Reviews

• 環境問題に関する必読書の一つ

  自然災害には発生地の自然環境、歴史が醸成した社会環境、発生時点における対応体制と云った要因が密接に絡んでいる。本書はカナダ、アルバータ州で２０１６年に発生した森林火災に関し、地域の歴史的背景を含め詳細に記述している。更に当然のことながら、視点は地域から地球全体の環境に及んでいる。なかでも人間社会の「発展」「成長」が抑制し難い「火を燃やす」行為に支えられている記述は衝撃的である。

• THE book of our times. Absolutely essential reading. If we ignore it, it will be at our own peril.

  An overwhelmingly good read, it's difficult to know where to even begin with a review. If you've read The Tiger, you'll already be familiar with Vaillant's skills in both research and propelling a story forward using a kind of backbone narrative story that serves only as a basic framework from which to jump off from (as he does without restraint). This book is much the same which, on the surface, is about a fire in Fort McMurray in Alberta, but is really talking about much, much more. I had thought I had at least a tangential understanding of Big Oil and what the greenhouse effect was all about, but it turns out I knew very little indeed. What blew me away was how clearly and how long ago we (and Big Oil) knew exactly what the results of our fire addiction were and would be in the future, and how huge companies spending billions on PR campaigns (and a kind of mass self-hynosis on our part) allowed this well-documented destruction to continue. Packed with science, history, and human psychology, this book tells an almost unbelievable tale of the degree to which we've all been complicit in the heating of the planet through out reliance on fire and the Lucretius effect - the idea that the worst we've seen is the worst that could possibly happen. Clearly not the case. Masterful storytelling of the type not commonly seen, I read it cover to cover in 3 days, something I certainly didn't expect when I bought it. And if you're avoiding it because 'climate change is depressing' or it's 'just not your thing', I would say go and get it now. Strangely, I didn't come away from this book depressed at all, but rather fascinated and hopeful that we really COULD turn it all around. If we all decide that we want it bad enough. My book of the year, without question.

• 化石燃料の大量消費がもたらす地球温暖化と異常気象

  fine weatherやfair weatherは既知の言葉だが、fire weatherは初耳なのでネットで調べてみると「高温、強風そして乾燥(低湿度)」の三つの条件が揃った時の山火事などの森林火災が発生し易い気象条件のことだという。 近年、世界各地で大規模な森林火災の発生により膨大な面積の森林が焼失して大気を汚染し、周辺住宅地などに莫大な経済的損失をもたらしていることが繰り返しメディアを通じて報道されている。 地球温暖化がもたらす異常気象と森林火災のお話だと思って読み進めると、冒頭4章(55頁)に亘り森林火災の頻発地であるカナダのアルバータ州のフォート・マクマレーがどういう土地柄なのか、歴史的背景、周辺一帯の地質や石油資源開発の歴史、石油掘削労働者達の暮らしぶりなどの説明に延々と耳を傾けなくてはならない。 第5章になって初めて人類と火の関わりや 火災一般の発生メカニズム の話になり、第2部でようやく fire weather というタイトルになる。その内容は、山林火災が年中行事のカナダのアルバータ州の2016年の大規模森林火災を例にとってそれが如何に破壊的であったかという情報を提供してくれるのだが、臨場感を演出したいのはわかるが登場人物の容貌の類や言動・挙動を瑣末なレベルまで記述しており読み疲れする。それにしても災害時の避難警報の発令の遅さや無秩序な住民の退避行動には驚くばかり。 第3部は地球温暖化や気候変動に関する歴史的考察(学者や研究者の論文の引用や論評など)や他地域などの様々な災害事例。火災鎮火後のフォート・マクマレー住民の窮状や同地での石油ビジネスの逆境も。 辛口評価になるが無駄に長文でペダンティックで不必要な蘊蓄や比喩や引用が多い。こういう文献の意義を否定するものではないが、被災規模の大きさや被災者の窮状ばかりに紙幅を割いて長文の割に長期的な視野での対策や解決への道筋を示しているわけではない。ほぼ終わりに近い２５章でようやく大手金融機関やファンドなどが化石燃料の資源開発や流通には融資しないと表明した事で国際石油資本の動向としてカーボン・ニュートラルへの軌道修正を迫られていることに触れてはいるが、トランプ再選で流れが変わり金融機関の姿勢も変化しており、それすら危うい。他の読者の高評価に水を差すようだが、私の評価は星三つ。

• Another true climate disaster story

  The less journalistic parts are the best.

• This is at times a real page turner, and it's a fascinating analysis of a pretty diabolical event. It does hoever get a little bit repetitive at times, and there's a pretty liberal dash of hyperbole in there (ie measuring things in thousands of kilograms instead of tonnes purely for effect). That said, I think it's an important read for everyone to start setting their minds to understanding what's ahead for humanity.

• This is an incredibly informed and informative account of climat change. It starts and ends in the context of the Fort McMurray Fire in 2016. But it touches on so much more. And John Vaillant is a master of language bar none.

• As of this day, Canada is burning from west to east. How did we get there ? John Vaillant provides the answers by chonicling the Fort McMurray fire, which burned for more than four months and distroyed 2500 homes in 2016, and our long, blind faith in oil and other fossil fuels. The phenomenon of global warming was dicovered 150 years ago. Scientists, governements ( there were several honest hearings in Congress in the 1950’s) and even petroleum and industrial companies recognized the dangers for life on earth, but everyone failed to act, and then the oil industry never stopped growing. As the planet keeps warming and more and more places in the world come to experience the same consequences than Canada, citizens everywhere must raise and pressure their gouvernements to fight and win a global war against that war waged on Earth. Their children and grand children lives are at stake, no less. The author of masterpieces as « The Tiger » and « The Golden Spruce », John Vaillant, with «Fire Weather », takes nature writing into a quite new dimension.

• afgaf

• If you are at all interested or concerned about climate change and the health of our planet, I highly recommend you read this. It's not just about fire, that's more the theme that makes the point. And it isn't an easy, happy, feel good read. It's very well written and researched, factual, informative and not over the top. It's based on our current reality. The first part is a bit "sciencey" (not my strong point) and harder to get through, at least for me, but once you get going it gets easier and then I found it hard to put down. It's a sobering, scary and very necessary read because if we continue down this same path in regard to protecting, or not protecting our planet, we will destory it. We are already destroying it and have been for too many years. Our future generations need us to read this book!!

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