A Hole in the Wind

by David Goodrich

Overview

An epic bicycle journey across the American hinterland that explores the challenges of climate change alongside a diverse array of American voices.

After a distinguished career in climate science as the Director of the UN Global Climate Observing System in Geneva, David Goodrich returned home to the United States to find a nation and a people in denial. Concerned that the American people are willfully deluded by the misinformation about climate that dominates media and politics, David thought a little straight talk could set things right.

Starting on the beach in Delaware, David rode his bike 4,200 miles to Oregon, talking with the people he met on the ultimate road trip. Along the way he learned a great deal about why climate is a complicated issue for many Americans and even more about the country we all share.

Climate change is the central environmental issue of our time. But A Hole in the Wind is also about the people and experiences Dave encountered as he rod, like the toddler's beauty pageant in Delaware, the tornado in Missouri, rust-belt towns and their relationship with fracking, and the uranium-poisoned ghost town in Wyoming. As he rides, David will discuss the climate with audiences varying from laboratories to elementary schools.

Beautifully simple, direct, and honest, A Hole in the Wind is a fresh, refreshing ride through a difficult and controversial topic, and a rich read that makes you glad to be alive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681774312
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	06/06/2017
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

David Goodrich is the former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Observations and Monitoring Program, and served as the Director of the UN Global Climate Observing System in Geneva, Switzerland. He is the author of A Hole in the Wind, which was a "One City, One Book" pick for San Francisco, and A Voyage Across an Ancient Ocean, also available from Pegasus Books. He lives in Rockville, Maryland.

Table of Contents

Maps ix

Prologue xi

1 Delaware: The Sea Approaches 1

2 Maryland: The Way to Get to Oregon 11

3 The Pennsylvania Gold Rush 23

4 Ohio: Tim Hortons, Armadillos, and Climate Change 41

5 Ohio: Awakenings 48

6 Indiana: Rain Games 59

7 Illinois: On Mr. Jefferson's Road 66

8 Missouri: The Best Place in a Tornado 70

9 South Dakota: Night on Stronghold Table 79

10 Nebraska: The One 97

11 Kansas: Small Hours on the High Plains 101

12 Colorado: A Visit to the Science City 116

13 Colorado: The Forests of Cameron Pass 128

14 Wyoming: The Pottery Studio at the End of the Earth 139

15 Wyoming: The Grand, Straight Ahead 148

16 Idaho-Montana Part I: Fire 155

17 Idaho-Montana Part II: Ice 176

18 To Oregon and the Sea 195

19 Climate and the Future 209

Appendix: Nuts and Bolts 229

Endnotes 237

Acknowledgments 247

Editorial Reviews

04/24/2017
In 2011, Goodrich, retired head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Observation and Monitoring Program, traded his office chair for a bike seat and set off cross-country seeking a more personal look at the questions that occupied his science career: whether climate change is man-made and what can be done about it. He quotes Jane Goodall: “The only way I’ve found to change people’s minds is to tell them stories.” His cycle tales—gleaned from pedaling over 4,500 miles through gas-drilling Pennsylvania, tornado-prone Missouri, drought-ridden Kansas, and wildfire-choked Montana—aim to convince people that the planet is in danger. But Goodrich finds that it’s a hard sell in many places. He peppers his narrative with historical anecdotes, environmental science asides, and lots of travel details. The result is quaint but not earthshaking. Too often, the chapters read like a travelogue of where he ate and slept. His most interesting observation is that small-town America has its head in the sand regarding climate change. Across the country he discovers that “you could talk about the weather, but not the climate.” Had Goodrich pumped his subject as willfully as his pedals, this may have become a more meaningful book. Maps & photos. Agent: John Silbersack, Trident Media. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"At the end of a high-level career in climate science, David Goodrich cycled from Delaware to Oregon looking for a “hole in the wind” — a human future in the unrelenting march of climate change. Ultimately, he sees humanity's capacity for economic transformation and reform as up to the job."

Nature

"The text rolls along as easily as his heavily-laden bike must have on those welcome downhill stretches. For a summer read that engages, entertains, and also educates, I can’t recommend anything better than A Hole in the Wind."

The Daily Local

"A detail-rich chronicle of the half-dozen epic bike rides Goodrich has undertaken since 2000, including a 2011 cross-country trip. Goodrich is a good enough reporter—and a sufficiently gifted stylist—to make the miles fly by."

Washington Post

"Combining personal reflections with sobering environmental facts and figures he takes along with him, [Goodrich] exposes a pervasive streak of climate change denial in the U.S. and shares the best antidotes for politically motivated misinformation. Entertaining and instructive, Goodrich’s travelogue showcases one man’s heroic efforts to confront this century’s greatest environmental crisis."

Booklist

"At the end of a high-level career in climate science, David Goodrich cycled from Delaware to Oregon looking for a “hole in the wind” — a human future in the unrelenting march of climate change. Ultimately, he sees humanity's capacity for economic transformation and reform as up to the job."

Nature Lib

05/15/2017
Trans-American travelogs have become a genre in themselves, describing the natural beauty and the social makeup of the United States. Goodrich, who worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and served as director of the UN Global Climate Observing System, intended his 2011 journey to be an opportunity to observe evidence of climate change and speak with small-town Americans about the topic. Unfortunately, most would "talk about the weather, but not the climate" and dismissed examples of climate change as local or temporary phenomena. The majority of Goodrich's formal interactions were with school or college groups, and many were as curious about the logistics of his bike trip as his environmental message. He notes global warming-related effects such as sea-level rise, increased wildfires, extreme weather events, drought, and animal habitat shift or loss. The final chapter addresses head-on the question of whether there is still time to stop or reverse global warming, with well-reasoned arguments from a lifelong climatologist. For those interested in an ecowarrior, activist approach, Rob Greenfield's Dude Making a Difference may be a complementary choice. VERDICT A diverting memoir for long-distance bikers and hikers. This title may be more effective at educating about climate change than chronicling the author's trip, making it an alluring option for those who want to learn about global warming as well.—Wade M. Lee, Univ. of Toledo Lib.

Library Journal

2017-05-03
Climate scientist Goodrich chronicles his cycling journey across the United States.Throughout his travels, the author compared how people are experiencing, and discussing, changes in the weather with what he has learned about climate change during his scientific career. Goodrich was director of the U.N. Global Climate Observing System in Geneva and also served as the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Observations and Monitoring Program. Beginning in Delaware, the author cycled 4,200 miles around the country, and his narrative serves as a unique profile of the U.S. and its people. He writes of particular cases in which, season to season—and even day to day—changes in the weather indicate longer-term consequences for the overall climate. His conversations with fellow scientists and others—e.g., Annie Larsen, a biologist at Delaware's Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge—give fascinating insight into how the process is perceived. Though the details differ with topographic and climatological zones, the overall problems remain the same, whether it's the growing dead zone at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay, bigger, more dangerous tornadoes in the Midwest (which the author encountered), pine beetle infestation in the Rockies, or the shrinking winter snow pack in the Bitterroot Mountains. Throughout the narrative, Goodrich smoothly interweaves the stories of the people he met and the places he visited, and he is clear about how the many dangers he faced during his journey were offset by the hospitality he discovered. Native American history provides a further dimension to the story, and the author also provides helpful explanations of how climate scientists work and develop their data. This cyclist's view of how things really are effectively cuts across head-butting arguments about global warming. A compelling narrative enlivened as much by the author's encounters on the road as by his skillful unfolding of scientific knowledge.

Kirkus Reviews

Combining personal reflections with sobering environmental facts and figures he takes along with him, [Goodrich] exposes a pervasive streak of climate change denial in the U.S. and shares the best antidotes for politically motivated misinformation. Entertaining and instructive, Goodrich’s travelogue showcases one man’s heroic efforts to confront this century’s greatest environmental crisis.

Booklist

A detail-rich chronicle of the half-dozen epic bike rides Goodrich has undertaken since 2000, including a 2011 cross-country trip. Goodrich is a good enough reporter—and a sufficiently gifted stylist—to make the miles fly by.

Washington Post