Publishers Weekly
08/08/2022
Biologist Ziska separates fact from fiction in this impassioned take on carbon dioxide’s “fundamental importance and existential consequences” for plantlife. He starts with “the ‘CO2 is plant food’ meme,” an idea seized upon by climate change deniers that maintains that more atmospheric carbon dioxide will be good for plants and the Earth. Not so, Ziska writes: the impacts of rising levels are “incredibly complex... and will affect—directly, fundamentally, and irrevocably—all life as we know it.” In establishing the importance of flora, the author covers how plants are used for pharmaceuticals, the history of humans’ relationship with weeds (“a corn plant may be desirable if you want to grow corn, but the following year, if you are growing soybeans... it will be considered a weed”), and how plants are used in religious practices. Ultimately, Ziska posits, rising levels of CO2 make invasive species more prone to catching fire and increase crop-hindering weed growth, among other disastrous effects. He ends with a plea for a reversal of “the political degradation of science” and takes aim at the Trump administration for the “unprecedented” degree of “censorship and political influence in denying science.” Climate activists will savor this rebuttal to bunk science. (Nov.)
Michael P. Hoffmann
Anyone interested in how the plants we depend on for life are changing must read Greenhouse Planet. A witty yet deeply concerning story about how increasing carbon dioxide is altering our food, drugs, and ecosystems, yet we are failing to investigate what this all means to the basis of life and our future.
Yale Climate Connections
Greenhouse Planet is an indispensable book for all readers interested in the ripple effects of increasing CO2.
Bill McKibben
The idea that more carbon dioxide will "green the world" has been endlessly promoted by the fossil fuel industry and its friends. But as Ziska demonstrates in a straightforward and understandable fashion, this is by no means a slam-dunk good thing; in fact, the implications may turn out to be almost as devastating as the rise in temperatures that come with CO2. Oh, and he also provides a fascinating reflection on the stupefying politicization of modern science. On every count this is a crucial little book.
Barbara Freese
Ziska draws attention to an often overlooked world-threatening problem—that carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are changing a fundamental parameter of global plant growth. A fascinating and important book.
Midwest Book Review
Impressively well written, organized and presented for readers with an interest in the effects of Climate Change on horticulture and botony. Detail[s] essential environmental and horticultural science with wit and clarity.
New York Journal of Books
This is an exceptionally important and readable book. Ziska’s writing is clear, personal, and expressive. Read his book.
Ruth DeFries
Greenhouse Planet is not just another book about climate change. Ziska unpacks the science and politics of the climate-denying mantra that carbon dioxide feeds plants and greens the planet. More poisonous poison ivy, creeping kudzu, super weeds, and protein-deprived bees are some of the nuances that shatter the simplistic talking point. Fun to read and completely accessible, this book will help both scientists and nonscientists deepen their knowledge about the far-ranging effects of our changing atmosphere on the plants that underpin our very survival.
