Posted on 20 February 2021 by John Hartz

Editor's Choice

Q&A: Is Elizabeth Kolbert’s New Book a Hopeful Look at the Promise of Technology, or a Cautionary Tale?

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author calls “Under a White Sky” a “logical sequel” to her 2014 bestseller, “The Sixth Extinction.”

Elizabeth Kolbert's new book "Under A White Sky: The Nature of the Future" explores various technologies humans have used or are researching to solve the planet's most pressing problems. Credit: John Kleiner

As the dominant species on the planet, humans have altered the direction rivers flow, modified genes to make toads less poisonous and chickens glow and someday could change the color of the sky.

But what happens when human creations backfire? Author Elizabeth Kolbert’s newest book, Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future, explores different nature-altering technologies, both in existence and in the abstract, and how these technologies could help solve planetary problems, or could become problems themselves. 

Kolbert’s new book parallels her 2014 book The Sixth Extinction winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction—about the ongoing massive extinction of species, which some experts attribute to humans. Both books examine Earth in the age of the Anthropocene—the current geological era in which humans have an outsized impact on the planet’s systems. 

Click here to access the entire article as originally published on the Inside Climate News website.

Q&A: Is Elizabeth Kolbert’s New Book a Hopeful Look at the Promise of Technology, or a Cautionary Tale? by Katelyn Weisbrod, Inside Climate News, Feb 14, 2021

Articles Linked to on Facebook

Sun, Feb 14, 2021

• Biden wants to create millions of clean-energy jobs. China and Europe are way ahead of him. by Jeanne Whalen, Technology, Washington Post, Feb 11, 2021
• It’s time to end subsidies for burning wood from forests by Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, Climate Home News, Feb 11, 2021
• IEA: India is on ‘cusp of a solar-powered revolution’ by Josh Gabbatiss, Energy, Carbon Brief, Feb 9, 2021
• February 2021 ENSO update: library time by Emily Becker, ENSO Blog, NOAA's Climate .gov, Feb 11, 2021
• South Central US is bracing for another brutal round of sub-freezing temperatures, snow and ice  by Christina Maxouris, CNN, Feb 14, 2021
• South Central US is bracing for another brutal round of sub-freezing temperatures, snow and ice  by Christina Maxouris, CNN, Feb 14, 2021
• In an important new book, Bill Gates offers a real-world plan for avoiding a ‘climate disaster’ by Clifton Leaf, Book Review, Fortune Magazine, Feb 13, 2021

Mon, Feb 15, 2021

• Breitbart article makes numerous false claims about the impacts of climate change, based on Global Warming Policy Foundation post, Edited by Nikki Forrester, Article Reviews, Climate Feedback, Feb 12, 2021
• Why avoiding climate change ‘maladaptation’ is vital, Guest Post by Dr Lisa Schipper, Dr Morgan Scoville-Simonds, Dr Katharine Vincent & Prof Siri Eriksen, Carbon Brief, Feb 10, 2021
• Millions without power as winter weather blasts the US by Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner & Mike Hayes, CNN, Feb 15, 2021
• Frozen wind turbines hamper Texas power output, state's electric grid operator says by Brandon Mulder, Austin American-Statesman/Amarillo Globe-News, Feb 15, 2021
• Cold Weather Doesn't Mean Climate Change Isn't Happening by Jan Wesner Childs, Environment, The Weather Channel, Feb 13, 2021

Tue, Feb 16, 2021

• There’s an invisible climate threat seeping from grocery store freezers. Biden wants to change that. by Juliet Eilperin & Desmond Butler, Climate & Environment, Washington Post, Feb 15, 2021
• How faith-based organizations are restoring nature by Iyad Abumoghli, News & Stories, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Feb 15, 2021
• Australia's lack of effort on climate change is going to cost us, Opinion by Bill Hare, Comment is Free, The Guardian, Feb 14, 2021
• Top economists warn US against underestimating climate damage by Eric Roston & Will Wade. Bloomberg Green, Feb 15, 2021
• More than 200 million people are under alerts as a deadly winter storm moves into the Northeast by Madeline Holcombe, CNN, Feb 16, 2021
• How Does Bill Gates Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis?, Book Review by Bill McKibben, New York Times, Feb 15, 2021
• Submarine Permafrost Has Been Overlooked as a Major Source of Greenhouse Gases, Scientists Warn, E360 Digest, Yale Environment 360, Feb 15, 2021
• How is the Polar Vortex Linked to Climate Change? by Olivia Rosane, Environment, Treehugger, Feb 15, 2021

Wed, Feb 17, 2021

• Why the Texas power grid is struggling to cope with the extreme cold by Umair Irfan, Vox, Feb 16, 2021
• NOAA: January 2021 was ninth-warmest on record in the U.S., seventh-warmest globally by Jeff Masters, Ph.D., Eye on the Storm, Yale Climate Connections, Feb 21, 2021
• Do we need more scary climate change articles? Maybe. by Kate Yoder, Environment, Grist, Feb 16, 2021
• Millions are still without power as winter storms continue by Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Judson Jones and Mike Hayes, Live Update, CNN, Feb 17, 2021
• Mysteries of massive holes forming in Siberian permafrost unlocked by scientists by Katie Hunt, World, CNN, Feb 17, 2021
• The Texas grid got crushed because its operators didn’t see the need to prepare for cold weather by Will Englund, Business, Washington Post, Feb 15, 2021
• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott blames wind turbines, Green New Deal policies for outages. Critics call that ‘a lie.' by Katie Shepard, Morning Mix, Washington Post, Feb 17, 2021

Thu, Feb 18, 2021

• The islands that protect Germany from the North Sea by Sophie Hardach, Future Planet, Feb 16, 2021
• How global warming is making power plants produce less electricity, Guest Post by Dr Ethan Coffel & Dr Justin Mankin, Carbon Brief, Feb 15, 2021
• Storm threatens to blanket the East Coast in ice as Texans struggle for heat and water after days without power by Jason Hanna and Madeline Holcombe, CNN, Feb 18, 2021
• Why the power is out in Texas ... and why other states are vulnerable too by Bob Henson, Eye on the Storm, Yale Climate Connections, Feb 17, 2021
• The Texas power grid is improving. But days of outages have caused heat, water and food shortages by Eric Levenson & Travis Caldwell, CNN, Feb 18, 2021

Fri Feb 19, 2021

• Scientists are divided over whether climate change is fueling extreme cold events by Umair Irfan, Vox, Feb 18, 2021
• Health benefits of Paris climate goals could save millions of lives by 2040, Guest Post by Dr Alice McGushin & Dr Harry Kennard, Carbon Brief, Feb 17, 2021
• Facebook will debunk myths about climate change, stepping further into ‘arbiter of truth’ role by Salvador Rodriguez, CNBC, Feb 18, 2021
• Why the Texas power catastrophe could happen in your state, too by Chris Isadore, CNN Business, Feb 19, 2021
• How Much Does Climate Change Cost? Biden Expected to Raise Carbon’s Dollar Value by Marianne Lavelle, Politics & Policy, Inside Climate News, Jan 19, 2021
• 3 Things People Get Wrong About The Polar Vortex And Climate Change by Marshall Shepherd, Science, Forbes, Feb 19, 2021

Sat Feb 20, 2021

• U.S. rejoins Paris climate agreement. Now comes the daunting part. by Josh Lederman, Climate Crises, NBC News, Feb 19, 2021
• When Two Tibetan Glaciers Collapsed, the Whole Landscape Changed by Chelsea Harvey, E&E News/Scientific American, Feb 12, 2021
• Q&A: Is Elizabeth Kolbert’s New Book a Hopeful Look at the Promise of Technology, or a Cautionary Tale? by Katelyn Weisbrod, Inside Climate News, Feb 14, 2021
• Meteorologist for Texas grid operator warned of the winter storm’s severity by Andrew Freedman, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Feb 19, 2021
• U.S. must go ‘well beyond Paris commitments’ to avert catastrophic global warming, warns scientist by Emily DeCiccio, Politics, CNBC, Feb 19, 2021
• UN Head Decries 'Senseless and Suicidal' Destruction of Nature as New Report Urges Systemic Solutions by Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams, Feb 18, 2021