CO2 Rising

[T]his book is an excellent introduction for undergraduate students and the general public with a keen interest in knowing more about climate change. It is equally informative for scientists and professionals specializing in different fields who would like to have an interdisciplinary view of the wonderful carbon cycle.

Carbon atoms with personality. That is the interesting literary device biochemist Tyler Volk uses to illustrate the fantastic convolutions that define the many and varied pathways of the carbon cycle…. The public hears a lot about climate change but too little about just why too much CO2—a natural part of our atmosphere—is bad news. Volk does an impressive job of illustrating, in engaging prose, the dangers to humanity of pushing the carbon cycle too hard and too fast.

I confess to initial doubts regarding a narrative about an anthropomorphized carbon atom… But this skeptic got caught up in the story and was impressed by the effectiveness with which Volk conveys complex concepts, the time scales involved, and some illuminating statistics. (For the full review, %20Issues/September-October%202009/Books-so09.html)

…the book is well written and engaging… Volk clearly and fairly communicates complex and sometimes difficult concepts. CO2 Rising provides the basic information about the global carbon cycle that is needed to understand the scope, challenges, and options for dealing with climate change. This understanding should be part of everyone’s scientific literacy. (For the full review, html.)

The MIT Press has released CO2 Rising-The World’s Greatest Environmental Challenge by Tyler Volk. This is the ultimate guide to the subject. A basic understanding of the carbon, CO2, and its cycle is necessary in order to understand what is driving global warming. This engaging and compelling book provides everything you need to know. It is jargon-free and easy to follow. (For the full review, asp)

Tyler Volk takes the reader on a journey of the carbon cycle from the viewpoint of individual carbon atoms. He then compares the natural release of carbon into the biosphere to that released by our use of fossil fuels. Both serve to bring the science of the carbon cycle to the reader in understandable terms.

Tyler Volk’s CO2 Rising is a finely crafted introduction to the greenhouse problem, taking as its protagonist a little carbon atom called Dave…. If there is one book on climate change that President-elect Barack Obama should read, it might well be Tyler Volk’s CO2 Rising. Its clear, simple exposition of atmospheric chemistry is so well-written that it might even convince past-presidents. (For the full review, 2008.123.html.)

…Volk introduces readers to Oiliver, Coaleen, and Methaniel, who unlike Dave were purposively extracted from the earth and have been in the biosphere for a much shorter period…more than competent tour guides to the complexities of the carbon cycle. (For the full review, _volk.html)

…what sets CO2 Rising apart from other climate change books are its clear, concise and concrete explanations of how Earth’s carbon cycle works…Dave and his fellow carbon atoms will give readers a new appreciation of how connected the world is—at least through the carbon we all share.

Tyler Volk is Science Director of Environmental Studies and Professor of Biology at New York University. He is the author of Gaia’s Body- Toward a Physiology of the Earth (MIT Press, 2003), Metapatterns- Across Space, Time, and Mind, and other books.

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