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  • Unsettled

  • What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters
  • Written by: Steven E. Koonin
  • Narrated by: Jay Aaseng
  • Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (87 ratings)

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Unsettled

Written by: Steven E. Koonin
Narrated by: Jay Aaseng
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Publisher's Summary

"Surging sea levels are inundating the coasts."

"Hurricanes and tornadoes are becoming fiercer and more frequent."

"Climate change will be an economic disaster."

You've heard all this presented as fact. But according to science, all of these statements are profoundly misleading.

When it comes to climate change, the media, politicians, and other prominent voices have declared that "the science is settled." In reality, the long game of telephone from research to reports to the popular media is corrupted by misunderstanding and misinformation. Core questions - about the way the climate is responding to our influence, and what the impacts will be - remain largely unanswered. The climate is changing, but the why and how aren't as clear as you've probably been led to believe.

Now, one of America's most distinguished scientists is clearing away the fog to explain what science really says (and doesn't say) about our changing climate. In Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters, Steven Koonin draws upon his decades of experience - including as a top science advisor to the Obama administration - to provide up-to-date insights and expert perspective free from political agendas.

Fascinating, clear-headed, and full of surprises, this book gives listeners the tools to both understand the climate issue and be savvier consumers of science media in general. Koonin takes listeners behind the headlines to the more nuanced science itself, showing us where it comes from and guiding us through the implications of the evidence. He dispels popular myths and unveils little-known truths: despite a dramatic rise in greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures actually decreased from 1940 to 1970. What's more, the models we use to predict the future aren't able to accurately describe the climate of the past, suggesting they are deeply flawed.

Koonin also tackles society's response to a changing climate, using data-driven analysis to explain why many proposed "solutions" would be ineffective, and discussing how alternatives like adaptation and, if necessary, geoengineering will ensure humanity continues to prosper. Unsettled is a reality check buoyed by hope, offering the truth about climate science that you aren't getting elsewhere - what we know, what we don't, and what it all means for our future.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Steven E. Koonin (P)2021 BenBella Books
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great a must read

a great book very detailed and researched every one should read it especially the politicians

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Climate science unsettled? Yes and very much so.

Much of the Western World's media, activist and political life is obsessed by concern about climate change, yet there are few forums for a rational discussion of the subject. For example, Canada's government has viewed the current pandemic as an opportunity to redesign the economy, "build back better" under the assumption that even the most alarmist climate model predictions are definitive scientific climate facts. This laughable obsession over Canada's mere 1.5% contribution to world CO2 levels, has slowed and even put at risk Canada's Covid-19 pandemic response. Bill Gates' new book "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster" simply feeds the frenzy assuming an alarming level of crisis while spending no time on a review of the science, merely diving directly into "solutions." (Thanks Bill. It took you 15 years to duplicate imperfectly Apple's Macintosh user interface. Its a little rich for you to assume you can develop a "theory of everything" for our climate in a fraction of that time without spending any serious time learning the science.) Into this alarmist hysteria comes Steven Koonin not with any new science sources, but just a careful examination of what the establishment IPCC's scientists are actually saying and not saying. He shows how the media, politicians and climate activists have not only magnified but distorted, withheld, if not directly lied about the available IPCC data findings. Koonin does this by examining directly what the actual findings are on common concerns including, among others, frequency of hurricanes and tornados, new temperature records, rising ocean levels and the effects of C02's ppm rise both positive (on agriculture) and negative (temperature rise -- but much more muted than climate modeling programs predict). Hopefully this book helps replace the currently largely uninformed and heated conversations in the West with rational evidence-based conversations.

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Brutally honest and refreshing

This was a good book if you want to know where the climate propaganda comes from. It also tells about how far we have come and gives honest answers as to how we have to go when it comes to learning about the climate.

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Great book

Glad to see an open conversation on the topic. Well researched. I enjoyed the JRE podcast that made me buy this book.

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Enlightening

This book is balanced and realistic with strong evidence against the viewpoints claiming that climate-change-catastrophe is imminent even while the author certainly acknowledges that some human caused climate change is occurring which might have some negative impacts. Highly recommend!

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A balanced review of a complex subject.

I had been searching for a thoughtful book that avoided the shrill and politicized extremes so prevalent in discussions of the subject of climate change. The author, an eminently qualified scientist, eschews the rantings of politicians and ideologues and presents his understanding of this complex subject in a calm and rational manner. Highly recommended for anyone searching for facts amongst the voices of climate change deniers and climate alarmists alike.

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Great book, factual, rational and balanced!

Really appreciated the tone, precision, nuances, rationality and overall professionalism of this book. It’s very scientific and numbers based, so it’s sometimes a bit dense to follow, but the information is still very accessible and down to earth. I enjoyed it very much and will definitely recommend it to my friends!

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compelling critique of climate alarmism

Koonin manages to upend the credibility of the IPCC using their own data. As the title suggests, current scientific understanding of human caused climate change is far from being settled.

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Love the level-headed factual approach

Watch a global warming fear monger on Joe Rogan cutting up Steve. Listened to this book to form my opinion. I will listen to that other guys book next.... But the stuff he was saying on Joe Rogan just wasn't adding up. We will see.

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Essential Reading

It's a great book that gives much needed nuance and detail to this super relevant topic. It's one of those books that needs to be spread far and wide, and fast.

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