Chapters 5 & 6

I have to admit, chapter 5 was not my cup of tea. She lost me when she began the chapter discussing Sargon of Akkad and Babylonian cities, I wondered the whole time I was reading, where's global warming? I guess I understand how she is trying to relate the empire to now, but I just didn't like the comparison. This chapter had fewer flowery words and descriptions than the others, which made it a little boring for me.

Kolbert got very "sciency" in this chapter, some of which went over my head, but some details were interesting. "If greenhouse gases were held constant at today's levels, it is estimated that it would take several decades for the full impact of the forcing that is already in place to be felt," Kolbert said. I think it's interesting that our CO2 levels are so high that if we stopped them from rising, the effects of global warming would eventually still happen.

I liked chapter 6 because Kolbert went back to her fun, matter-of-fact writing and I'm interested in the subject of the rising sea level and flooding. I've always understood the basics: Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, towns are flooding. Kolbert described how water expands when it is warm. "In a small body of water, the effect is small; in a big body, it's commensurately larger." Also, the warmer Earth changes precipitation patterns, which could lead to more downpours and more flooding.

I think flooding and the rising sea level are effects of global warming that many people are able to see happening already. Beaches are losing their beach, the water is getting closer to their homes every day and more storms and rain are flooding people's houses.