Oliver Morton

I've been trying to find a very similar book I've read in the past about the moon, which is almost identical: promises science and speculation and instead delivers cultural references. The other was mostly pop culture and this one is slightly more high-brow but it's still not what I'm interested in.

The author has some beef with Musk, Bezos and presumably anyone else who doesn't share his politics. I hate it that authors nowadays feels like I give a damn about their politics or that it's relevant to tell me how they feel. Maybe you should talk to a friend, not put it in a book? Write a newspaper column?… (mere)

Mankind has spent millennia altering and changing their local environment, but with the discovery of fossil fuels and our current addiction to them we have begun the process of changing the entire global climate. He explores the effect we have had on our world with carbon dioxide, nitrogen fertilisers and sulphate in the atmosphere and considers the perilous situation that the world could be in just a few years. Even though some choose to ignore it, climate change is the thing that isn’t going to go away.
A need to address the risks of global warming is urgent and pressing. A small group of scientists are looking at proposals such as cultivation of photosynthetic plankton or a stratospheric veil against the sun or having automated robotic ships cloud seeding for intervention against the effect of climate change. In this book Morton seeks to inform us about the benefits and hazards of these geoengineering strategies. Even trying to change things in a positive way is fraught with danger, but inaction holds equal dangers.

Morton has drawn together a broad overview on the coming threats of climate change and the possibilities that geoengineering offers in digging us out of the mire. It does make for interesting reading the discussion of the technologies available to reduce carbon emissions and reflect sunlight back into space. While he covers various new technologies and new ways that are being considered to combat this, he didn’t seem to be bold enough to commit to the one he would recommend. Overall this isn’t a bad book, but didn’t seem to have the focus that I was expecting, but then that might be because the solution might be as dangerous as the problem. 2.5 stars.… (mere)

An inclusive look at the Moon, investigating everything from its phases to its size and appearance, to its orbit, surface, and trajectories. Continuing, the author weaves together stories of visits, exposure, and imaginative tales penned by science fiction writers.

There have been instances of lunar meteorites found on Earth, bits of ejecta blasted from the Moon by impacts strong enough to create craters a few miles in diameter. And a recent examination of a lunar rock sample returned to Earth from the surface of the moon revealed an Earth fragment embedded in the rock. Clearly, there is a strong connection between the planet and its lone satellite.

From the days of the early astronomers to the future awaiting mankind, “Moon” explores the possibility of using the Moon as a stepping-off point for space exploration. As technology advances, new ideas meet old dreams and now, half a century since the Apollo astronauts walked on the lunar surface, NASA is once again planning a return to the moon. Has short-sightedness kept mankind away from the moon for too long? And what will new explorers find when they return?

“The Moon” includes sources and suggestions for further reading, references, and lunar illustrations. Particularly relevant as the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing approaches, readers are sure to find much to appreciate in this absorbing narrative.

Highly recommended.… (mere)