Bill McGuire

We inhabit a planet in peril. Our once temperate world is locked on course to become a hothouse entirely of our own making. Hothouse Earth: an Inhabitant's Guide provides a post-COP26 perspective on the climate emergency, acknowledging that it is now practically impossible to keep this side of the 1.5°C dangerous climate change guardrail. The upshot is that we can no longer dodge the arrival of disastrous, all-pervasive climate breakdown that will come as a hammer blow to global society and economy. Bill McGuire, Professor of Geophysical and Climate Hazards, explains the science behind the climate crisis, painting a blunt but authentic picture of the sort of world our children will grow old in, and our grandchildren grow up in; a world that we catch only glimpses of in today's blistering heatwaves, calamitous wildfires and ruinous floods and droughts. Bleak though it is, the picture is one we must all face up to, if only to spur genuine action - even at this late stage - to stop a harrowing future becoming a truly cataclysmic one.

An Inhabitant’s Guide

Hothouse Earth

The last 20,000 years has seen our world flip from icehouse to greenhouse, provoking earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic outbursts. Like a giant stirring from a long sleep, the Earth beneath our feet tossed and turned. Bill McGuire argues that climate change is once more setting the scene for the giant to reawaken, and we can already see the signs.

How a changing climate triggers earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes

Waking the Giant

Adrian P. Jones

Jürgen Neuberg

A study which reveals active volcanoes to be dynamically evolving structures, the growth and development of which are punctuated by episodes of instability and subsequent structural failure. Edifice failure and consequent debris avalanche formation appears to occur, on average, at least four times a century, and similar behaviour is known to have occured at volcanoes on Mars and Venus. The book claims that hazard-mitigation strategies must now address the possibility of future collapse events which may be ten-times greater than that at Mount St Helens in 1980.

Volcano Instability on the Earth and Other Planets

Mark A. Maslin

Climate Forcing of Geological Hazards provides a valuable new insight into how climate change is able to influence, modulate and trigger geological and geomorphological phenomena, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and landslides; ultimately increasing the risk of natural hazards in a warmer world. Taken together, the chapters build a panorama of a field of research that is only now becoming recognized as important in the context of the likely impacts and implications of anthropogenic climate change. The observations, analyses and interpretations presented in the volume reinforce the idea that a changing climate does not simply involve the atmosphere and hydrosphere, but also elicits potentially hazardous responses from the solid Earth, or geosphere. Climate Forcing of Geological Hazards is targeted particularly at academics, graduate students and professionals with an interest in environmental change and natural hazards. As such, we are hopeful that it will encourage further investigation of those mechanisms by which contemporary climate change may drive potentially hazardous geological and geomorphological activity, and of the future ramifications for society and economy.

Climate Forcing of Geological Hazards

Twenty thousand years ago our planet was an icehouse. Temperatures were down six degrees; ice sheets kilometres thick buried much of Europe and North America and sea levels were 130m lower. The following 15 millennia saw an astonishing transformation as our planet metamorphosed into the temperate world upon which our civilisation has grown and thrived. One of the most dynamic periods in Earth history saw rocketing temperatures melt the great ice sheets like butter on a hot summer's day; feeding torrents of freshwater into ocean basins that rapidly filled to present levels. The removal of the enormous weight of ice at high latitudes caused the crust to bounce back triggering earthquakes in Europe and North America and provoking an unprecedented volcanic outburst in Iceland. A giant submarine landslide off the coast of Norway sent a tsunami crashing onto the Scottish coast while around the margins of the continents the massive load exerted on the crust by soaring sea levels encouraged a widespread seismic and volcanic rejoinder. In many ways, this post-glacial world mirrors that projected to arise as a consequence of unmitigated climate change driven by human activities. Already there are signs that the effects of climbing global temperatures are causing the sleeping giant to stir once again. Could it be that we are on track to bequeath to our children and their children not only a far hotter world, but also a more geologically fractious one?

'It's a paradox but this was one of the most chilling books I've read this year. It's the definitive guide to where we're heading ...' ANTHONY HOROWITZ 'The Earth is already in a dangerous phase of heating. Many scientists admit privately to actually being "scared" by recent weather extremes. But the public doesn't like pessimism, so we environment journalists hint at future optimism. This book provides a more steely-eyed view on how we can cope with a hothouse world.' - ROGER HARRABIN, former BBC Environment Analyst 'A comprehensive tour of climate breakdown, the trouble we are heading for and the many forms it might take. This accessible and authoritative book is a must-read for anyone who still thinks it could be OK to carry on as we are for a little bit longer, or that climate chaos might not affect them or their kids too badly.' MIKE BERNERS-LEE is a professor at Lancaster University, founder of Small World Consultancy and author of There is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years 'Taut, calmly told and truly terrifying - and there's no arguing with the science. If you read just one book about the menace of climate breakdown, make it this one.' - TIM RADFORD, Climate News Network 'Convincing and passionate - an invaluable guide for those who are relatively new to the issue of climate breakdown and a useful revisor for those of us who have been reading the science for many years.' - BRENDAN MONTAGUE, editor of the Ecologist 'A compelling clarion call for a planet in peril. If the searing science of Hothouse Earth doesn't set alarm bells ringing, then it is difficult to see what else will.' - PROFESSOR IAIN STEWART, geologist and broadcaster 'It is rare indeed, for a top scientist to spell out with blunt honesty the hell that we are heading into. Bill McGuire is one of the very few.' - ROGER HALLAM, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion 'Hothouse Earth is an easy to understand and authoritative reference source for all things climate science. It is a very, very, sobering read. If our so-called leaders were to read it, they would adapt ... Why not buy them a copy?' - RUPERT READ, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia and former spokesperson and strategist for Extinction Rebellion 'Ironically, it's never been harder telling the full truth about the climate emergency. Thanks to Bill McGuire for doing exactly that - and for still leaving us with plenty of reasons to be hopeful - just so long as we get our shit sorted without any further delay.' - JONATHON PORRITT, environmental campaigner and author of Hope in Hell: A Decade to Confront the Climate Emergency 'Every decision maker in government, business and wider society should read this book - and then act as fast as possible to reduce carbon pollution to zero.' DR STUART PARKINSON, executive director, Scientists for Global Responsibility We inhabit a planet in peril. Our once temperate world is locked on course to become a hothouse entirely of our own making. Hothouse Earth: An Inhabitant's Guide provides a post-COP26 perspective on the climate emergency, acknowledging that it is now practically impossible to keep this side of the 1.5°C dangerous climate change guardrail. The upshot is that we can no longer dodge the arrival of disastrous, all-pervasive, climate breakdown that will come as a hammer blow to global society and economy. Bill McGuire, Professor of Geophysical and Climate Hazards, explains the science behind the climate crisis and for the first time presents a blunt but authentic picture of the sort of world our children will grow old in, and our grandchildren grow up in; a world that we catch only glimpses of in today's blistering heatwaves, calamitous wildfires and ruinous floods and droughts. Bleak though it is, the picture is one we must all face up to, if only to spur genuine action - even at this late stage - to stop a harrowing future becoming a truly cataclysmic one.

Volcanoes, earthquakes, and giant killer tidal waves called tsunamis . . . We think of these events as disasters, but for Earth they are merely business as usual. This dramatically illustrated book describes some of the more than 3,000 active volcanoes scattered around the planet, and chronicles many of history's most devastating volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tidal waves. The author explains that volcanoes and earthquakes both result from movement of the Earth's vast tectonic plates, and are most likely to occur at or near places where two or more plates come together. Such movement has been going on since the Earth's origins, creating mountain ranges and dividing the landmass into separate continents. Described in these pages are volcanic blasts from the past: Vesuvius, Italy in 79 A.D. ... Laki, Iceland in 1783 ... Tambora, Indonesia in 1815 ... Krakatoa, Indonesia in 1883 ... Mount St. Helens, Washington State in 1980 ... Pinatubo, the Philippines in 1991, and others. Also chronicled are earthquakes that have struck large population centers, producing disasters in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1755, San Francisco in 1906, Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan, in 1923, and Kobe, Japan, in 1995. The Earth's major trouble spots and likely targets for future earthquakes are described. Urban areas in greatest danger continue to be those along the Pacific Rim, which encompasses North America's West Coast and most of Japan's cities. Here is an intensely readable summary of natural disasters that have struck the earth, along with informed speculation on how and when similar events will recur in the future. More than 200 color illustrations.

Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and the Tectonic Threat to Life on Earth

Raging Planet

Cari Meister

Buzz takes a job at the toy store, but his experiments start to go a little too far.

Buzz Beaker and the Growing Goo

Life on Earth will eventually come to an end. This work focuses on the many potential catastrophes facing our planet in the future, from global warming and new Ice Ages to asteroid impact, supervolcanoes and mega-tsunami. It looks at the science behind these events and our chances of survival.

A Very Short Introduction

Global Catastrophes

Sometimes, when you’re in a hole, it’s best to stop digging. This applies as much to messing with the climate as anything else, except even more so. Jane Haliwell put her head in her hands. To tell the truth, she was still in shock. All the samples she had taken from inside and around the lab contained the enigmatic spheres in huge numbers. She had only had a brief time to think about the implications, but she was pretty sure already what was going on. For the first time in the history of the world, it was literally raining carbon. Long before it stopped, the guilty would pay, but so would the innocent…

Skyseed

Life on earth will come to an end. It's just a matter of when. A Guide to the End of the World focuses on the many potential catastrophes facing our planet and our species in the future, and looks at both the probability of these events happening and our chances of survival. Coverage extendsfrom discussion of the likely consequences of the current global warming to the inevitable destruction of the earth in the far future, when it is enveloped by our giant, bloated sun. In between, other 'end of the world scenarios' will be examined, including the New Ice Age, asteroid and cometimpact, supervolcanoes, and mega-tsunami.

Bill McGuire

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