the United States, his name is practically unknown, despite being a wo
This is a wonderful biography of a man about whom I knew very little. Today, in the United States, his name is practically unknown, despite being a world-wide celebrity in his day. Humboldt was a great explorer and scientist. He saw nature as a unified whole, an"organism in which parts only worked in relation to each other."His approach was holistic, and was entirely against the reductionist approach to science. Perhaps because of the influence of Goethe, Humboldt strongly advocated merging of art and science. In 1806, his writings were about evolutionary ideas, long before Darwin. In fact, Darwin took Humboldt's seven-volume bookPersonal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continentalong with him during his voyage aboard the Beagle. In his bookViews of Nature,Humboldt wrote about how weather and geography influence the moods of people--and this was a revelation. He inspired generations of scientists, writers and poets, including Thoreau, Emerson, Darwin, and Jules Verne. Humboldt was also a strident abolitionist: He equated colonialism with slavery and "European barbarism." He befriended and greatly influenced Simón Bolívar's efforts to free South America from the tyranny of its colonial status. He was the world's foremost expert on Latin America. When Humboldt was young, he yearned to participate in adventures and exploration. At the age of 27, he went off on an exploration of South America, an adventure that lasted five years. He survived terrible conditions, jungle heat, mountain cold, high-altitude sickness, and the torment of mosquitos. He did not take a large retinue, but only traveled with one scientist friend and a couple of guides. Along the way he took copious notes, a multitude of measurements with his scientific instruments, and lots of specimens of flora and fauna. He sent them back to Europe at regular intervals, in case he never made it back home alive. Humboldt invented the concept of isotherms, that enabled a global understanding of climate. Back in Europe, he gave many free lectures in Berlin, encouraging people of all classes to attend. Half of the attendees were women. His lectures were unique, connecting "seemingly disparate disciplines and facts." He talked about the complex web of nature with "extraordinary clarity." He organized a remarkable conference of 500 scientists from all across Europe. When Humboldt was 59 years old, he went on an expedition to Siberia. After analyzing the geology of certain areas in the Ural mountains, he predicted that he would find diamonds, and everyone thought he was crazy. But, he did find them! He was at heart an environmentalist. He wrote a lot about the destruction of forests and long-term changes to the environment. He described three ways in which humans change the climate; deforestation, ruthless irrigation, and through steam and gas in industrial centers. He proposed a global network of stations to measure the Earth's magnetic field, and when it came about, he collected two million measurements over a three-year period. Humboldt was a great explorer. He strongly encouraged explorers and artists to travel. He decried people who tried to do arm-chair science. He aided less fortunate scientists and explorers, giving them funds even though his own financial position was precarious. One American travel writer wrote that he"came to Berlin not to see museums and galleries, but 'for the sake of seeing and speaking with the world's greatest living man.'" In this book, Andrea Wulf does much more that merely narrate the life of Humboldt. She also goes to great lengths to give the biographies of some other amazing people who were strongly influenced by Humboldt. In this way, we get a picture of how important Humboldt was, and still is. Humboldt was one of the first environmentalists and wrote so much about ecology. The book is well-written, well-organized, and fun to read. The descriptions of Humboldt's travels are gripping, as she writes about the dangerous climbs, diseases, and predators all around. I highly recommend it to everyone interested in nature, science, and exploration. ...more |
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May 18, 2016
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May 24, 2016
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Hardcover
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| 0871401002
| 9780871401007
| 0871401002
| 3.85
| 4,771
| Oct 2014
| Oct 06, 2014
|
it was amazing
|
This is a wonderful little book by a preeminent biologist, Edward Wilson. He has remarkable insights into the world and the nature of progress. If the
This is a wonderful little book by a preeminent biologist, Edward Wilson. He has remarkable insights into the world and the nature of progress. If there is a single theme in the book, it is that human progress depends on both science and the humanities. Neither is sufficient by itself. Wilson writes,"The most successful scientist thinks like a poet--wide-ranging, sometimes fantastical--and works like a bookkeeper."In his writing, the scientist must write precisely and avoid metaphor, while in poetry and other creative arts, the metaphor is all-important. Humans are curious about the world, but mostly we are interested in ourselves. Our self-fascination helps to sharpen our social intelligence, the skill that makes human beings geniuses among all the species on Earth. Wilson is a renowned expert on the social insects--ants, bees, and termites. He has this fascinating observation;"a major difference between people and ants: where we send our young men to war, ants send their old ladies." Wilson points out a major error in so many science fiction stories about alien conquerors. Smart aliens would never try to colonize Earth, because Earth would be deadly to them. The alien world would have a radically different origin, molecular machinery, and different pathways of evolution. Their ecosystems would by incompatible with Earth's. The result of colonization"would be a biological train wreck. The first to perish would be the alien colonists." Like in many of his other books, Wilson points out the fact that Earth's biodiversity is decreasing. Many species are going extinct even before they are discovered. This is a major detriment to the human quality of life, because this deprives us of pharmaceuticals, new biotechnology, and advances in agriculture. Biodiversity has given us antibiotics, agriculture that sustains cities and civilization, domesticated animals, and even the air we breathe. Wilson points out an interesting question; why do people prefer some habitats to others? Why do we prefer to live near parkland and near a body of water? Wilson claims that it is because of prepared learning. We evolved in certain habitats like the African savanna, and we are best adapted to them. As a result, we intuitively prefer these landscapes above all others. Wilson also takes some big shots at religion. While he recognizes the great services that religions have provided to humanity, he emphasizes the great evils. He writes,"The great religions are also, and tragically, sources of ceaseless and unnecessary suffering. They are impediments to the grasp of reality needed to solve most social problems in the real world. Their exquisitely human flaw is tribalism."Wilson describes how each religion has its own creation myth, and tribalism encourages discrimination against those who do not share a belief in that myth. Wilson writes about biological parasites that ensure their own survival with minimum pain and cost to their host. And then Wilson writes about dogmatic parasites, that bring in blind faith in supernatural creation stories. The belief in religious superiority over rival tribes, and the belief in creationism are examples of cultural parasites. These beliefs are a"triumph of blind religious faith over carefully tested fact. It is not a conception of reality forged by evidence and logical judgment. Instead, it is part of the price of admission to a religious tribe." Wilson sums up his main theme, that cultural parasitism is the denial of a basic tenet of science, that of organic evolution. However, if our species has a soul, it lives in the humanities. This is a deep, deep book, but is quite accessible. I highly recommend it to all people interested in science, philosophy, and the humanities. ...more |
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May 15, 2015
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May 19, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 1476747415
| 9781476747415
| 1476747415
| 4.33
| 291
| Apr 22, 2014
| Apr 22, 2014
|
it was amazing
|
This is a stunningly beautiful book about the Gorongosa National Park, located in Mozambique. It is a short book, published just last year. The color
This is a stunningly beautiful book about the Gorongosa National Park, located in Mozambique. It is a short book, published just last year. The color photographs of landscapes, flora and fauna are wonderful. Edward O. Wilson is a biologist, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and a great author. His areas of expertise include biodiversity and sociobiology, and he is a world-class expert in entomology (study of insects), especially the social insects like ants, bees, and termites. Gorongosa National Park is a troubled region. It was established in the mid-60's, but decades of civil war devastated the wildlife there. Slowly, with the help of philanthropists, the park was re-established and stabilized. Wildlife has been coming back, despite poachers who are killing off large animals. The park is making inroads by giving conservationist jobs to ex-poachers. But, some of the older elephants remember the days when they were hunted down, and are easily spooked by humans. The book comes with a DVD; the video is titled "The Guide", a fine documentary that centers on the lifelong ambition of a Mozambiquan teenager to be a tourist guide at the park. He meets and works with Wilson when he visits. Wilson shows his exceptional knowledge of natural history, as he rapidly identifies the small critters that kids bring to him during a bio-blitz. The book is not a comprehensive survey; rather, most chapters are brief descriptions of some type of animal. Naturally, Wilson's background leads him to emphasize the social insects. Wilson writes eloquently about the need for biodiversity, and of maintaining the complex ecology in a unique nature preserve. I highly recommend this book. [image] ...more |
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Jan 21, 2015
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Jan 22, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 0316252085
| 9780316252089
| 0316252085
| 3.74
| 3,443
| Jan 01, 2014
| Jul 22, 2014
|
it was amazing
|
Marine biologist Wallace Nichols has written a marvelous book about the connection between people and water. Why do we put so much value into being ne
Marine biologist Wallace Nichols has written a marvelous book about the connection between people and water. Why do we put so much value into being near bodies of water? Lakes, rivers, and the ocean have a remarkable pull on all of us. Nichols tells this story about a group of Native Americans who live in the Sonoran Desert. Nichols took a a group of young teens to the Gulf of California. Many of them had never seen the ocean before, and they had no idea of what they were about to experience. They put on masks and snorkels, had a quick lesson on snorkeling. Nichols asked one boy how it was going. "I can't see anything," he said. He had kept his eyes closed while underwater. Nichols told him he could keep his eyes open while under the water. He did that, and looked around. Then he stood up and shouted all about the fish. Laughing and crying he shouted, "My planet is beautiful!" Not only do large bodies of water exert an influence on us--even a small bit of water--even an aquarium or a fishbowl can have beneficial effects. Experiments have shown that observing an aquarium for ten minutes can significantly reduce blood pressure, with positive changes to heart rate, relaxation and mood. The greater the biodiversity in the aquarium, the stronger the effects. Nichols describes all of these beneficial effects, through hard evidence from scientific experiments, and through anecdotal evidence of emotional effects. All of one's senses can be affected by water. During immersion in water, a hormone called catecholamine is relased in the body, which helps to relieve stress. The sound of rippling water of course are calming, perhaps because of their random oscillations. Generally, white noise is not calming, but the white noise with low-frequency undertones make the sound of waves crashing on the beach very calming. The smell of salt air helps, too. The book explains another interesting reason why water and nature have these calming effects. In our artificial environments, especially on city streets, there is a steady background of noises, commotion, and unpredictable events. It takes effort to mask or blank out the irrelevant details as you go about your business. But in a natural setting, the scene is more predictable, and it takes less effort to see small perturbations in the environment. Many water sports have restorative powers. A program called "Operation Surf" has been successful in treating war veterans recover from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and stop incessant nightmares. Paddleboarding has been shown to replace an unhealthy addiction to alchohol with a healthy addiction to a fun sport. Nichols has some interesting insights into why we do not like to think a lot about the environment and conservation, at least, not for very long. He gives examples of motivational tricks that really work; attaching a photo of a person on a CT scan increases a cardiologist's accuracy in diagnosis; Briefly looking at a photo of a runner winning a race helps improve success among call center workers. Nichols describes a wonderful "pay-it-forward" project that he calls "Blue Marble".It is named after the famous NASA photograph of the earth as seen from space--it looks like a blue marble. He suggests giving actual blue marbles to people, and to ask them to give the marble away to someone special, and thanking them. This is a serious, but engaging book about the links between neuroscience, psychology, and nature. Highly recommended! ...more |
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Jan 14, 2015
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Jan 14, 2015
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Hardcover
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| 023116954X
| 9780231169547
| 023116954X
| 3.73
| 2,227
| 2014
| Jul 01, 2014
|
really liked it
|
Not really a book, Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway have written a historical essay from the point of view of a future Chinese historian. The history rec
Not really a book, Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway have written a historical essay from the point of view of a future Chinese historian. The history recounts the scientific, political, and social events during the years 1988 to 2093. The essay shows how, even though scientists predicted the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions on the earth's climate, politicians and corporations weaseled out of the implications, rationalizing their actions (or inactions), and shrugged off responsibility for the ensuing catastrophes. The authors coined an interesting phrase, thecarbon-industrial complex,to mean the industries that have big economic stake in continuing our burning of fossil fuels, even when other sources of energy may be cheaper and cleaner. In the history, global warming brought a large rise in sea level, leading to disastrous permanent flooding of all coastal regions around the world. The essay is followed by a glossary and an interview with the authors. The authors maintain that by writing their essay from the perspective of a future historian, it would not seem like so much "scolding". Even though I agree with virtually everything in the essay, I found it to be off-putting--it did seem like scolding. Just not from a person living during our own age, but from someone living in the future. Some reviewers of this book find it to be too "technical." I suggest that they put their thinking caps on--politicians are hiding behind technicalities, because they think they are smarter than experts. They are not. They are just louder. ...more |
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Oct 26, 2014
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Oct 26, 2014
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Paperback
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| 0393071197
| 9780393071191
| 0393071197
| 3.67
| 2,749
| Jan 01, 2010
| Apr 05, 2010
|
really liked it
|
So, how can a novel also be a book about science, biology, and environmentalism? Edward O. Wilson, eminent biologist, researcher, environmentalist, an
So, how can a novel also be a book about science, biology, and environmentalism? Edward O. Wilson, eminent biologist, researcher, environmentalist, and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author has managed. This is a coming-of-age story about a boy named Raff, who grows up in southern Alabama, at the edge of a piece of wilderness known as the Nokobee tract. He grows up loving this wilderness area, and visits frequently, studying the plants and wildlife that thrive there. His relatives don't quite understand the fascination he feels for the region, but tolerate his interests and activities. The middle section of the book is unlike any novel I've ever read. It is titled"The Anthill Chronicles",and gives a detailed history of the ant colonies in the region, totally from the ants' point of view. Wilson is an expert on ants, and this section is supposed to be a summary of Raff's first-hand research. It is a memorable history, that shows how ant society is eerily reminiscent of human society; workers, soldiers, celebrities, scouts, carrying on the business of the anthill; gathering food, competitions for status, and fighting wars. The parallels with humans are not explicitly pointed out, but they are remarkable. (view spoiler)[In the third section of the book, Raff does something totally inexplicable to those who know him well. He becomes a lawyer, and gets hired as a legal counsel to a development company that wants to buy up the Nokobee tract, and replace the wilderness with condos and strip malls. Raff has a secret plan, but keeps it secret from everyone.(hide spoiler)] It's interesting that many of the characters' actions in the story are explained from a naturalist's point of view. They are "pre-ordained" by their genetic programming, and free will is not really an option. The writing style is just a tad stilted, and the story is a bit pollyanish up until the last few chapters. But I enjoyed the book, not only for the descriptions of nature, but also for the insights into the Southern characters and their class-conscious lives. In a vivid monologue, Raff's father tells his son all about his philosophy and code of ethics, and how he expects his son to act. His code is that of a Southern gentleman, and he sums it up: Never lie or cheat. Never ever hit a woman. Never hit a smaller man, if you can keep from doing it, Raff. Never hit anyone first, but never back down when you know you're in the right. ...more |
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not set
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Mar 15, 2014
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Mar 15, 2014
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Roughcut
| ||||||||||||||
| 1596914173
| 9781596914179
| 1596914173
| 4.00
| 455
| Mar 01, 1998
| Oct 30, 2007
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it was ok
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The book start out promisingly, like a memoir, with tales from Cousteau's fascinating life. Most of the tales are about his close brushes with death.
The book start out promisingly, like a memoir, with tales from Cousteau's fascinating life. Most of the tales are about his close brushes with death. Then the book changes course, and goes into the predations of humans on our environment. Very preachy. No positive approaches to saving the environment. A long rant against nuclear energy, but no mention of what should replace it. Toward the end of the book is a segue into philosophy. I expected better.
...more
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May 18, 2013
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May 18, 2013
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hardback
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| 161168255X
| 9781611682557
| 161168255X
| 3.95
| 572
| Apr 09, 2013
| Apr 09, 2013
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it was amazing
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As I started this book, I started to think, "OK, another book about how wonderful innovation can be. Shades of Kurzweill. Yawn." The book starts out w
As I started this book, I started to think, "OK, another book about how wonderful innovation can be. Shades of Kurzweill. Yawn." The book starts out with a couple of chapters about how these are the "best of times", followed by a few chapters about how these are the "worst of times". All sorts of ills of our times are described; running out of fossil fuels, soaring food prices, soaring commodity prices, water shortages, deforestation, global warming, acidifying oceans--all very depressing. Then the book takes an about-face, and describes how ideas and innovations are our one limitless resource. The remainder of the book is virtually unfettered optimism. But the optimism is well backed-up by some excellent arguments. First, Ramez Naam discusses how the experts of the past, with doomsday messages, ignored the power of innovation. When CFC's were seen as the culprit in the development of the "ozone hole", industry claimed that corporations would go bankrupt trying to remedy the problem. Even the EPA claimed it would be a costly problem to correct. But it turned out that the solution was far cheaper than even that claimed by the EPA. Malthus famously claimed that as the world's food supply grows arithmetically, the population grows geometrically, and at some point soon there would be massive starvation. His prediction ignored the power of innovations in agriculture. In the past, all sorts of commodities that were considered absolutely necessary were exhausted. Whale oil for lighting, guano and saltpeter for fertilizer, diamonds for industry, and rubber have all been seen to be exhausted. Innovation has found substitutes for all of these materials. In many of these cases, it was a race against time. It takes time to develop innovative technologies, and when resources are depleted without a practical substitute, then huge hardships can occur. That is why Naam argues for the need for anticipating needs, by investing in R&D on a larger scale. Interestingly, Naam points out that unpopular ideas are seen to be more believable if they are espoused by similar people. Most Republicans don't believe in global climate change because Al Gore did so much to publicise it. But Republican presidents (Nixon, Bush senior, and Reagan) signed into law the EPA, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Montreal Protocol, and amendments to the Clean Air Act. While market-based economies have flourished and raised the standard of living of the developing and developed world, there are some serious flaws. Free markets do not incentivize corporations to cut down on pollution. So, Naam suggests various incentive approaches; cap-and-trade worked well for reducing sulfur emissions. Naam makes a couple of similar suggestions to reduce CO2 emissions. This book is filled with reasonable approaches for solving many of the world's resource problems. On the whole, the optimism shines through, which makes it quite an enjoyable read. ...more |
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not set
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May 17, 2013
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May 04, 2013
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 159420411X
| 9781594204111
| 159420411X
| 3.97
| 50,563
| Sep 27, 2012
| Jan 01, 2012
|
it was amazing
|
This is a fantastic book about predictions. I enjoyed every page. The book is filled to the brim with diagrams and charts that help get the points acr
This is a fantastic book about predictions. I enjoyed every page. The book is filled to the brim with diagrams and charts that help get the points across. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is an examination of all the ways that predictions go wrong. The second part is about how applying Bayes Theorem can make predictions go right. The book focuses on predictions in a wide variety of topics; economics, the stock market, politics, baseball, basketball, weather, climate, earthquakes, chess, epidemics, poker, and terrorism! Each topic is covered lucidly, in sufficient detail, so that the reader gets a good grasp of the problems and issues for predictions. There are so many fascinating insights, I can only try to convey a few. At the present time, it is impossible to predict earthquakes, that is, to state ahead of time when and where a certain magnitude earthquake will occur. But it is possible to forecast earthquakes in a probabilistic sense, using a power law. Likewise, it may be possible to forecast terrorism, because that too, follows a power law! (Well, it follows a power law in NATO countries, probably because of the efforts to combat terrorists. But in Israel, the tail of the curve falls below the power law, likely because of the stronger anti-terror emphasis there.) The accuracy of weather predictions increases slowly but steadily, year by year. Ensembles of computer model runs are part of the story, but human judgment add value, and increases the accuracy. Weather forecasts issued by the National Weather Service are unbiased in a probabilistic sense. But weather forecasts by the TV weatherman are very strongly biased--the weatherman over-predicts precipitation by a significant amount. Nate Silver shows that the people who are most confident are the ones that make the worst predictions. The best predictions are those that are couched in quantitative uncertainties. Silver shows how Bayes Theorem can be applied to improve predictions; it is all about probabilities. And I just love this footnote, A conspiracy theory might be thought of as the laziest form of signal analysis. As the Harvard professor H.L. "Skip" Gates says, "Conspiracy theories are an irresistible labor-saving device in the face of complexity." ...more |
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Apr 16, 2013
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Apr 18, 2013
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| 3.83
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really liked it
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May 18, 2022
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May 28, 2022
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| 3.92
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really liked it
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Jan 10, 2022
not set
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Jan 20, 2022
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| 4.21
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really liked it
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Sep 02, 2021
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Sep 19, 2021
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| 4.51
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it was amazing
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Jul 28, 2021
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Jul 28, 2021
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| 3.97
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it was amazing
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Dec 11, 2020
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Dec 11, 2020
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| 3.69
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it was amazing
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Jul 19, 2020
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Jul 30, 2020
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| 4.33
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it was amazing
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Dec 16, 2019
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Dec 17, 2019
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| 4.01
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it was amazing
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Apr 30, 2019
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Apr 30, 2019
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| 4.25
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really liked it
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Jul 05, 2018
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Jul 13, 2018
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| 4.23
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it was amazing
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Mar 28, 2018
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Feb 04, 2018
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| 4.41
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it was amazing
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Dec 20, 2017
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Dec 23, 2017
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| 4.31
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it was amazing
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May 18, 2016
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May 24, 2016
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| 3.85
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it was amazing
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May 15, 2015
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May 19, 2015
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| 4.33
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it was amazing
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Jan 21, 2015
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Jan 22, 2015
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| 3.74
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it was amazing
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Jan 14, 2015
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Jan 14, 2015
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| 3.73
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really liked it
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Oct 26, 2014
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Oct 26, 2014
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| 3.67
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really liked it
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Mar 15, 2014
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Mar 15, 2014
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| 4.00
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it was ok
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May 18, 2013
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May 18, 2013
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| 3.95
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it was amazing
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May 17, 2013
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May 04, 2013
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|||||
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| 3.97
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it was amazing
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Apr 16, 2013
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Apr 18, 2013
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