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Review of Climate change: the science, impacts and
solutions, by A. Barrie Pittock (2009). Second edition.
Collingwood: CSIRO/London: Earthscan. 368 pp. ISBN
978-0-64309-484-0.

It is almost the resort of rascals to claim at the beginning
of a book review that “the subject of this book has never
been more topical and its publication could not be more
timely”. Nonetheless, neither Barrie Pittock nor I are
rascals, and the above statement is true. In fact, as I write
this review, the Australian Senate, which has been held
back from its Christmas recess to complete its debate on a
bill to initiate greenhouse gas emissions reduction, is
arguing about the cause and its possible cure. I wish I
could have every member of the Senate (especially the
dissenters in the Liberal Party) read the 350 pages of
Barrie’s excellent book. Of course, as with all good books,
they could simply read Chapter 1 “Climate change
matters” and Chapter 12 “Accepting the challenge”, but
as these rascals are politicians it might also be useful for
them to read Chapter 10, entitled “The politics of
greenhouse”.

Less frivolously, this book (in this new and updated
second edition) will become an important reference for
students in environmental or social sciences, policy
makers, and people who are genuinely concerned about
the future of our environment. It covers ground that has
been well trodden by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change in all four of its assessments, by Al Gore’s
film An inconvenient truth and, just this year, by Fanny
Armstrong’s movie The age of stupid. Topics include
“Learning from the past”, “Projecting the future”, “Uncer-
tainty is inevitable but risk is certain”, followed by specific
chapters detailing what climate changes are likely, the
consequential impacts, and the specifics of adaptation and
mitigation strategies. In addition to this, Dr Pittock has a
chapter placing climate change in a wider context, which
includes stratospheric ozone, land-use change and popu-
lation growth, and also in an international context, which
looks at the Kyoto Protocol and the national interest of
large sectors of the planet. The book includes extensive
endnotes, with links to ongoing and updated references
and citations.

As for peace, the desire for strategies that produce
positive net benefit is hard to satisfy when little trust

exists between nations. Barrie stresses the need to look
beyond the Kyoto Protocol, and, once again, this could
not be a more timely discussion as 2009 will end with the
Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Framework Con-
vention on Climate Change in Copenhagen. The new
material in Barrie’s second edition, which focuses on
investments in large-scale renewables, such as the kind
being taken up in California, as well as many smaller scale
activities in individual homes and businesses, now being
driven by both regulatory and market mechanisms, could
serve as a “primer” for the COP participants.

Perhaps my only disagreement with this book is
Barrie’s optimism. Although his message that climate
change is here (and in some areas, might already be
having disastrous effects) is clear, he offers hope for the
future. He also proposes ideas designed to inspire people
to take action, and I hope that he is successful. But, while
I wish him and Climate change: the science, impacts and solu-
tions “bon chance”, I am myself much less sanguine.
Pittock says, “all is not doom and gloom: we can save the
day” (p. 326). And goes on, “We need to reduce carbon

Correspondence
Ann Henderson-Sellers, Department of Environment and Geography, Mac-

quarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia. E-mail:

annhs@science.mq.edu.au

Polar Research 29 2010 139–140 © 2009 the author, journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 139

mailto:annhs@science.mq.edu.au


emissions, and we need to do it fast. Although we are
facing an emergency, with an appropriate allocation of
ingenuity and resources, together we can do it”. I fear
that my view is that we have, as a species, missed the last
ship of opportunity. What is worse, we have also
marooned many other species on a warming and chang-
ing planet for which we are all ill-adapted.

Nevertheless, I do very much agree with Barrie’s final
sentence: “We owe that, at least, to our children”

(p. 326). I very much hope that this book will go some
way to persuading rascals in politics and elsewhere of
the need and urgency of climate change mitigation and
adaptation.

Ann Henderson-Sellers

Book review

Polar Research 29 2010 139–140 © 2009 the author, journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd140