The Last Winter: The Scientists, Adventurers, Journeymen, and Mavericks Trying to Save the World
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-11-04 10:19:31
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Porter Fox
- ISBN：0316460923
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Summary
One man’s “curiously thrilling joyride” of travelogue， history， and climatology， across a planet on the brink of cataclysmic transformation （Donovan Hohn）。
As the planet warms， winter is shrinking。 In the last fifty years， the Northern Hemisphere lost a million square miles of spring snowpack and in the US alone， snow cover has been reduced by 15-30%。 On average， winter has shrunk by a month in most northern latitudes。
In this deeply researched， beautifully written， and adventure-filled book， journalist Porter Fox travels along the edge of the Northern Hemisphere's snow line to track the scope of this drastic change， and how it will literally change everything—from rapid sea level rise， to fresh water scarcity for two billion people， to massive greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost， and a half dozen climate tipping points that could very well spell the end of our world。
This original research is animated by four harrowing and illuminating journeys—each grounded by interviews with idiosyncratic， charismatic experts in their respective fields and Fox's own narrative of growing up on a remote island in Northern Maine。
Timely， atmospheric， and expertly investigated， The Last Winter will showcase a shocking and unexpected casualty of climate change—that may well set off its own unstoppable warming cycle。
As the planet warms， winter is shrinking。 In the last fifty years， the Northern Hemisphere lost a million square miles of spring snowpack and in the US alone， snow cover has been reduced by 15-30%。 On average， winter has shrunk by a month in most northern latitudes。
In this deeply researched， beautifully written， and adventure-filled book， journalist Porter Fox travels along the edge of the Northern Hemisphere's snow line to track the scope of this drastic change， and how it will literally change everything—from rapid sea level rise， to fresh water scarcity for two billion people， to massive greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost， and a half dozen climate tipping points that could very well spell the end of our world。
This original research is animated by four harrowing and illuminating journeys—each grounded by interviews with idiosyncratic， charismatic experts in their respective fields and Fox's own narrative of growing up on a remote island in Northern Maine。
Timely， atmospheric， and expertly investigated， The Last Winter will showcase a shocking and unexpected casualty of climate change—that may well set off its own unstoppable warming cycle。
Reviews
Mark
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LJ 146 （10） October 2021
Hallie
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It is clear to anyone who is not living under a rock that the most pressing issue of our time， and likely the most pressing issue for generations to come， is climate change。 As more and more literature is dedicated to the subject， fiction and nonfiction alike， it is hard to carve out a niche with a fresh perspective for those who are not well-versed in the subject。 Porter Fox has managed to do that with The Last Winter。The Last Winter is focused exclusively on the "cryosphere，" the term applied It is clear to anyone who is not living under a rock that the most pressing issue of our time， and likely the most pressing issue for generations to come， is climate change。 As more and more literature is dedicated to the subject， fiction and nonfiction alike， it is hard to carve out a niche with a fresh perspective for those who are not well-versed in the subject。 Porter Fox has managed to do that with The Last Winter。The Last Winter is focused exclusively on the "cryosphere，" the term applied to the frozen part of the Earth system: glaciers， snow， ice， etc。 At times， this reads like an adventure story as the author follows the world's scientists into the cryosphere， from the Rockies， to the Alps， to Greenland。 These adventures are interspersed with personal tidbits， as well as bursts of science laying out clearly the effects of climate change on the cryosphere。 The fate of all humanity rests in some of the most inhospitable climates， which are vanishing at a rapid pace。 Porter Fox does well to tie threads of humanity - between history， culture， arts， sports， travel， all connected to winter - and the potential impacts that will be felt as our winters become more scarce。 It's hard to picture our children or children's children existing in a world without snowball fights or sledding， but this book forces you to face that head on。 This was also a thoughtful love note to what might be most people's least favorite season。 We might all hate snow or slush or the cold， but we might hate a world without it more。 I highly recommend this book。Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Nancy
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“Warm Atlantic currents are fast melting the Arctic ice，” my grandfather said in an interview in 1960。 He warned that within 150 years， Detroit could be under water， “caused by torrential rains caused by the Arctic ice melting。”In 1958， my grandfather had read an article in Harper’s called “The Coming Ice Age” by Betty Freidan。 It was about the Theory of Ice Ages proposed by Columbia University professors Dr。 Maurice Ewing and Dr。 William L。 Donn。 Gramps became a climate change believer。 He wrot “Warm Atlantic currents are fast melting the Arctic ice，” my grandfather said in an interview in 1960。 He warned that within 150 years， Detroit could be under water， “caused by torrential rains caused by the Arctic ice melting。”In 1958， my grandfather had read an article in Harper’s called “The Coming Ice Age” by Betty Freidan。 It was about the Theory of Ice Ages proposed by Columbia University professors Dr。 Maurice Ewing and Dr。 William L。 Donn。 Gramps became a climate change believer。 He wrote countless letters to the men， and I have their letters back in my possession。 Gramps tapped his college friend Roger Blough， then president of U。 S。 Steel， to grant the Lamont researchers $25，000 for their project。A letter dated August 17， 1959， from Dr。 Ewing noted， “…a Mr。 Vajado has returned from the north pole with the news that there is a lot of hot water coming into the Arctic， both through the Bering Straits and from the Gulf Stream。” As I was born in 1952， I essentially grew up in a family where talk about climate change and melting Arctic ice， rising sea waters， and torrential rains was table talk。Toward the end of Porter Fox’s book The Last Winter， he writes about rising sea levels and geoengineering projects including floating seawalls to block warm water currents from glaciers。The mention of the floating seawalls sent me spinning back to my grandfather’s hobby horse: he was convinced that portable dams could block warm surface sea water and prevent further melting of Arctic ice。 Gramps wanted to prevent a new Ice Age。Climate science has changed since 1959， and we have had years to observe the effects of fossil fuels。 Porter Fox is concerned not with glaciers taking over the Earth， but the end of glaciers and the havoc it would create。Without glacier and mountain melt， rivers dry up。 If rivers dry up， transportation is curtailed， human populations are without a water source， agriculture is affected， and mass migration is inevitable。Fox traveled to the North Cascades， Alaska， the Swiss Alps， and Greenland to see how climate change and global warming is affecting these iconic ‘winter wonderlands’。Part travelogue， part memoir， part biographical sketches， and part nature writing， the book is highly entertaining。 His portraits of the people he met are wonderful， and I was very sorrowful when he wrote of the death of one man。The book is also highly terrifying。 More than one chapter’s end left me dejected and hopeless about the future we have fashioned for ourselves。 The Earth will remain， but the future for humanity is so overwhelmingly bleak， it makes me accept that I have no grandchildren to survive it。And yet…is there yet time to change our course？ At least enough to prevent the worst case scenario？ I dream of the wealthy putting their money to use to save the world， funding inventions to draw out carbon monoxide from the atmosphere， or alternative energy sources， and things I can’t even imagine but someone out there surely can。Fox barely made it off Greenland in time to reenter America before the Covid-19 shut down。 He and his family left the city for the mountains， enjoying the white world of ice and snow， aware that at any time， the winter he has loved could be the last。I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley。 My review is fair and unbiased。 。。。more
Lisa Konet
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