Resumo de State Of Fear - Michael Crichton

The main purpose of the book is not to tell a story, but to debate global warming through the characters within the story. Thus, there are two things to consider: first, the story itself; second, the arguments used.An environmental organization, NERF, was preparing a major conference on abrupt climate change. In order to catch the public?s eye, they use a violent and extremist environmental group, ELF, to carry out a series of destructive events coinciding with the conference. As they need financial resources to buy all the necessary equipment, they use, as cover, the filing of a huge lawsuit on behalf of Vanutu against the US, getting the support of George Morton, a wealthy philanthropist. However, Morton finds out something is wrong and stages his own death, but not before giving his lawyer, Peter Evans, an important clue to follow. Along with Sarah, Morton?s assistant, and Kenner, NSIA agent, he manages to frustrate the extremist group plans. Many times facing death, they succeed in preventing the calving of a huge iceberg, the enhancing of a storm power and a tsunami. Action and suspense take us along the way.But the most compelling reason to read this book is the amount of data available to dispute global warming. It struck me as shocking how little I knew about it. I?ll show you.I didn?t know global warming is still just a theory! I took for granted it was a given fact.I thought that, with global warming, the Earth as a whole was getting warmer. I didn?t know it actually isn?t: many places around the world are getting colder, such as Iceland, Greenland and Antarctica.I didn?t know it?s the surface of the Earth that is warming much more than the upper atmosphere (when it should be the other way around, because of the trapped heat from the greenhouse effect).I didn?t know sea level has been rising for the last 6000 years!I didn?t know, when they talk about glaciers melting, that there are 160 000 glaciers in the world, but only 79 (no mistake: 79!) have been studied; that Kilimanjaro is not melting because of global warming, but because of deforestation at the base of the mountain.I didn?t know Antarctica has been melting for the last 6000 years and is actually reversing that trend and ice getting thicker!I didn?t know about the ?urban heat island? effect, which is a local effect unrelated to global warming and has great repercussions.I didn?t know there is no increase in extreme weather events, and that El Niño may have been found recently but it?s something that has been happening for thousand of years!I didn?t know the IPCC, UN?s agency on the matter, in 1995, said ?a discernable human influence? on climate was detected, after scientists stated they really couldn?t detect it; but their statement was deleted and rewritten!And there?s more, much more, all backed up with documents, in an effort that took the author three years reading environmental texts.In a twisted way, it?s good reading a book that calls you an ignorant?

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