Behind the Curve: Science and the Politics of Global Warming

Howe, who teaches history and environmental studies at Reed College, analyzes our continually evolving “understanding of the dynamics of the global atmosphere.” Since Charles David Keeling’s first measurements of atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa in 1958, the political and practical response to his research has been slow, contentious, and complex. Despite the clear science, the primacy of science-first advocacy and its belief in the “forcing function of knowledge” has not yielded a successful response to this intractable problem, and manufactured doubt returns the question to endless cycles of research. Howe traces early disinterest in the CO2 issue by grassroots environmentalists, who felt it was nonlocal and diffuse, while pro-technology atmospheric science was tied to large government institutions and a Cold War agenda, relying on “high-tech tools of big-government science to do their jobs.” Decades-long U.N. efforts to prompt a global response brought the agendas of developed and developing nations into conflict over where the responsibility to prioritize, address, and pay for changes in industrialization lay. Howe’s strong insight into how individuals, institutions, and governments interact produces a fascinating yet distressing story, proving that despite its aspirations towards objectivity, applied science historically is a flawed, human tale approaching a classical tragedy. B&w illus. (Apr.)