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jaclynday's review against another edition
4.0
I started reading this shortly after watching Blackfish and man. Depressing. (But fascinating.) The Attacking Ocean is a sometimes dense, but still riveting nonfiction book about how rising sea levels have affected and are continuing to affect land mass and civilization. Fagan also talks about how these higher sea levels are responsible for the increasing severity of cyclones/hurricanes and tsunamis.
It’s a sobering, eye-opening book. I knew—in generalities—that global warming was affecting the ocean and severe weather, but this book really drills down on the issues. Its objective, academic tone makes the really scary bits even scarier. The statistics listing thousands upon thousands of people killed by severe storms, the probability that Bangladesh could basically disappear into the ocean within a few generations, the emergency evacuation plans for refugees that some South Pacific islands have in place since they know their island could virtually disappear within the century, the impact of coastal erosion on traditional fishing villages in Alaska…It goes on and on. And it’s pretty terrifying.
Still, the book is far from sensational. It’s packed full of hard-won research, statistics and data, and Fagan makes it clear he’s not hypothesizing about much except the WHEN. The If is not in question any longer, basically. (Put this in the context of Hurricane Sandy, which he talks at length about, and it hits really close to home—no pun intended.) It seems like Fagan has no real agenda or call to action, except to discuss historical events and enlighten people about how current events are being impacted by increasing global warming. Fagan’s lack of solutions might be the scariest thing about this book. Is there any turning back? Is there a solution (globally or locally) that could actually reverse some of this? Fagan seems to think we’re pretty far gone.
The Attacking Ocean is well-worth the read, but be forewarned! When I say it’s academic, it’s very academic. If you can’t stand footnotes, this is not your book. (Let me direct you to the new Bridget Jones novel. I’m kidding.)
It’s a sobering, eye-opening book. I knew—in generalities—that global warming was affecting the ocean and severe weather, but this book really drills down on the issues. Its objective, academic tone makes the really scary bits even scarier. The statistics listing thousands upon thousands of people killed by severe storms, the probability that Bangladesh could basically disappear into the ocean within a few generations, the emergency evacuation plans for refugees that some South Pacific islands have in place since they know their island could virtually disappear within the century, the impact of coastal erosion on traditional fishing villages in Alaska…It goes on and on. And it’s pretty terrifying.
Still, the book is far from sensational. It’s packed full of hard-won research, statistics and data, and Fagan makes it clear he’s not hypothesizing about much except the WHEN. The If is not in question any longer, basically. (Put this in the context of Hurricane Sandy, which he talks at length about, and it hits really close to home—no pun intended.) It seems like Fagan has no real agenda or call to action, except to discuss historical events and enlighten people about how current events are being impacted by increasing global warming. Fagan’s lack of solutions might be the scariest thing about this book. Is there any turning back? Is there a solution (globally or locally) that could actually reverse some of this? Fagan seems to think we’re pretty far gone.
The Attacking Ocean is well-worth the read, but be forewarned! When I say it’s academic, it’s very academic. If you can’t stand footnotes, this is not your book. (Let me direct you to the new Bridget Jones novel. I’m kidding.)
tanyarobinson's review against another edition
4.0
This is a pretty sobering book about our susceptibility to environmental changes, both gradual and sudden. Many doomsayers warn about the rise of the oceans due to global warming and melting of the ice caps. That is a legitimate concern, but with the expected rise of only around 1 cm per year (estimates vary greatly), we have time to prepare. A more immediate problem is that with rising ocean temperatures, there will be more sudden destructive storm surges -- events like Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and the 2004 Tsunami -- that devastate coastal communities and give little time for preparation.
Fagan examines some of the world's most susceptible low-lying areas, including Bangladesh, the Maldives, Shanghai, Venice, the Nile Delta, the Low Countries, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. He traces changes to the landscape in each of these areas, showing that there have always been fluctuations in coastal water levels caused by climate change, land subsidence, river delta silting, and so on. In past millennia, rising sea levels were handled easily by people; they simply picked up and moved to higher ground. In today's heavily populated world, there is too much permanent infrastructure to move, and very little unoccupied area to which people can relocate. So what can be done? Many large cities (such as New Orleans, Shanghai, Venice, and much of the Netherlands) would already be underwater without seawalls, dikes, and other huge coastal defenses. In rich developed nations these are realistic, though enormously costly, solutions, at least for the upcoming century. But what about in countries where there is not enough money to work with, and not enough political stability for difficult future-focused solutions to be worked out? And will our materialistic society ever be forward-thinking enough to stop building in lucrative but doomed low-lying areas? Millions of people live less than a meter above sea level, and will be directly, and in some cases disastrously, affected by even a centimeter rise in ocean levels.
Here in my high Rocky Mountain home, I feel the urgency of this problem. When will the rest of the world?
Fagan examines some of the world's most susceptible low-lying areas, including Bangladesh, the Maldives, Shanghai, Venice, the Nile Delta, the Low Countries, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. He traces changes to the landscape in each of these areas, showing that there have always been fluctuations in coastal water levels caused by climate change, land subsidence, river delta silting, and so on. In past millennia, rising sea levels were handled easily by people; they simply picked up and moved to higher ground. In today's heavily populated world, there is too much permanent infrastructure to move, and very little unoccupied area to which people can relocate. So what can be done? Many large cities (such as New Orleans, Shanghai, Venice, and much of the Netherlands) would already be underwater without seawalls, dikes, and other huge coastal defenses. In rich developed nations these are realistic, though enormously costly, solutions, at least for the upcoming century. But what about in countries where there is not enough money to work with, and not enough political stability for difficult future-focused solutions to be worked out? And will our materialistic society ever be forward-thinking enough to stop building in lucrative but doomed low-lying areas? Millions of people live less than a meter above sea level, and will be directly, and in some cases disastrously, affected by even a centimeter rise in ocean levels.
Here in my high Rocky Mountain home, I feel the urgency of this problem. When will the rest of the world?