The scientific evidence for climate change is overwhelming and early.
The fact that the earth's climate is changing is no longer subject to much debate. The debate is over what's causing it and what we should do about it.
Book summary
Award-Winner / Critically AcclaimedGoodreads Favorite
Field Notes from a Catastrophe
by Elizabeth Kolbert
Man, Nature, and Climate Change
Early reporting on climate change impacts and science
4.4(6.2k)Published 2006
Topics
Climate ChangeEnvironmental ScienceGlobal WarmingJournalism
Reading companion
How to read Field Notes from a Catastrophe with Readever
Read this book as foundational environmental journalism that established climate change as a major public issue. Use Readever to highlight Kolbert's field observations alongside the scientific explanations that make them meaningful. The AI-powered insights will help you connect individual climate impacts to the broader patterns of global warming. Treat each chapter as a field report and document how early evidence has evolved into current climate understanding.
Things to know before reading
- Kolbert's reporting combines scientific rigor with compelling narrative—expect both data and human stories
- The book documents early climate evidence—be prepared to see how these observations have accelerated
- Come with questions about how scientific consensus forms and how evidence translates to public understanding
- Understand that this was pioneering work that helped establish climate change as a major public issue
Brief summary
Field Notes from a Catastrophe in a nutshell
Elizabeth Kolbert's groundbreaking work of environmental journalism documents the early evidence and science of climate change. Based on her award-winning series in The New Yorker, Kolbert travels from Alaska to Greenland, from the Netherlands to the Amazon, meeting scientists and witnessing firsthand the evidence of global warming. She presents a clear-eyed assessment of the climate challenge, combining on-the-ground reporting with accessible explanations of the underlying science.
Key ideas overview
Field Notes from a Catastrophe summary of 3 key ideas
Kolbert's pioneering journalism helped establish climate change as a major public issue by documenting the scientific evidence and its real-world impacts.
Climate impacts are already visible around the world.
I have seen the future, and it doesn't work.
Human activities are clearly driving the observed changes.
The basic science of global warming is simple enough that it can be explained in a few sentences.
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Book summaries like Field Notes from a Catastrophe
Discover similar journeys
Understand the early evidence and science that established our understanding of climate change.
This summary reveals the foundational evidence that established climate change as a global crisis. You'll learn how scientists discovered global warming, understand the early evidence that confirmed the phenomenon, and discover why the scientific consensus emerged so strongly. These insights provide essential historical context for understanding today's climate challenges and policy debates.
Deep dive
Key ideas in Field Notes from a Catastrophe
Key idea 1
The scientific evidence for climate change is overwhelming and early.
The fact that the earth's climate is changing is no longer subject to much debate. The debate is over what's causing it and what we should do about it.
Kolbert documents how scientists established the reality of climate change through multiple lines of evidence: rising global temperatures, melting ice sheets and glaciers, rising sea levels, and changing weather patterns. She shows how the scientific consensus emerged from decades of research across multiple disciplines, creating one of the most robust scientific findings in history.
Remember
- Recognize that climate change science is based on multiple independent lines of evidence.
- Understand that the scientific consensus emerged from decades of research.
- Appreciate how different scientific fields converged on the same conclusions.
Key idea 2
Climate impacts are already visible around the world.
I have seen the future, and it doesn't work.
Through her travels to research stations and field sites, Kolbert witnesses firsthand evidence of climate change: melting permafrost in Alaska, retreating glaciers in Greenland, rising seas in the Netherlands, and changing ecosystems in the Amazon. These observations demonstrate that climate change is not a future problem but a present reality with visible consequences.
Remember
- Recognize that climate impacts are occurring now, not in the distant future.
- Understand that climate change affects every region of the world.
- Appreciate how climate evidence is visible in multiple natural systems.
Key idea 3
Human activities are clearly driving the observed changes.
The basic science of global warming is simple enough that it can be explained in a few sentences.
Kolbert clearly explains how human activities—particularly burning fossil fuels—are altering the atmosphere's composition and driving climate change. She documents how scientists established the causal connection between human emissions and observed warming, and explains why natural factors cannot account for the rapid changes we're seeing.
Remember
- Recognize that human activities are the primary driver of current climate change.
- Understand the basic mechanism of the greenhouse effect.
- Appreciate how scientists established the human fingerprint on climate change.
Context
What is Field Notes from a Catastrophe about?
Field Notes from a Catastrophe represents Elizabeth Kolbert's pioneering work of environmental journalism that helped establish climate change as a major public issue. Originally published as a three-part series in The New Yorker, the book combines Kolbert's skill as a science journalist with extensive field reporting to document both the evidence for climate change and its real-world impacts.
The book follows Kolbert's travels to research sites around the world where scientists are studying climate change effects. She visits climate researchers in Alaska, Greenland, the Netherlands, and elsewhere, providing both the human stories behind the science and clear explanations of the underlying phenomena. The work was instrumental in bringing climate change to broader public attention.
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Review
Field Notes from a Catastrophe review
Field Notes from a Catastrophe has been widely praised for its accessible presentation of climate science and compelling field reporting. Kolbert's ability to translate complex scientific concepts into engaging narratives, combined with her on-the-ground observations, creates a powerful account of the climate challenge. The book's clear-eyed assessment and human stories helped establish climate change as a major public issue and remain relevant for understanding the foundations of climate science.
- Groundbreaking environmental journalism that established climate change as a public issue.
- Accessible explanations of complex climate science.
- Compelling first-hand accounts of climate impacts.
Who should read Field Notes from a Catastrophe?
Anyone interested in understanding the foundations of climate science.
Students of environmental science, journalism, and science communication.
Citizens seeking to understand the evidence behind climate change.
Readers interested in how scientific evidence translates into public understanding.
About the author
Elizabeth Kolbert is an American journalist and author who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1999. She has written extensively about climate change and environmental issues, with her work appearing in numerous publications. Field Notes from a Catastrophe was her first major book on environmental topics, followed later by The Sixth Extinction, which won the Pulitzer Prize. Kolbert is known for her ability to combine rigorous science reporting with compelling narrative storytelling.
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Final summary
Field Notes from a Catastrophe offers a foundational understanding of climate change science and impacts through Kolbert's pioneering environmental journalism. Her combination of clear scientific explanations, compelling field reporting, and human stories helped establish climate change as a major public issue. The book remains relevant for understanding how the scientific consensus emerged and why climate change represents one of the most significant challenges facing humanity.
Inside the book
Field Notes from a Catastrophe continues to provide essential historical context for understanding the development of climate science and public awareness. Use these extended notes to revisit Kolbert's key findings: the scientific evidence for climate change is overwhelming and early, climate impacts are already visible around the world, and human activities are clearly driving the observed changes.
The book's enduring importance lies in its role as pioneering environmental journalism that helped establish climate change as a major public issue. Kolbert's combination of clear scientific explanation and compelling field reporting created a template for science communication that continues to influence how we understand and discuss climate challenges today.
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