Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet

Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet
Author(s)	Mark Lynas
Country	Great Britain
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science, Non-fiction
Publisher	Fourth Estate
Publication date	2007, 2008 in USA
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	358p.
ISBN	ISBN 9780007209057
OCLC Number	76359874

Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet (358 pages), ISBN 9780007209057 is a 2007 (2008 in USA) non-fiction book by author Mark Lynas about global warming.

Themes

The book is a meta-analysis that details the science of climate change. The first chapter describes the expected effects of climate change with one degree increase in average global temperature since pre-industrial times. The second chapter describes the effects of two degrees average temperature and so forth until Chapter 6 which shows the expected effects of six degrees (°) average global temperature. The effects are also compare to paleoclimatic studies, with six degrees of warming compared back to the Cretaceous.^{[citation needed]}

Contents

The tropical and subtropical zones are likely to become uninhabitable at 5 or 6 degrees of warming, according to Lynas' exhaustive review of the broad spectrum of climate research. The tropical zone is here highlighted in red. The subtropical zone is highlighted in yellow below.

Special coverage is given to the positive feedback mechanisms that could dramatically accelerate climate change. The book explains how the release of methane hydrate and the release of methane from melting permafrost could unleash a major extinction event. Carbon cycle feedbacks, the demise of coral, the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest, and extreme desertification are also described, with five or six degrees of warming potentially leading to the complete uninhabitability of the tropics and subtropics, as well as extreme water and food shortages, possibly leading to mass migration of billions of people.

See also

• The Age of Stupid

Related prize

A National Geographic TV programme,"Six Degrees Could Change The World" was based after the book. It also won a General Prize from the Royal Society.

External links

• What will climate change do to our planet?, The Sunday Times, March 11, 2007. Summary of some of the book's key scenarios.
• Six steps to hell, The Guardian, 23 April 2007. Summary article by the book's author.